Chapter 16, and Imperfect Verbs 161 imperfect verbs As stated in chapter three, as: (the imperfect) refers to incomplete action may be translated He is writing He writes He will write He can write (present continuous) (present habitual) (future) We can distinguish between continuous, habitual and future action in the following ways He is writing now He always writes He writes every day When I saw them they were reading their books She used to write every day He will write tomorrow / He will write So they will understand it He was going to write I was going to attend but I stayed at home As stated in chapter three, (the imperfect verb) is negated by A negative question can be compounded by placing before it a (suggesting doubt) or (suggesting astonishment) 191
( ٧٧:٢) Do they not know that Allah knows? (2:77) ( ٣٦:٦٨) Do they not understand? (36:68) 1611 case indicators (in the imperfect verb) (perfect verbs) are (indeclinable) and do not have case (imperfect verbs), apart from the feminine plurals are (declinable) and do have case i (Grammatical Case/Declension) in the Arabic language, is essentially the sole preserve of (nouns) It is said that (nouns) are by their nature (declinable) and only rarely become (indeclinable) (Verbs) on the other hand, are by their nature (indeclinable) and only (imperfect verbs) can be (declinable) The word means resembling and (the imperfect verb) is called so because it resembles the (noun) by being (declinable) (in the imperfect verb) the (indicator) of is: for the imperfect verbs that end in for dual, masculine plural and second person feminine singular verbs The feminine third person and second person plurals and do not have case (they are fixed on sukuun) 192
162 imperfect verbs The particle precedes a (imperfect verb) and make it The particle means to (as in he requested me to stay ) or that (as in he requested that I stay ) The negative of is which means not to or that not is used in the following way He requested to go / that he go He requested me to go / that I go He requested me not to go / that I do not go I want to go 1621 The following are : (the imperfect verbs) we have encountered so far, made by (a) The imperfect of sound verbs (the mansuub imperfect verb) of sound verbs is produced by replacing the with a for those (verbs) that end in and dropping the for those (verbs) that end in (The indicator of ) is: for the singular verbs and the first person plural The dropping of for the second person feminine singular, duals and masculine plurals As noted in chapter thirteen, the feminine third person and second person plurals and do not have case They are (fixed on sukuun) This never changes The on the feminine plural imperfect verbs is called ( Lady Nun ) This never drops 193
(the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they write * That they (two) write That he writes Fem That they write That they (two) write That she writes That You write * That You (two) write That You write Fem That You write That You (two) write That You write That we write That I write * These are not but (fixed on sukuun) (b) The imperfect of hollow verbs: (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they be That they (two) be That he be Fem That they be That they (two) be That she be That You be That You (two) be That You be Fem That You be That You (two) be That You be That we be That I be 194
(c) The imperfect of doubled verbs (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they pass That they (two) pass That he pass Fem That they pass That they (two) pass That she pass That You pass That You (two) pass That You pass Fem That You pass That You (two) pass That You pass That we pass That I pass (d) The imperfect of weak verbs (i) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they call That they (two) call That he calls Fem That they call That they (two) call That she calls That You call That You (two) call That You call Fem That You call That You (two) call That You call That we call That I call 195
(ii) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they run That they (two) run That he runs Fem That they run That they (two) run That she runs That You run That You (two) run That You run Fem That You run That You (two) run That You run That we run That I run (iii) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they remain That they (two) remain That he remains Fem That they remain That they (two) remain That she remains That You remain That You (two) remain That You remain Fem That You remain That You (two) remain That You remain That we remain That I remain 196
(iv) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they see That they (two) see That he sees Fem That they see That they (two) see That she sees That You see That You (two) see That You see Fem That You see That You (two) see That You see That we see That I see (v) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they remain That they (two) remain That he remains Fem That they remain That they (two) remain That she remains That You remain That You (two) remain That You remain Fem That You remain That You (two) remain That You remain That we remain That I remain 197
(vi) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they protect That they (two) protect That he protects Fem That they protect That they (two) protect That she protects That You protect That You (two) protect That You protect Fem That You protect That You (two) protect That You protect That we protect That I protect (vii) (the mansuub imperfect of ) is conjugated as follows: That they intend That they (two) intend That he intends Fem That they intend That they (two) intend That she intends That You intend That You (two) intend That You intend Fem That You intend That You (two) intend That You intend That we intend That I intend 198
1622 is called (particle that expounds or explains a verbal noun) This is because, as illustrated in the examples below, and the verb sentence it introduces is interchangeable with a (a verbal noun) (to/that) and (not to/that not) must be followed by (a mansuub imperfect verb) (a) and direct object) (the verb sentence) it introduces may be (in the place of the He wanted to sit He wanted to sit He requested to go He requested to go / that he go He requested me to go / that I go He requested me not to go / that I do not go We requested not to remain in the sun We requested not to remain in the sun We requested to go and invite them We requested to go and call them ( the second verb is conjuncted to the first) They said something to them They said to them to be close to the city gate They said to them not to be close to the city gate 199
(b) and (the verb sentence) it introduces may be (in the place of the subject of the verb) This occurs especially with the following verbs that are usually used impersonally (in the imperfect) 1 ( ) (to be necessary, obligatory): Gratitude is incumbent upon us ( ) Gratitude is incumbent upon us Your going is necessary It is necessary/obligatory that you go / You must go (lit that you go is necessary) It is necessary that you don t go / you must not go It is necessary that you don t go / you must not go You should have gone (Use instead of ) 2 ( ) (to be right(ful)): Your going is right(ful) It is rightful that you go It is rightful that you do not go It is not rightful that you go 3 ( ) (To be possible): It is possible that he will go today It is possible that he will not go today It is not possible that he will go today 200
It will not be possible for me to go tomorrow It was possible for me to go with you 4 used impersonally means previously and is used as an alternative to here is followed by a (perfect verb) This is because the expression invariably refers to a complete action Have you read this book previously? Have you read this book previously? We have been there previously (c) and (the verb sentence) it introduces may be (in the place of the majruur noun after a preposition) My father ordered me to go to school ( ) My father ordered me to go to school He ordered that we don t go and that they should not be invited He ordered that we do not go and that we do not call them They desire to run home They desire to run home In the above sentences, we can omit the (preposition) The elliptical (preposition) remains part of the syntax so that (the verb sentence) introduced by continues to be (in the place of the majruur noun after a preposition) ( ) My father ordered me to go to school He ordered that we do not go and that we do not call them They desire to run home 201
(d) may be placed after prepositions and (adverbs) to produce a number of idiomatic expressions This allows us to introduce a (a verb sentence) after prepositions and (adverbs) and the sentence it introduces are (in the place of the majruur noun after a preposition or in the place of the possessor) (i) ( until ) I will stay here until your departure I will stay here until you go (ii) ( on condition that, provided that ) I told you that on condition that you don t tell anyone (iii) / ( before ) You will see me before I go (iv) / ( after ) I will stay here after you go In the above expressions, if the action in the clause introduced by is complete, we use a (perfect verb) I took it with me before I left the house Hasan arrived after we left the house (v) ( without ) We must take this animal without killing it 202
(vi) ( without ) We must take this animal without killing it You must pass it without it seeing you 1623 Sisters of Like, her sisters make the imperfect verb : (a) In order to In order not to In order to In order not to In order to In order not to In order to (b) So that not So that (c) Will never (a),,,,,, ( in order to/not to ) These particles are interchangeable He came (in order) to invite me They (two) came to say something to us They went in order not to see me He went on that path in order not to pass by them 203
(Note: students should be careful not to mistake the particle that goes (before the imperfect verb) meaning in order to for the preposition, that goes (before the noun or pronoun) to mean to/for/belonging to They are two different words) (b) (not to be mistaken for the preposition or conjunction ) As a sister of, has two meanings, which can only be distinguished from context 1 so that I invited you so that you are present I invited you so that you are not amongst the absentees 2 until I will stay here until you come I will stay here until you come When means until it may be followed by a (perfect verb) He called him until he came I stayed there until he came They hit him until he died (c) ( never ) negates (the imperfect verbs) in the future Our Islam will never be complete without our call Your two brothers will never refuse to invite me 204
163 The imperfect verb 1631 The particle is used to negate an imperfect verb The peculiarity of is that although it negates an imperfect verb, the negation has a perfect meaning causes the imperfect verb to become, the singular ending in : He were not He were not Note that and bear the same meaning The particle is a sister of It too causes the imperfect verb to become Like the particle negates an imperfect verb with a perfect meaning but brings the negation up to the present time and additionally suggests that it is imminently to happen It may be translated as not yet but soon This not to be confused with before a perfect verb that means when He has not yet written (but will write soon) 1632 The following are the of the imperfect verb forms we have encountered so far preceded by : (a) The imperfect of the sound verb The imperfect of the sound verb is produced by replacing the with a for those verbs that end in and dropping the for those verbs that end in The (indicator) of in the sound verb is: 1 for the singular verbs and the first person plural 2 The dropping of for the duals, second person feminine singular, and masculine plurals As noted earlier the feminine third person and second person plurals and do not have case They are (fixed on sukuun) This never changes The on the feminine plural imperfect verbs is called (Lady Nun) This never drops 205
The imperfect of is conjugated as follows They did not write They (two) did not write He did not write Fem They did not write They (two) did not write She did not write You did not write You (two) did not write You did not write Fem You did not write You (two) did not write You did not write We did not write I did not write (b) The imperfect of hollow verbs When the hollow verb is made the middle or is dropped in those verbs that end in If we put a sukuun on the of, we have which causes (the coincidence of two sukuuns) In order to avoid this, we drop the or to arrive at : The (indicator) of in the hollow verb is: 1 for the singular verbs and the first person plural 2 The dropping of for the duals, second person feminine singular, and masculine plurals 206
The imperfect of is conjugated as follows They were not They (two) were not He was not Fem They were not They (two) were not She was not You were not You were not You (two) were not You (two) were not You were not You were not Fem We were not I was not It is quite common to omit the of as a stylistic alternative rendering He was nothing I was nothing The imperfect of is conjugated as follows They did not become They (two) did not become He did not become Fem They did not become They (two) did not become She did not become You did not become You (two) did not become You did not become Fem You did not become You (two) did not become You did not become We did not become I did not become 207
(c) The imperfect of doubled verbs The imperfect of the doubled verb is produced by replacing the with a for those verbs that end in and dropping the for those verbs that end in The (indicator) of on the doubled verb is: 1 for the singular verbs and the first person plural 2 The dropping of for the second person feminine singular, duals and masculine plurals The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not pass They (two) did not pass He did not pass Fem They did not pass They (two) did not pass She did not pass You did not pass You (two) did not pass You did not pass Fem You did not pass You (two) did not pass You did not pass We did not pass I did not pass (d) The imperfect of weak verbs The imperfect of the weak verb is produced by dropping the weak final letter for those verbs that end in the weak final letter and dropping the for those verbs that end in The (indicator) of on the weak verb is: 1 Dropping of the final weak letter for the singular verbs and the first person plural 2 The dropping of for the Dual feminine singular, duals and masculine plurals 208
(i) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not call They (two) did not call He did not call Fem They did not call They (two) did not call She did not call You did not call You (two) did not call You did not call Fem You did not call You (two) did not call You did not call We did not call I did not call (ii) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not run They (two) did not run He did not run Fem They did not run They (two) did not run She did not run You did not run You (two) did not run You did not run Fem You did not run You (two) did not run You did not run We did not run I did not run 209
(iii) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not refuse They (two) did not refuse He did not refuse Fem They did not refuse They (two) did not refuse She did not refuse You did not refuse You (two) did not refuse You did not refuse Fem You did not refuse You (two) did not refuse You did not refuse We did not refuse I did not refuse (iv) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not see They (two) did not see He did not see Fem They did not see They (two) did not see She did not see You did not see You (two) did not see You did not see Fem You did not see You (two) did not see You did not see We did not see I did not see 210
(v) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not remain They (two) did not remain He did not remain Fem They did not remain They (two) did not remain She did not remain You did not remain You (two) did not remain You did not remain Fem You did not remain You (two) did not remain You did not remain We did not remain I did not remain (vi) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not protect They (two) did not protect He did not protect Fem They did not protect They (two) did not protect She did not protect You did not protect You (two) did not protect You did not protect Fem You did not protect You (two) did not protect You did not protect We did not protect I did not protect 211
(vii) The imperfect of is conjugated as follows: They did not intend They (two) did not intend He did not intend Fem They did not intend They (two) did not intend She did not intend You did not intend You (two) did not intend You did not intend Fem You did not intend You (two) did not intend You did not intend We did not intend I did not intend 1633 The negative imperative is placed before an imperfect verb to produce a negative imperative This is called (the lam of prohibition) It only applies to the second person makes the imperative verb after it Do not write Do not (pl) refuse Do not be ignorant 1634 The mild positive imperative Imperative verbs normally only occur in the second person We do not normally command ourselves or those absent However, we may have occasion to say let him become or he should become, which is a sort of mild positive imperative This is achieved by placing the particle before the imperfect verb (not to be confused with the preposition or the sister of that makes imperfect verbs ) is called (the laam of the imperative) and causes the imperfect verb to be Most commonly used in the third person, it means let him, ie he should 212
Let him write / He should write may also be preceded by to make Let him write a book The Mild Positive Imperative is rarely used in the first person or second persons When it is used in the first person, it means let me/i should or let us/we should Let me pass him / I should pass him Let us call them / We should call them In the second person it means you / you should You sit / You should sit You be truthful Rarely and only in poetry, the may be omitted You be truthful 213
that / to that not / not to in order to in order to in order not to in order to in order not to in order to in order not to so that; until so that not will never / ( ) it is necessary/obligatory that it is necessary/obligatory that you go / you must go it is necessary that you don t go you mustn t go / ( ) it is rightful that it is rightful that you go 214
it is rightful that you do not go it is not rightful that you go ( ) it is possible that it is possible that he will go today it is possible that he will not go today it is not possible that he will go today (, ) former, previous formerly, previously have you read this book previously? formerly, previously have you read this book previously? did not did not (but will soon) let, should ( ) (- ) to order so to do ( sth) ( ) order, command ( ) to want 215
Exercise 161 Express in English : : : ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠ Exercise 162 Express in Arabic 1 Do not go to see them because they are not good 2 I mentioned that I had heard this opinion before and that it was not new 3 I will go out tomorrow in order to attend a meeting but I will not stay there long 4 She went out every night during the month in order to see the moon, but she did not see anything 5 He will never hear your demands until you demand many times 6 You must understand that Perhaps I did not make myself clear previously 7 Your understanding of these difficult statements in these old books was good Didn t they see that? 8 You have no right to demand all of these things from us 9 It is possible that they will ask you about your previous statements 10 They (two) invited you (two) so that you are not among the absent 11 I ordered him to come to me and told him not to do that in the future 12 Can my son go with you (pl) for he has not been there before? No, it is necessary for children to stay with their parents 216