مُتَوَارَة — Reciprocal Verb Forms
مُتَوَارَة (from tawāra, reciprocity) describes the relationship where one verb Form carries the intransitive/reflexive counterpart meaning of another Form, without using the passive voice. The most common pairs are Form I↔VII and Form II↔V.
Form I ↔ Form VII
Form I = transitive (someone acts on something). Form VII = the same action happening to the subject (no agent implied).
| Form I | Meaning | Form VII | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| نَشَرَ | to scatter X | اِنتَشَرَ | to scatter/spread out (intransitive) |
| كَسَرَ | to break X | اِنكَسَرَ | to break (intransitive) |
| قَلَبَ | to overturn X | اِنقَلَبَ | to overturn (intransitive) |
نَشَرَ / اِنتَشَرَ
نَشَرتُ التُّرَابَ — I scattered the dust (Form I; tū = agent)
اِنتَشَرَ التُّرَابُ — The dust scattered (Form VII; no agent)
Form II ↔ Form V
Form II = causative/intensive (making someone do or acquire something). Form V = the subject undergoes or acquires the action for themselves.
| Form II | Meaning | Form V | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| عَلَّمَ | to teach X | تَعَلَّمَ | to learn |
| كَلَّمَ | to speak to X | تَكَلَّمَ | to speak |
| قَدَّمَ | to present/advance X | تَقَدَّمَ | to come forward |
عَلَّمَ / تَعَلَّمَ
عَلَّمَنِي بِلَالٌ العَرَبِيَّةَ — Bilal taught me Arabic (Form II; bilāl = agent)
تَعَلَّمتُ العَرَبِيَّةَ — I learned Arabic (Form V; subject is recipient, not agent)
Mutawāra vs Passive Voice
These are not the same as passive voice:
| Passive (majhūl) | Form VII (mutawāra) |
|---|---|
| كُسِرَ الزُّجَاجُ — The glass was broken | اِنكَسَرَ الزُّجَاجُ — The glass broke |
| Implies a deliberate hidden agent | No agent implied — just an event |
Use Form VII when you want to describe what happened without implying that someone deliberately caused it. This is why Arabic prefers Form VII in many contexts over passive:
وَإِذَا انقَلَبُوا إِلَى أَهلِهِم — "And when they return to their families" — not passive; it is Form VII expressing a natural action.
Why It Matters
Mutawāra explains why many verb roots appear in two seemingly opposite meanings across different Forms: the same root describes both the cause (Form I/II) and the effect (Form VII/V). Recognising this pair relationship unlocks the meaning of unfamiliar Forms quickly.
Session References
- Selections from the Glorious Quran Session 20: مُتَوَارَة introduced; Form I↔VII (nashara/intashara, kasara/inkasara, qalaba/inqalaba) and Form II↔V (ʿallama/taʿallama) demonstrated; contrast with majhūl passive.