Arabic: An Essential Grammar

Remember from chapter 32 that the two verbs َكا َن ka ̄na ‘he was’ and

َل ْي َس laysa ‘is not, are not’, have no passive forms.

37.4 The verb َزا َل za ̄la (imperfect: َي َزا ُل yaza ̄lu) ‘to cease, to disappear,

to go away’ is another sister of َكا َن ka ̄na. It can be used as an aspectual

auxiliary in the perfect or imperfect tense, preceded by the negative

particle َما ma ̄, َلا la ̄ or َل ْم lam, and followed either by a verb in the

imperfect tense or by a verbal adjective or a noun in the accusative

case. Both these constructions signify that the action has not ceased, the

activity or state is still continuing, e.g.

ِفي ْلـ َجا ِم َع ِةَما َزا َ ل/ َلا َي َزا ُ ل/ َل ْم َي َز ْل َي ْد ُر ُس

ma ̄ za ̄la / la ̄ yaza ̄lu / lam yazal yadrusu fı- l-g ̆a ̄mi



ati.

He is still (lit. did not cease) studying at the university.

ياًَّما َزا َ ل/ َلا َي َزا ُ ل/ َل ْم َي َز ْل َح

ma ̄ za ̄la / la ̄ yaza ̄lu / lam yazal h

̇

ayyan.

He is still alive. (lit. He did not cease being alive.)

37.5 The verb َعا َد



a ̄da (imperf.: َي ُعو ُد ya



u ̄du) ‘to return, to do again, to

resume’ is somewhat similar to the above verb َزا َل za ̄la.

(a) When it is preceded by the negative particle َما ma ̄ or َل ْم lam, the

meaning is: ‘not again, no longer’, e.g.

ِفي ْلـ َجا ِم َع ِةَعا َد َي ْد ُر ُس



a ̄da yadrusu fı- l-g ̆a ̄mi



ati.

He resumed studying at the university.

ِفي ْلـ َجا ِم َع ِةَما َعا َ د / َل ْم َي ُع ْد َي ْد ُر ُس

ma ̄



a ̄da / lam ya



ud yadrusu fı- l-g ̆a ̄mi



ati.

He is no longer studying at the university. OR

He no longer studies at the university.

(b) The IVth form of the above verb َعا َد



a ̄da is َأ َعا َد

a



a ̄da. When it is

followed by a defined noun in the accusative case, it will have the

meaning ‘to do again, to give back, re-’, e.g.

َأ َعا َد ْل ِك َتا َب




a



a ̄da l-kita ̄ba. He returned / gave back the book.

291

Verbs of

wonder, the

negative

copula,

special verbs

and uses