أحوال المضارع — The Three Moods of the Muḍāriʿ
The fiʿl muḍāriʿ (فِعل مُضَارِع) is the only Arabic verb type that is muʿrab — it declines and changes its ending based on its grammatical function. The māḍī and amr are mabni (fixed):
| Verb Type | Status | Fixed With |
|---|---|---|
| فِعل مَاضِي | Mabni | bil-fataḥ (last radical always has fataḥ) |
| فِعل أَمر | Mabni | bis-sukūn |
| فِعل مُضَارِع | Muʿrab | changes with mood |
Iʿrāb Is About the Last Letter Only
Iʿrāb refers specifically to the change of vowel on the last letter (or equivalent sign). The ḥarakāt on internal letters are fixed properties — they are not iʿrāb.
The Three Moods
| Mood | Arabic | Sign (simple forms) | Default? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marfūʿ | مَرفُوع | ḍamma: يَذهَبُ | Yes — the default |
| Manṣūb | مَنصُوب | fataḥ: يَذهَبَ | After naṣb particles |
| Majzūm | مَجزُوم | sukūn: يَذهَب | After jazm particles |
Majrūr vs Majzūm
Nouns have majrūr (jarr). Verbs have majzūm (jazm). Never confuse the two — verbs are never majrūr.
The default mood is marfūʿ. A muḍāriʿ is marfūʿ unless there is an identifiable reason (a naṣb or jazm particle) to change it.
Naṣb-Causing Particles (نَوَاصِب الفِعل)
These particles make the muḍāriʿ manṣūb (fataḥ on last letter):
| Particle | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| أَن | أُرِيدُ أَن أَذهَبَ | I want to go |
| لَن | لَن يَذهَبَ | He will not go (future negation) |
| لِـ (lām taʿlīl) | جِئتُ لِأَتعَلَّمَ | I came in order to learn |
| كَي | جِئتُ كَي أَتعَلَّمَ | I came so that I may learn |
| حَتَّى | اِقرَأ حَتَّى تَفهَمَ | Read until you understand |
حَتَّى — Baṣrī vs Kūfī Disagreement
حَتَّى itself causes a manṣūb muḍāriʿ to follow it, but the two classical grammar schools disagree on why:
| School | View |
|---|---|
| Baṣrī (predominant today) | ḥattā is NOT a nāṣib; after ḥattā there is a hidden أَن (muḍmar/latent) that causes the naṣb. So the naṣb-causing particles are three: أَن، لَن، لِـ |
| Kūfī | ḥattā IS itself a nāṣib al-fiʿl. So the naṣb-causing particles are four: أَن، لَن، لِـ، حَتَّى |
Both views describe the same grammatical reality. Some books list three naṣb particles, others list four — both are valid depending on the school.
Jazm-Causing Elements (جَوَازِم الفِعل)
These make the muḍāriʿ majzūm (sukūn on last letter):
| Element | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لَا النَّاهِية | لَا تَذهَب | Don't go! |
| لَم | لَم يَذهَب | He did not go (negates past) |
| لَمَّا | لَمَّا يَذهَب | He has not yet gone |
الأفعال الخمسة — The Five Verbs
Five muḍāriʿ conjugations have their own iʿrāb sign: nūn (instead of ḍamma) as the sign of rafʿ.
| Form | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| يَذهَبَانِ | هُمَا (dual masc.) |
| تَذهَبَانِ | هُمَا (dual fem.) |
| يَذهَبُونَ | هُم (plural masc.) |
| تَذهَبُونَ | أَنتُم (2nd plural masc.) |
| تَذهَبِينَ | أَنتِ (2nd singular fem.) |
Structure of the Five Verbs
Each form has three components: - ḥarf al-muḍāraʿah (يـ or تـ) - The verb root - Subject pronoun (wāw al-jamāʿah, alif, or yāʾ mukhataba) - Nūn al-rafʿ — the sign of rafʿ (NOT the subject pronoun)
In يَذهَبُونَ: يـ = ḥarf muḍāraʿah | ذهب = verb | وَاو = subject pronoun | نُون = sign of rafʿ
When the Nūn Drops
When mood changes to manṣūb or majzūm, the nūn al-rafʿ drops:
| Form | Marfūʿ | Manṣūb / Majzūm |
|---|---|---|
| يَذهَبُونَ | يَذهَبُونَ | يَذهَبُوا (+ alif al-fāriqah) |
| يَذهَبَانِ | يَذهَبَانِ | يَذهَبَا |
| تَذهَبِينَ | تَذهَبِينَ | تَذهَبِي |
Manṣūb and majzūm look identical for these forms — only the preceding particle tells you which mood it is.
نُون النِّسوَة vs نُون الرَّفع
A critical distinction:
| نُون الرَّفع | نُون النِّسوَة | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Sign of rafʿ mood | Subject pronoun (fāʿil) for a group of women |
| In forms | يَذهَبُونَ، يَذهَبَانِ، تَذهَبِينَ | يَذهَبنَ، تَذهَبنَ |
| Drops? | YES — when manṣūb or majzūm | NO — it is the fāʿil; cannot drop |
| Makes verb | Muʿrab | Mabni (never changes) |
The forms with nūn al-niswah (يَذهَبنَ، تَذهَبنَ) are mabni — they look the same in all three moods.
Examples from the Quran
| Āyah | Verb | Mood | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| حَتَّى تَخرُجَ إِلَيهِم (Al-Ḥujurāt 49:5) | تَخرُجَ (manṣūb) | manṣūb | hidden أَن after حَتَّى |
| لَا تَرفَعُوا أَصوَاتَكُم (Al-Ḥujurāt 49:2) | تَرفَعُوا (majzūm) | majzūm | لَا النَّاهِية |
Session References
- Surah Al-Hujuraat Session 6: Full recap of three moods; mabni māḍī and amr; naṣb and jazm particles; الأفعال الخمسة and nūn al-rafʿ; nūn al-niswah; ḥattā Kūfī vs Baṣrī.