Arabic: An Essential Grammar

reference form for the said verb with all its various forms, َكـ َتـ َب kataba is

conventionally translated by the English infinitive ‘to write’.

14.3 Root and radicals

Most of the Arabic basic verb forms consist of three consonants

(radicals) and three vowels (CVCVCV). The three consonants constitute

the root of the verb, which is why they are called radicals (i.e. ‘root-

makers’). (Vowels cannot function as radicals.) It is important to know

and recognize the root of every verb, because the root is the absolute

(invariable) basis of all the different forms of the verb as well as of

most nouns, adjectives and adverbs and even many prepositions. In

Arabic dictionaries most words and word forms are therefore entered

alphabetically under the respective root.

Note: The abbreviation ‘C’ above denotes ‘consonant’ and ‘V’ denotes ‘vowel’.

14.4 Triliteral verbs

(a) Roots with three radicals are called triliteral verbs (singular:

ّثـ َلا ِثيَُأْل ِف ْع ُل ْلـ^

al-fi



lu t

̄

-t

̄

ula ̄t

̄

ı ̄). Thus the root of the triliteral verb

kataba ‘to write’ is k-t-b. This is the form under which you will

find the verb kataba (and other forms of this verb) in Arabic

dictionaries.

(b) The triliteral verbs have three patterns of vowelling. In the basic

form the first and last consonants (radicals) are always vowelled

with fath

̇

ah /a/. But the middle consonant (radical) may be

vowelled with any of the three short vowels:

14.5 Separate personal pronouns for the subject and object are

usually not used in Arabic verbal sentences. Verbs are conjugated for the

CaCaCa CaCiCa CaCuCa

َكـ َتـ َب َشـ ِر َب َكـ ُبـ َر

kataba sˇariba kabura

he wrote he drank he grew up

79

Perfect

tense, root,

radicals,

triliteral

verbs, word

order