Mastering the Arabic Command Verb: How to Form Fiʿl al-Amr

Giving Orders: Fiʿl al-Amr (فعل الأمر)

How do you tell someone to "Read," "Sit," or "Go" in Arabic? The Command Verb (Amr) is unique because it only exists for the 2nd person (the people you are talking to directly). You cannot "command" someone who isn't there!

How to Form the Amr (The 3-Step Process)

The Command is born from the Present Tense (Mudāriʿ). Let's use the verb "to write" (Taktubu - You write) as an example:

1. Step 1: Take the 2nd person present tense verb: تَكْتُبُ (Taktubu).
2. Step 2: Remove the "Ta" prefix: كْتُبْ. (Notice the first letter is now silent, which is hard to pronounce).
3. Step 3: Add an Alif (Alif al-Wasl) at the beginning and put a Sukūn at the end: اُكْتُبْ (Uktub!).

Conjugation for the 2nd Person

Pronoun	Command Verb	Meaning
You (Anta - m)	اِفْعَلْ	Do!
You (Anti - f)	اِفْعَلِي	Do! (f)
You (Antumā - dual)	اِفْعَلَا	Do! (both of you)
You (Antum - plural m)	اِفْعَلُوا	Do! (all of you)
You (Antunna - plural f)	اِفْعَلْنَ	Do! (all of you ladies)

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The Vowel Secret:

If the middle letter of the present tense has a Damma (like Taktubu), the Alif of the command gets a Damma (Uktub). Otherwise, it gets a Kasra (Ijlis).

What's Next?

We've finished the three basic verb types! Now we move into the "Nouns of Action." Our next post will be about **Ism al-Fāʿil (The Active Participle)**—how to turn any verb into the name of the person doing it (e.g., Writer, Teacher, Traveler).