Form III – Verbal Noun & Passive Voice | Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 10

Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 10: Form III – Verbal Noun & Passive Voice

Welcome to Lesson 10! Previously, you learned how to conjugate Form III verbs in the past and present tense. Today, we continue with:

• The Verbal Noun (Masdar / المصدر)
• The Passive Voice (المبني للمجهول)

Let's deepen your understanding of how Form III verbs are used in different contexts.

 

📘 Part 1: The Verbal Noun (المصدر)

The masdar represents the action or concept of the verb in a noun form — equivalent to "fighting," "discussion," "correspondence," etc.

Common Pattern for Form III Masdar:

• مُفَاعَلَةٌ or sometimes فِعَالٌ

Verb	Masdar	Meaning
قَاتَلَ (he fought)	مُقَاتَلَةٌ	fighting, combat
نَاقَشَ (he discussed)	مُنَاقَشَةٌ	discussion
كَاتَبَ (he corresponded)	مُكَاتَبَةٌ	correspondence
جَالَسَ (he sat with)	مُجَالَسَةٌ	sitting with
شَارَكَ (he participated)	مُشَارَكَةٌ	participation

Alternative shorter masdar patterns may appear, especially in spoken Arabic:

• قِتَالٌ (fighting)
• حِوَارٌ (dialogue)

Note: The longer مُفَاعَلَةٌ form emphasizes mutuality or interaction.

📗 Part 2: Passive Voice (المبني للمجهول)

The passive voice in Form III follows regular patterns. It is used when the doer (فاعل) of the action is unknown or unimportant.

🔹 Form III Past Passive

Pattern: فُوعِلَ

Example:

قُوتِلَ = He was fought

From: قَاتَلَ (He fought)

Other examples:

Active	Passive	Meaning
نَاقَشَ	نُوقِشَ	He was discussed
كَاتَبَ	كُوتِبَ	He was written to
شَارَكَ	شُورِكَ	He was involved / joined

🔹 Form III Present Passive

Pattern: يُفَاعَلُ

Example:

يُقَاتَلُ = He is being fought

From: يُقَاتِلُ (He fights)

Other examples:

Active	Passive	Meaning
يُنَاقِشُ	يُنَاقَشُ	He is being discussed
يُكَاتِبُ	يُكَاتَبُ	He is being written to
يُشَارِكُ	يُشَارَكُ	He is being involved / included

📝 Key Distinction

Both the active and passive forms of Form III look similar, so the vowel on the second radical is key:

• Active: يُفَاعِلُ (with kasrah under the second root letter)
• Passive: يُفَاعَلُ (with fatḥah under the second root letter)

Summary Chart

Tense	Active	Passive
Past	فَاعَلَ	فُوعِلَ
Present	يُفَاعِلُ	يُفَاعَلُ
Masdar	مُفَاعَلَةٌ	—

✅ Practice

Fill in the masdar and passive voice for the following Form III verbs:

Verb	Masdar	Past Passive	Present Passive
شَارَكَ	?	?	?
جَالَسَ	?	?	?
كَاتَبَ	?	?	?

📝 Show Answers

Verb	Masdar	Past Passive	Present Passive
شَارَكَ	مُشَارَكَةٌ	شُورِكَ	يُشَارَكُ
جَالَسَ	مُجَالَسَةٌ	جُولِسَ	يُجَالَسُ
كَاتَبَ	مُكَاتَبَةٌ	كُوتِبَ	يُكَاتَبُ

🎯 Conclusion

Now you can:

• Identify the masdar (verbal noun) for Form III verbs
• Form the passive voice in past and present
• Recognize Form III's emphasis on mutual or interactive actions

This knowledge will help you understand classical Arabic, Quranic expressions, and even media or formal writing more deeply.

🔜 Coming Up Next (Lesson 11):
We'll begin Form IV (أَفْعَلَ) — a powerful pattern often used for causative and transitive meanings.