The Life and Literature of Abdul Rahman Shukri

The Form I Verbal Noun

المَصْدَر فِي الفِعْلِ الثُّلاثِيِّ

1. What is the verbal noun and how is it used in Arabic?

The verbal noun (المصدر) is the basic noun of the action.

اسمٌ يدلّ على نفسِ حَدَثِ الفعلِ دونَ زمنٍ أو فاعلٍ
It expresses the idea of the verb, not the time.

In Arabic, the verbal noun (المصدر) expresses the action as a noun, and it also covers the meaning of the English “-ing” form.

So one single Arabic masdar can mean both:

• the noun – travel, study, work

• the -ing form – traveling, studying, working

Arabic doesn’t separate these two – the masdar expresses the pure action, so it includes both meanings e.g. sit and sitting, study and studying.

  • verb – كَتَبَ – he wrote
  • noun – كِتابَة – writing/write
  • verb – جَلَسَ – he sat
  • noun – جُلوس – sitting/sit
  • verb – فَتَحَ – to open
  • noun – فَتْح – opening/open

2. Special fact about Form I

Form I فَعَلَ is the only form in Arabic that can have multiple verbal-noun patterns.
This means the Verbal Noun – the Masdar – مصدر should be memorised with the verb.

Common verbal noun patterns for Form I مصدر

  • Noun – Verb – Form
  • فَعْل أَكَلَ أَكْل
  • فِعْل عَلِمَ عِلْم
  • فَعَالَة كَتَبَ كِتابة
  • فُعُول دَخَلَ دُخول
  • فَعْل فَتَحَ فَتْح
  • فُعْل شَرِبَ شُرْب

3. Form 1 verbs are not predictable and neither is the verbal noun

  • The internal vowel of Form I verbs is not predictable.
  • You cannot know in advance whether the pattern is فَعَلَ / فَعِلَ / فَعُلَ – that is – whether the middle vowel is a fatha, damma, or kasra.
  • Both the middle or media vowel in the past tense الماضي and in the present tense المضارع is unpredictable. However, a verb that carries a kasra as a medial vowel in the past tense nearly always carries a fatha vowel in the preseent tense such as with the verb to drink below.
  • Natives also check dictionaries for this reason.
  • Learn the past and present tense and verbal noun together.
    It is one of the best and most efficient ways for non-native learners to master Arabic verbs.
  • Example: to drink شُرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْب
  • كَتَبَ يَكْتُبُ كِتابَة
    The verbal noun (المصدر) in Arabic is often used with the definite article when it functions as a regular noun on its own, especially when referring to a general activity, concept, or known action.”

4. Example sentences

Using كِتابة and جُلوس

A. Verbal Sentence (جملة فعلية)

كِتابة — the action of writing
أُريدُ الكِتابةَ
I want to write.
الكِتابةَ = direct object.

جُلوس — the action of sitting
أُحِبُّ الجُلوسَ هنا
I like sitting here.
الجلوسَ = direct object.

B. Nominal Sentence (جملة اسمية)

كِتابة — writing as a concept
الكِتابةُ سهلةٌ
Writing is easy.
الكِتابةُ = subject.

جُلوس — sitting as a general idea
الجُلوسُ مُفيدٌ
Sitting is useful.
الجُلوسُ – subject

expressing the action of studying – الدِراسة

نجاحُ الطالب يعتمد على الدِّراسَةِ المستمرة

A student’s success depends on continuous study.

5. Showing two different uses of the same Masdar مصدر

A) The action of writing

أُريدُ الكِتابةَ الآن
I want to write now.

B) Handwriting

كِتابتُه واضحةٌ
His handwriting is clear.

Same مصدر, different meaning depending on context.

Comparison with English – Verbal nouns in English are all the same which makes it easy to remember the verbal nouns in English. However, the verbal nouns in Arabic follow different patterns and the Form 1 verbal also follow different patterns. By knowing the Form of the verb and learning the patterns of the verb types it is much easier to automatically form the verbal noun from a new verb. However, Form 1 verbal nouns need to be memorized individually as they do not follow a set pattern such as happens with other verb Forms.

6. Simple examples

أَكْل — eating / food

أُحِبُّ الأَكْلَ.
I like eating.

الأَكْلُ جاهزٌ
The food is ready.

دُخول — entering

أُريدُ الدُّخولَ
I want to enter.

الدُّخولُ سَهلٌ
Entering is easy.

Practice Sentences (Form I Verbal Noun)

1) Verb: كَتَبَ (to write)

أُحِبُّ __________ كلَّ يوم
(Writing every day)

2) Verb: جَلَسَ (to sit)

أحتاجُ إلى __________ هنا قليلًا
(Sitting here for a bit)

3) Verb: دَخَلَ (to enter)

إلى المدرسةِ يبدأُ الساعةَ الثامنة
(Entering / admission to the school)

4) Verb: أَكَلَ (to eat)

قبلَ النومِ غيرُ صحّي_
(Eating before sleep)

5) Verb: لَعِبَ (to play)

أُريدُ __________ في الحديقةِ اليوم
(Playing in the garden)

6) Verb: قَرَأَ (to read)

مع الصباحِ عادةٌ جيدة
(Reading in the morning)

7) Verb: ذَهَبَ (to go)

جِئتُ من أجلِ __________ إلى السوق.
(Going to the market)

8) Verb: سَمِعَ (to hear)

الموسيقى بصوتٍ عالٍ يُزعجُ الجيرن
(Hearing loud music)

9) Verb: عَمِلَ (to work)

كثيرًا يُسببُ التَّعب
(Working a lot)

10) Verb: رَكَضَ (to run)

أُفَضِّلُ __________ في الصباح
(Running in the morning)

Answer Key (Form I Verbal Nouns)

1) كَتَبَ → كِتابة

أُحِبُّ الكِتابةَ كلَّ يوم

2) جَلَسَ → جُلوس

أحتاجُ إلى الجُلوسِ هنا قليلًا

3) دَخَلَ → دُخول

الدُّخولُ إلى المدرسةِ يبدأُ الساعةَ الثامنة

4) أَكَلَ → أَكْل

الأَكْلُ قبلَ النومِ غيرُ صحّي

5) لَعِبَ → لَعِب

أُريدُ اللَّعِبَ في الحديقةِ اليوم

6) قَرَأَ → قِراءة

القِراءةُ مع الصباحِ عادةٌ جيدة

7) ذَهَبَ → ذَهاب

جِئتُ من أجلِ الذَّهابِ إلى السوق

8) سَمِعَ → سَماع

سَماعُ الموسيقى بصوتٍ عالٍ يُزعجُ الجيران

9) عَمِلَ → عَمَل

العَمَلُ كثيرًا يُسببُ التَّعب

10) رَكَضَ → رَكْض

أُفَضِّلُ الرَّكْضَ في الصباح

Read the following passage, identify the verbal nouns and its root, past and present tense verb of the verbal noun. Use the Hans Wehr dictionary to research, study and learn these verbs and words. Use Acon App or its website to study the conjugation of the verbs

http://acon.baykal.be/

كانَ الدُّخولُ إلى الجامعةِ صباحًا بدايةَ يومٍ طويل. وبعدَ الجلوسِ قليلًا في الساحة، قرّرتُ الذَّهـابَ إلى المكتبة لِلدِّراسةِ وكتابةِ ملاحظاتٍ جديدة. كانَ السَّماعُ لِلمحاضرةِ ممتعًا، لكنَّ الكلامَ مع الأصدقاءِ كانَ أكثرَ فائدة. وبعدَ فَتحِ الدفترِ والركضِ بين القاعات، شعرتُ بالتَّعَب. وعندَ الغروبِ، كانَ الرُّجوعُ إلى البيتِ أجمَلَ لحظةٍ في اليوم

المَصادِر – Verbal Nouns


الفعل الماضي – Past Tense


الفَعْلُ المُضارِعُ – Present Tense


المصدر – Verbal Noun

الجَذْرُ – Root

1) Entering — الدُّخول

  • Past: دَخَلَ
  • Present: يَدخُلُ
  • Verbal Noun: دُخولٌ
  • Root: د-خ-ل

2) Studying — الدِّراسة

  • Past: دَرَسَ
  • Present: يَدرُسُ
  • Verbal Noun: دِراسةٌ
  • Root: د-ر-س

3) Going — الذَّهَاب

  • Past: ذَهَبَ
  • Present: يَذهَبُ
  • Verbal Noun: ذَهابٌ
  • Root: ذ-ه-ب

4) Writing — الكِتابة

  • Past: كَتَبَ
  • Present: يَكتُبُ
  • Verbal Noun: كِتابةٌ
  • Root: ك-ت-ب

5) Sitting — الجُلوس

  • Past: جَلَسَ
  • Present: يَجلِسُ
  • Verbal N: جُلوسٌ
  • Root: ج-ل-س

6) Listening / Hearing — السَّماع

  • Past: سَمِعَ
  • Present: يَسمَعُ
  • Verbal Noun: سَماعٌ
  • Root: س-م-ع

7) Talking / Speaking — الكَلام

  • Past: كَلَمَ (rare), used verb: تَكَلَّمَ (Form V)
    But in Form I usage we say:
  • Past: قالَ (he said) or تَكَلَّمَ (he spoke)
  • Present: يَقولُ / يَتَكَلَّمُ
  • Verbal Noun: كَلامٌ (speech, talking)
  • Root: ك-ل-م

(Note: كَلام is the classical مصدر for Form I in the sense “speech.”)

8) Opening — الفَتْح

  • Past: فَتَحَ
  • Present: يَفتَحُ
  • Verbal Noun: فَتحٌ
  • Root: ف-ت-ح

9) Running — الرَّكْض

  • Past: رَكَضَ
  • Present: يَركُضُ
  • Verbal Noun: رَكْضٌ
  • Root: ر-ك-ض

10) Returning — الرُّجوع

Next Week – Form 2 Verbal Nouns – Explanation, Use in context and Practice

مَصْدَرُ بَابِ التَّفْعِيلِ