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18 The maṣdar
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18.1 Introduction
Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the maṣdar, that we shall study in this chapter.
Consider the following form 1 verb:
| Root | Perfect verb | Stateful verb (u-state) | maṣdar |
|---|---|---|---|
| ذهب | ذَهَبَ “he went” | يَذْهَبُ “he goes” | ذَهَاب “going” |
The maṣdar associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used.
Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format:
ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go”
The perfect verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding stateful verb, and their maṣdar are given together, in sequence. The maṣdar is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”.
18.2 Patterns of the maṣdar for form 1 verbs
The patterns of the maṣdar for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the maṣdar when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind:
- If the verb takes a direct doee, then the perfect verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because perfect verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case:
- The maṣdar for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples:
- فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)”
- أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)”
- حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)”
- The maṣdar for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples:
- If the verb does not take a direct doee, then:
- If the perfect verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then:
- If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples:
- تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired”
- جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient”
- أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples:
- خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green”
- سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example:
- قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example:
- يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry”
- If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples:
- If the perfect verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then:
- If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples:
- قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back”
- سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down”
- خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples:
- سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples:
- رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart”
- If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples:
- صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream”
- If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples:
- If the perfect verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then:
- If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the maṣdar is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples:
- تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade”
- أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander”
- If the perfect verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples:
- صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult”
- شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave”
As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have maṣdars which don’t fall under the above rules.
18.3 Usage of the maṣdar
The maṣdar has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَكَلَ يَأْكُلُ أَكْلًا “to eat”. We can use its maṣdar in a sentence like this:
فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَكْلِ.
farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli.
“Zayd got done with eating.”
Note how the maṣdar ٱلْأَكْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min.
Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَكْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَكْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section @ref(usage-of-definite-and-indefinite-nouns), the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section.
Having said that, the indefnite maṣdar may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say:
فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ.
farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin.
“He got done with a [certain] difficult work.”
18.4 Multiple maṣdars for the same verb
It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one maṣdar. Usually, each of the maṣdars has its own meaning, distinct from each other.
For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its maṣdar in a sentence:
تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْكُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ.
taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati.
“Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.”
There exists another meaning for this verb with its own maṣdar: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its maṣdar in a sentence:
دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ.
dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim.
“The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.”
Sometimes the meaning between the multiple maṣdars is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)”
It has two maṣdars: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other.
جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple maṣdar used for not knowing something. For example,
مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ.
mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu.
“Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.”
جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example,
نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ.
nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna.
“The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.”
As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a maṣdar, the simpler its meaning. And maṣdars of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning.