عَمِلَ is the central Modern Standard Arabic verb for “work,” but the English word hides several Arabic frames. A person works in an organization, works on a task, or works as a specialist; a machine simply “works, functions”; a rule may be “in force.” The preposition is therefore part of the meaning, not decoration added after the verb.
Unlike English do, عمل is not a general question-support verb. It can mean “do, carry out” in some contexts, but lexical فعل is the more neutral verb when the point is simply what someone did; compare the reference page for فعل. This page keeps that distinction visible while treating عمل as a complete lexical entry.
Lookup card: عَمِلَ — يَعْمَلُ
The root is ع-م-ل. عَمِلَ is a sound Form-I verb with the verified perfect–imperfect pairing فَعِلَ — يَفْعَلُ. It has no weak radical or hamza and conjugates regularly.
| Part | Form | Core meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 3 m.sg. | عَمِلَ | he worked |
| imperfect, 3 m.sg. | يَعْمَلُ | he works / it functions |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | اِعْمَلْ | work! |
| maṣdar | عَمَلٌ | work; action |
| active participle | عَامِلٌ | worker; operative factor |
| passive participle | مَعْمُولٌ | made; acted upon |
| passive | عُمِلَ / يُعْمَلُ | was done / is acted upon |
The maṣdar عَمَل is extraordinarily productive: سوق العمل “labor market,” ساعات العمل “working hours,” فريق عمل “working team,” and خطة عمل “action plan.” The active participle عامل can mean a worker or, in formal and academic prose, a factor that produces an effect. The passive participle is especially common in معمول به “in force, followed, observed.”
عملت مريم في المستشفى خمس سنوات.
ʿamilat maryamu fī l-mustashfā khamsa sanawāt.
Maryam worked at the hospital for five years. (Formal neutral.)
يعمل هذا الجهاز بالطاقة الشمسية.
yaʿmalu hādhā l-jihāzu biṭ-ṭāqati sh-shamsiyya.
This device runs on solar power. (Formal technical register.)
Working in, on, and as
Use عمل في + place, organization, or field for the setting in which someone works. The noun after في is not the task; it is the institutional, physical, or professional domain.
يعمل أخي في شركة للبرمجيات.
yaʿmalu ʾakhī fī sharikatin lil-barmajiyyāt.
My brother works at a software company. (Formal neutral.)
Use عمل على + project, problem, or goal when work is directed toward developing or completing something. The construction often translates English work on closely, but the semantic distinction remains important.
تعمل الباحثتان على تطوير لقاح جديد.
taʿmalu l-bāḥithatāni ʿalā taṭwīri liqāḥin jadīd.
The two researchers are working on developing a new vaccine. (Formal VSO; singular verb before a dual subject.)
For a job or role, careful MSA uses عمل + occupational predicate, frequently عمل مهندسًا or عمل كمهندس. The direct predicative accusative is concise and formal; كـ explicitly means “as, in the capacity of.” Neither describes an employer.
عمل والدي معلما قبل أن يتولى إدارة المدرسة.
ʿamila wālidī muʿalliman qabla ʾan yatawallā ʾidārata l-madrasa.
My father worked as a teacher before taking over the school’s administration. (Formal.)
تعمل ليلى كمستشارة قانونية للمؤسسة.
taʿmalu laylā ka-mustashāratin qānūniyyatin lil-muʾassasa.
Layla works as a legal adviser to the organization. (Formal.)
English speakers often overload at: “at a bank,” “at the new system,” and “at being an engineer” are not parallel meanings. Arabic makes the relation explicit with في، على، or a role predicate.
Functioning and operating by a method
With machines, systems, and institutions as subject, عمل means “function, operate.” No reflexive form is needed. A power source or operating mechanism commonly follows بـ: يعمل بالكهرباء “runs on electricity,” يعمل بنظام آلي “operates by an automated system.”
لا تعمل المصاعد أثناء انقطاع الكهرباء.
lā taʿmalu l-maṣāʿidu ʾathnāʾa nqiṭāʿi l-kahrabāʾ.
The elevators do not operate during a power outage. (Formal; nonhuman plural takes feminine-singular agreement.)
يعمل المختبر بنظام مناوبات على مدار الساعة.
yaʿmalu l-mukhtabaru biniẓāmi munāwabātin ʿalā madāri s-sāʿa.
The laboratory operates on a shift system around the clock. (Formal.)
In official prose, عمل بـ + rule, law, or decision means “apply, act under, put into practice.” The expression المعمول به describes what is currently observed or in force.
يعمل بهذا النظام منذ بداية العام.
yuʿmalu bihādhā n-niẓāmi mundhu bidāyati l-ʿām.
This system has been in force since the beginning of the year. (Formal impersonal passive.)
ستراجع اللجنة الإجراءات المعمول بها حاليا.
saturājiʿu l-lajnatu l-ʾijrāʾāti l-maʿmūla bihā ḥāliyyan.
The committee will review the procedures currently in force. (Formal administrative register.)
“Work,” “do,” and “make” are different choices
عمل can take a direct object when it means “perform, do,” particularly with a general or cognate object such as عملًا ممتازًا “excellent work” or عمل الخير “do good.” Yet many English combinations with do select another Arabic verb. One يؤدي واجبًا “performs a duty,” يجري بحثًا “conducts research,” and يتخذ قرارًا “makes a decision.” Using عمل everywhere is understandable but unidiomatic.
عمل الفريق عملا ممتازا رغم ضيق الوقت.
ʿamila l-farīqu ʿamalan mumtāzan raghma ḍīqi l-waqt.
The team did excellent work despite the shortage of time. (Formal.)
يعمل المتطوعون لخدمة الأسر المتضررة.
yaʿmalu l-mutaṭawwiʿūna likhidmati l-ʾusari l-mutaḍarrira.
The volunteers work to serve the affected families. (Formal.)
In that sentence the verb comes before the human plural subject, so neutral formal VSO uses singular يعمل. If the subject came first—المتطوعون يعملون لخدمة الأسر المتضررة—the verb would agree fully in the plural.
A compact paradigm
| Person | Perfect | Imperfect | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|
| هو | عَمِلَ | يَعْمَلُ | — |
| هي | عَمِلَتْ | تَعْمَلُ | — |
| أنتَ | عَمِلْتَ | تَعْمَلُ | اِعْمَلْ |
| أنتِ | عَمِلْتِ | تَعْمَلِينَ | اِعْمَلِي |
| هم / أنتم | عَمِلُوا / عَمِلْتُمْ | يَعْمَلُونَ / تَعْمَلُونَ | اِعْمَلُوا |
| نحن | عَمِلْنَا | نَعْمَلُ | — |
The command is possible and common in exhortations—اعمل بجد “work hard”—but workplace instructions normally prefer a precise task verb. The hamzat al-waṣl is heard initially as i- and disappears after a preceding word.
اعملوا معا، وسينتهي المشروع في موعده.
iʿmalū maʿan, wa-sayantahī l-mashrūʿu fī mawʿidih.
Work together, and the project will be finished on time. (Formal exhortation to a male or mixed group.)
Common Mistakes
Using على for the workplace
❌ تعمل ندى على شركة دولية.
Incorrect for employment at a company—على introduces a project or goal, not the employing organization.
✅ تعمل ندى في شركة دولية.
taʿmalu nadā fī sharikatin dawliyya.
Nada works at an international company.
Using في for a project under development
❌ نعمل في تحديث الموقع.
Incorrect for the intended ‘work on’ meaning—use على for the task or project being developed.
✅ نعمل على تحديث الموقع.
naʿmalu ʿalā taḥdīthi l-mawqiʿ.
We are working on updating the website.
Copying English “make a decision” word for word
❌ عملت اللجنة قرارا نهائيا.
Incorrect collocation—formal MSA normally uses اتخذ قرارا ‘make/take a decision.’
✅ اتخذت اللجنة قرارا نهائيا.
ittakhadhati l-lajnatu qarāran nihāʾiyyan.
The committee made a final decision.
Giving a nonhuman plural full plural agreement
❌ المصاعد لا يعملون الآن.
Incorrect—nonhuman plurals take feminine-singular agreement in standard Arabic.
✅ المصاعد لا تعمل الآن.
al-maṣāʿidu lā taʿmalu l-ʾān.
The elevators are not working now.
Key Takeaways
- Learn عَمِلَ — يَعْمَلُ — عَمَلًا as a regular Form-I principal-part set.
- في marks the workplace or field, على the task or project, كـ a role, and بـ a method, system, or rule.
- Machines and institutions can be subjects of عمل in the sense “function, operate.”
- معمول به is the standard formal expression for a rule or procedure currently in force.
Now practice Arabic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- فعل — do and serve as the traditional morphological templateB1 — Use فعل accurately as the lexical verb ‘do’ while keeping it distinct from ف-ع-ل as Arabic grammar’s abstract root-and-pattern template.
- جعل — makeA2 — Use جعل for making, rendering, appointing, placing, and beginning, with clear control of its one-object, two-object, and inchoative frames.
- كان — beA2 — Reference the hollow verb كان across its full paradigm, copular and existential senses, predicate case, conditionals, and high-frequency collocations.