Form X Verbs (اِسْتَفْعَلَ) | Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 18

Arabic Morphology (Ṣarf) Lesson 18: Form X Verbs (اِسْتَفْعَلَ)

Tip: Form X is one of the most versatile verb forms in Arabic, often used to express seeking, requesting, or intentional actions.

Welcome to Lesson 18! In this final lesson on the ten core derived verb forms, we explore Form X (اِسْتَفْعَلَ). This form is extremely versatile and widely used in classical and modern Arabic to indicate seeking, requesting, pretending, or considering.

Form X: The Pattern

Base Patterns:

• Past Tense: اِسْتَفْعَلَ
• Present Tense: يَسْتَفْعِلُ
• Masdar (Verbal Noun): اِسْتِفْعَالٌ

Example Root: غ-ف-ر (to forgive)

• Form I: غَفَرَ = he forgave
• Form X: اِسْتَغْفَرَ = he sought forgiveness

Common Meanings of Form X

Form X verbs often convey the meaning of:

• ✅ Seeking or requesting an action
• ✅ Pretending to be something
• ✅ Considering or deeming something as being
• ✅ Doing something for oneself

Memory Aid: Think of Form X as the "to ask/request for [Form I]" or "to seek [the meaning of the root]" form.

🔍 Meaning Types with Examples

Root	Form X Verb	Meaning	Type
غ-ف-ر	اِسْتَغْفَرَ	he sought forgiveness	Seeking
خ-ر-ج	اِسْتَخْرَجَ	he extracted	Requested or brought out
ع-ل-م	اِسْتَعْلَمَ	he inquired	Asked for knowledge
ع-م-ل	اِسْتَعْمَلَ	he used/employed	Caused to work
ه-ز-ء	اِسْتَهْزَأَ	he mocked	Pretending or feigning

📘 Form X Past Tense Conjugation (اِسْتَفْعَلَ)

Using اِسْتَغْفَرَ (he sought forgiveness):

Subject	Arabic	Transliteration
He	اِسْتَغْفَرَ	istaghfara
They (dual)	اِسْتَغْفَرَا	istaghfarā
They (pl. m)	اِسْتَغْفَرُوا	istaghfarū
She	اِسْتَغْفَرَتْ	istaghfarat
They (pl. f)	اِسْتَغْفَرْنَ	istaghfarna
You (m)	اِسْتَغْفَرْتَ	istaghfarta
You (f)	اِسْتَغْفَرْتِ	istaghfarti
I	اِسْتَغْفَرْتُ	istaghfartu
We	اِسْتَغْفَرْنَا	istaghfarnā

📗 Form X Present Tense Conjugation (يَسْتَفْعِلُ)

Using يَسْتَغْفِرُ (he seeks forgiveness):

Subject	Arabic	Transliteration
He	يَسْتَغْفِرُ	yastaghfiru
She	تَسْتَغْفِرُ	tastaghfiru
I	أَسْتَغْفِرُ	astaghfiru
You (m)	تَسْتَغْفِرُ	tastaghfiru
You (f)	تَسْتَغْفِرِينَ	tastaghfirīna
We	نَسْتَغْفِرُ	nastaghfiru
They (pl. m)	يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ	yastaghfirūna
You (pl. m)	تَسْتَغْفِرُونَ	tastaghfirūna
They (pl. f)	يَسْتَغْفِرْنَ	yastaghfirna

📚 Masdar (Verbal Noun) of Form X

Pattern: اِسْتِفْعَالٌ

Verb	Masdar	Meaning
اِسْتَغْفَرَ	اِسْتِغْفَارٌ	seeking forgiveness
اِسْتَعْمَلَ	اِسْتِعْمَالٌ	use/employment
اِسْتَخْرَجَ	اِسْتِخْرَاجٌ	extraction
اِسْتَعْلَمَ	اِسْتِعْلَامٌ	inquiry
اِسْتَهْزَأَ	اِسْتِهْزَاءٌ	mockery

📝 Practice Activity

Conjugate the Form X verb اِسْتَعْمَلَ (he used) in past and present:

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

📝 Show Answers

Tense	Arabic	Transliteration
He (Past)	اِسْتَعْمَلَ	istaʿmala
I (Past)	اِسْتَعْمَلْتُ	istaʿmaltu
He (Present)	يَسْتَعْمِلُ	yastaʿmilu
We (Present)	نَسْتَعْمِلُ	nastaʿmilu

Summary Table

Form	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Past	اِسْتَفْعَلَ	اِسْتَغْفَرَ	he sought forgiveness
Present	يَسْتَفْعِلُ	يَسْتَغْفِرُ	he seeks forgiveness
Masdar	اِسْتِفْعَالٌ	اِسْتِغْفَارٌ	seeking forgiveness

Conclusion

Form X is a powerful and dynamic form that allows you to express intent, request, or purposeful action. It's one of the most common patterns in both religious and everyday language.

📘 Next Steps

You've now completed all ten core verb forms of Arabic morphology! 🎉

In the next part of this series, we'll begin learning passive voice, derived noun forms, and verb application in sentences.