Form VII Verbs (اِنْفَعَلَ) | Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 15

Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 15: Form VII Verbs (اِنْفَعَلَ)

Welcome to Lesson 15! In this lesson, we explore Form VII verbs, built by prefixing اِنْـ to the Form I root. This form often expresses passive, reflexive, or involuntary action.

Form VII: The Pattern

Base Patterns:

• Past Tense: اِنْفَعَلَ
• Present Tense: يَنْفَعِلُ
• Masdar (Verbal Noun): اِنْفِعَالٌ

Example Root: ف-ت-ح (to open)

• Form I: فَتَحَ = he opened
• Form VII: اِنْفَتَحَ = it was opened / it opened itself

Common Meanings of Form VII

Form VII is generally used to express:

• ✅ Passive meaning of Form I
• ✅ Reflexive or involuntary action
• ✅ Sudden or unexpected occurrence

Meaning Types with Examples:

Root	Form VII	Meaning	Type
ف-ت-ح	اِنْفَتَحَ	it was opened	Passive
ق-ط-ع	اِنْقَطَعَ	it was cut off / it stopped	Involuntary
ك-س-ر	اِنْكَسَرَ	it was broken	Passive
ص-ل-ح	اِنْصَلَحَ	it was fixed	Resultative
غ-ل-ق	اِنْغَلَقَ	it closed (by itself)	Reflexive

📘 Form VII Past Tense Conjugation (اِنْفَعَلَ)

Using اِنْفَتَحَ (it was opened):

Subject	Arabic	Transliteration
He	اِنْفَتَحَ	infataḥa
They (dual)	اِنْفَتَحَا	infataḥā
They (pl. m)	اِنْفَتَحُوا	infataḥū
She	اِنْفَتَحَتْ	infataḥat
They (pl. f)	اِنْفَتَحْنَ	infataḥna
You (m)	اِنْفَتَحْتَ	infataḥta
You (f)	اِنْفَتَحْتِ	infataḥti
I	اِنْفَتَحْتُ	infataḥtu
We	اِنْفَتَحْنَا	infataḥnā

📗 Form VII Present Tense Conjugation (يَنْفَعِلُ)

Using يَنْفَتِحُ (it opens itself):

Subject	Arabic	Transliteration
He	يَنْفَتِحُ	yanfatiḥu
She	تَنْفَتِحُ	tanfatiḥu
I	أَنْفَتِحُ	anfatiḥu
You (m)	تَنْفَتِحُ	tanfatiḥu
You (f)	تَنْفَتِحِينَ	tanfatiḥīna
We	نَنْفَتِحُ	nanfatiḥu
They (pl. m)	يَنْفَتِحُونَ	yanfatiḥūna
You (pl. m)	تَنْفَتِحُونَ	tanfatiḥūna
They (pl. f)	يَنْفَتِحْنَ	yanfatiḥna

📚 Masdar (Verbal Noun) of Form VII

Pattern: اِنْفِعَالٌ

Verb	Masdar	Meaning
اِنْفَتَحَ	اِنْفِتَاحٌ	opening (of something)
اِنْكَسَرَ	اِنْكِسَارٌ	breakage
اِنْقَطَعَ	اِنْقِطَاعٌ	interruption
اِنْصَرَفَ	اِنْصِرَافٌ	departure
اِنْهَارَ	اِنْهِيَارٌ	collapse

💡 Note: These masdars are often used in news headlines and reports.

📝 Practice Activity

Conjugate the Form VII verb اِنْقَطَعَ (it was cut off / it stopped) in the past and present:

Tense	Arabic	Transliteration
He (Past)	?	?
I (Past)	?	?
He (Present)	?	?
We (Present)	?	?

📝 Show Answers

Tense	Arabic	Transliteration
He (Past)	اِنْقَطَعَ	inqaṭaʿa
I (Past)	اِنْقَطَعْتُ	inqaṭaʿtu
He (Present)	يَنْقَطِعُ	yanqaṭiʿu
We (Present)	نَنْقَطِعُ	nanqaṭiʿu

Summary Table

Form	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Past	اِنْفَعَلَ	اِنْفَتَحَ	it was opened
Present	يَنْفَعِلُ	يَنْفَتِحُ	it opens itself
Masdar	اِنْفِعَالٌ	اِنْفِتَاحٌ	Opening

Conclusion

Form VII gives Arabic speakers a way to express passive or reflexive meanings in a natural, built-in form. You'll often hear and read this pattern in both modern and classical Arabic.

🔜 Coming Up Next (Lesson 16):
We'll dive into Form VIII (اِفْتَعَلَ)—used for doing something for oneself, effort-based actions, or when the root starts with certain letters.