The Basic Present Verbal Sentence in Arabic

Similar to the basic past verbal sentence, the basic present verbal sentence in Arabic الْجُمْلَةُ الْفِعْلِيَّةُ الْبَسِيطَةُ is composed of a verb فِعْل, a subject فَاعِل, and an object مَفْعُول. The object can be optional, depending on the type of the verb. It always starts with the verb. The verb can be intransitive لَازِم or transitive مُتَعَدِّي. The Intransitive verb does not require an object, whereas the transitive verb requires an object. Therefore, the basic present verbal sentence in Arabic has the following patterns: (1) verb (present/imperfective form) + subject and (2) verb (present/imperfective form) + subject + object. These two patterns may be followed adverbial phrases of place, time, or manner.

So, the focus of this lesson is the present verbal sentence in Arabic, which begins with the present or imperfective form of the verb الْفِعْلُ الْمُضَارِعُ. 

(1) The Intransitive Verb الْفِعْلُ اللَّازِمُ:

As stated earlier, the intransitive verb is the verb that does not require an object to make a meaningful sentence. The pattern of the sentence with an intransitive verb is verb + subject + adverbial. The adverbial is optional and depends on how much meaning we add to the sentence. The sentence of this pattern is either one-word or two-word sentence, apart from the adverbial(s), as we can see in these examples: 

(A) One-word Sentences: verb + subject + (adverbial)

In (1), (2), (3), (4), (7), and (10), the subject الْفَاعِل is not overt or explicit ظَاهِر. It is covert or implicit مُسْتَتِر, and it can be inferred from the prefix on the verb. The أَ in (1) is for the pronoun أَنَا, so the covert subject is أَنَا 'I'. In (2), نُـ is for the pronoun نَحْنُ, so the covert subject is نَحْنُ 'we'. The تَـ in (3) is for the pronoun هِيَ, so the covert subject is هِيَ 'she'. In (4) and (7), يَـ is for the pronoun هُوَ, so covert subject is هُوَ 'he'. In (10), تَـ is for the pronoun أَنْتَ, so the covert subject is أَنْتَ 'you'. The تَـ in (3) and (10) are the same. To figure out whether it is for هِيَ or أَنْتَ, we can infer it from the context.  

In (5), (6), (8), (9), and (11), the subject الْفَاعِلُ is an overt connected pronoun. The ون in (5) and (8) is for masculine plural, namely for the 2nd person in (5) (indicated by the prefix تَـ) and for the 3rd person in (8) (indicated by the prefix يَـ). ينَ in (6) is for the 2nd person feminine singular. نَ  in (9) and (11) is for feminine plural, namely for the 3rd person in (9) (indicated by the prefix يَـ) and  for the 2nd person in (11) (indicated by the prefix تَـ). 

Both covert and overt subjects in these sentences refer to nouns or pronouns that are stated in (previous) contexts. In يَصُومُ كُلَّ خَمِيسٍ, for example, the covert subject هُوَ refers to a male person (Ali, Salah, Sam, ...) that is mentioned before by the speaker or writer. 

(2) The Transitive Verb الْفِعْلُ الْمُتَعَدِّي:

(A) One-word Sentences: verb + subject + object + (adverbial)

In these sentences, the verb الْفِعْل, the subject الْفَاعِل (in orange), and the object الْمَفْعُول (in green) are combined in one word. In sentences (3), (6), (7), (9), and (10), the subject and the object are connected pronouns. On the other hand, in sentences (1), (2), (4), (5), (8), (11), and (12), the subjects of the verbs are covert or implicit مُسْتَتر. They can be inferred from the prefix on the verb, as explained earlier. The objects in these sentences are connected pronouns (in green).

In (1), (4), and (5), the covert subject الْفَاعُلُ الْمُسْتَتِرُ refers to a noun that precedes the verb. So, this type of sentences is always embedded in a nominal sentence.

In (2), (8), (11), and (12), the covert subject الْفَاعِلُ الْمُسْتَتِرُ does not refer to a noun preceding the verb. In (2) and (8), it refers to the the first person singular (i.e., أَنَا). It refers to the second person masculine singular (i.e., أَنْتَ) in (11). In (12) it refers to the fist person plural (i.e., نَحْنُ). This is indicated by the prefixes أَ, نَـ, and تَـ.  In sentences (8) to (12), the object الْمَفْعُول is followed by an adverbial phrase. As for the abbreviations, (m, pl) = masculine plural, (m, s) = masculine singular, and (f, pl) = feminine plural. 

(B) Three-word Sentences: verb + subject + object + (adverbial)

In these sentences, the subject الْفَاعِل (in orange) and the object الْمَفْعُول (in green) are separate nouns, hence three-word sentence (verb + subject + object). Since the verb الْفِعْل precedes the subject الْفَاعِل, it does not agree with it in number. In (3), (5), (7), and (8), the subject is plural, but the form of the the verb is singular.

In all these sentences, the subject الْفَاعِل is an overt noun. It is never a separate pronoun. So, sentences like يَشْرَبُ هُوَ الْمَاءَ, تُنَظِّفُ هِيَ الْبَيْتَ, يُشَاهِدُ هُمُ الْمُبَارَاةَ, and تَضْرِب أَنْتَ الْوَلَد are impossible in Arabic. In the sentences (6) to (11), the object الْمَفْعُول is followed by an adverbial phrase. 

The present or imperfective forms of the verbs, in all the sentences in this lesson, correspond to the present simple or the present continuous in English, hence: 

يَشْرَبُ الطِّفْلُ الْحَلِيْبَ. = The boy drinks milk OR the boy is drinking milk

تَكْتُبُهَا بِسُرْعَةٍ. = She writes it fast OR she is writing it fast 

تَنَامُ فَاطِمَةُ عَلَى الْأَرِيكَةِ. = Fatima sleeps on the sofa OR Fatima is sleeping on the sofa. 

يَجْلِسُ هُنَا. = He sits here OR he is sitting here