Arabic: An Essential Grammar

28.10 Imperative mood

The imperative mood َأْ َلأ ْمـ ُر is formed from the second person (sing.,

du., pl.; masc. and fem.) of the jussive mood by skipping the personal

prefix ...تـ َ /ta.../ and replacing it with hamzatu l-qat

̇



i (written on/under




alif) and d

̇

ammah ُأ /

u/ or kasrah (^) ِإ /


i/, in accordance with the
following rules:
(a) When the verb has d
̇
ammah /u/ on the middle radical in the
imperfect tense, the hamzah will take d
̇
ammah in the imperative
mood: ُأ /


u/, e.g.
(b) When the verb has fath
̇
ah /a/ or kasrah /i/ on the middle radical in
the imperfect tense, the hamzah will take kasrah in the imperative
mood: ِإ /


i/, e.g.
Exercises
Practise your reading:
ْمـَل
1
ُرـيِزَوْل ِلَبـْقَي
2
يِذَّ ل َحاَرِتْقِْلا
3
ُهَحَرَط
4
ُسِلْجَم
5
(. ٌبِئاَن ) ِبا وَُّّ نل
(1) The minister did not
1
accept
2
the proposal which was
3
submitted by
4,5
the Parliament (
4
council of
5
deputies).
1
َضَفَر
2
ُبَلْغَأ
3
يِف َنيِكِراَشُمـْل
4
اوُبَرْشَي ْنَأ ِسْرُعْل ِةَلْفَح
5

. اًذيِبَن

(2)

2

Most of

3

those attending

4

the wedding party

1

refused to drink

5

wine.

1

ُتْلَخَد

2

َدَهْعَم

3

يِكْنِسْلَه ِةَعِماَج يِف ِة َّ يِبَرَعْل ِتاَساَر َّ دل

4

َمَّ لَعَتَأ ى َّتَح

5

َةَغ ُّ لـل

6

ىَلَع َلُصْحَأَو

7

. ٍةَداَهَش

(3)

1

I entered

2

the Institute of Arabic

3

Studies at the University of Helsinki

4

to study

5

the language

6

and get

7

a degree.

2nd pers. sing. jussive 2nd pers. sing. imperative

َت ْكـ ُت ْب taktub ُأ ْكـ ُت ْب^

uktub! Write!

َت ْذ َهـ ْب tad

̄

hab ِإ ْذ َه ْب

id

̄

hab! Go!

َت ْجِل ْس tag ̆lis ِإ ْجِل ْس^

ig ̆lis! Sit!

214

Moods:

subjunctive,

jussive

(apocopa-

tus),

imperative