بَقِيَ — يَبْقَى means “remain, stay, be left.” It is Form I from the final-weak root ب-ق-ي. The final yāʾ is visible in بقيتُ but surfaces as alif maqṣūra in يبقى, and the entire weak ending disappears in لم يبقَ and ابقَ. That alternation is the main morphological challenge.
Syntactically, بقي has two major shapes. It may be a complete verb—بقي في المكتب “he stayed in the office”—or an incomplete copular verb—بقي الباب مفتوحا “the door remained open.” English uses remain for both, but Arabic case reveals the second structure: the subject is nominative and the predicate is accusative.
For the same deletion across final-weak verbs, see final-weak verbs in the moods.
Lookup card and principal parts
| Item | Form | Use |
|---|---|---|
| root and Form | ب-ق-ي، Form I | defective/final-yāʾ verb |
| perfect | بَقِيَ | he/it remained |
| imperfect | يَبْقَى | he/it remains |
| imperative | اِبْقَ | stay!; final weak letter deleted |
| maṣdar | بَقَاءٌ | remaining, survival, permanence |
| active participle | بَاقٍ / الْبَاقِي | remaining; the rest |
| passive | not productive in ordinary MSA | the verb is normally intransitive or copular |
The indefinite nominative or genitive participle loses its final yāʾ in writing: باقٍ. The yāʾ returns with the article, in construct, or in the feminine: الباقي، باقي الوقت، باقية. Do not infer a common passive participle merely because the theoretical pattern can be generated; contemporary Arabic expresses “kept” with a transitive verb such as أبقى or احتفظ بـ.
بقي موظفان في المكتب بعد انتهاء الدوام.
baqiya muwaẓẓafāni fī l-maktabi baʿda ntihāʾi d-dawām.
Two employees stayed in the office after working hours ended. (Formal neutral.)
يبقى هذا الخيار متاحا حتى نهاية الشهر.
yabqā hādhā l-khiyāru mutāḥan ḥattā nihāyati sh-shahr.
This option remains available until the end of the month. (Formal.)
The useful weak paradigm
The long final vowel survives in the indicative and subjunctive singular يبقى، لن يبقى, although the subjunctive ending is not visibly distinct. The jussive deletes it: لم يبقَ. In the perfect, the underlying yāʾ returns before consonant-initial suffixes: بقيتُ، بقينا; it drops before masculine plural وا: بقوا.
| Environment | Forms | Stem behavior |
|---|---|---|
| perfect | بَقِيَ، بَقِيَتْ، بَقِيتُ، بَقُوا | yāʾ surfaces before consonantal suffixes, but drops before وا |
| indicative | يَبْقَى، تَبْقَيْنَ، يَبْقَوْنَ | long final vowel or its suffixed variants |
| subjunctive | لَنْ يَبْقَى، لَنْ يَبْقَوْا | singular spelling unchanged; plural loses nūn |
| jussive | لَمْ يَبْقَ، لَمْ يَبْقَوْا | final weak letter or plural nūn deleted |
| imperative | اِبْقَ، اِبْقَيْ، اِبْقَيَا، اِبْقَوْا | masculine singular has no final weak letter |
لم يبق في القاعة إلا عدد قليل من الحاضرين.
lam yabqa fī l-qāʿati ʾillā ʿadadun qalīlun mina l-ḥāḍirīn.
Only a small number of attendees remained in the hall. (Formal.)
ابق هنا حتى أعود بالسيارة.
ibqa hunā ḥattā ʾaʿūda bi-s-sayyāra.
Stay here until I come back with the car. (Neutral directive to one man.)
ابقوا على الخط، فسيجيبكم أحد الموظفين قريبا.
ibqaw ʿalā l-khaṭṭi, fa-sayujībukum ʾaḥadu l-muwaẓẓafīna qarīban.
Stay on the line; an employee will answer you shortly. (Formal service announcement.)
Ranked meanings and complement frames
1. Stay in a place: بقي في
For physical or institutional location, في is the ordinary preposition. A duration may follow directly in the accusative.
بقيت مريم في المستشفى ثلاثة أيام للمراقبة.
baqiyat maryamu fī l-mustashfā thalāthata ʾayyāmin lil-murāqaba.
Maryam stayed in the hospital for three days for observation. (Formal neutral.)
English speakers often expect a preposition before a duration because English says for three days. Arabic can use the bare accusative duration ثلاثة أيام.
2. Remain in a condition: copular بقي
When a noun or adjective states the condition that continues, بقي acts like a kāna-sister. An overt predicate is accusative; a prepositional predicate keeps the case required by its preposition.
بقي الباب مفتوحا طوال الاجتماع بسبب الحر.
baqiya l-bābu maftūḥan ṭawāla l-ijtimāʿi bi-sababi l-ḥarr.
The door remained open throughout the meeting because of the heat. (Formal neutral.)
رغم الضغوط، بقيت اللجنة مستقلة في قراراتها.
raghma ḍ-ḍughūṭi, baqiyati l-lajnatu mustaqillatan fī qarārātihā.
Despite the pressure, the committee remained independent in its decisions. (Formal.)
3. Maintain a position or condition: بقي على
على presents the state as a course, stance, commitment, or condition that someone continues to hold: بقي على موقفه، بقي على قيد الحياة، بقي على اتصال.
بقي الوزير على موقفه رغم اعتراض أعضاء اللجنة.
baqiya l-wazīru ʿalā mawqifihi raghma ʿtirāḍi ʾaʿḍāʾi l-lajna.
The minister maintained his position despite the committee members' objection. (Formal political register.)
بقي المصاب على قيد الحياة حتى وصلت سيارة الإسعاف.
baqiya l-muṣābu ʿalā qaydi l-ḥayāti ḥattā waṣalat sayyāratu l-ʾisʿāf.
The injured person remained alive until the ambulance arrived. (Formal news register.)
This على is not interchangeable with locative في. بقي في المكتب means stayed in the office; بقي على موقفه means persisted in his position.
4. What is left: بقي من and لم يبق إلا
With من, the verb identifies a remainder out of a larger whole. The common restrictive frame لم يبق إلا... means “only ... remains.”
لم يبق من الميزانية إلا ما يكفي لتغطية الرواتب.
lam yabqa mina l-mīzāniyyati ʾillā mā yakfī litaghṭiyati r-rawātib.
Only enough of the budget remains to cover salaries. (Formal administrative register.)
بقي يومان على انتهاء مهلة التسجيل.
baqiya yawmāni ʿalā ntihāʾi muhlati t-tasjīl.
Two days remain until the registration deadline expires. (Formal.)
5. It remains to do: بقي أن + subjunctive
Impersonal بقي أن + subjunctive identifies unfinished business. It does not mean that a person physically stayed somewhere.
بقي أن نراجع الأرقام قبل إرسال التقرير.
baqiya ʾan nurājiʿa l-ʾarqāma qabla ʾirsāli t-taqrīr.
It remains for us to review the figures before sending the report. (Formal.)
An alternative gives the remaining task an explicit noun subject: بقيت مراجعة الأرقام “the review of the figures remained.” The أن frame is usually lighter when the unfinished task is an action.
High-frequency collocations
| Collocation | Meaning and register |
|---|---|
| بَقِيَ فِي مَكَانِهِ | stayed where he was (neutral) |
| بَقِيَ عَلَى مَوْقِفِهِ | maintained his position (formal) |
| بَقِيَ عَلَى قَيْدِ الْحَيَاةِ | remained alive (formal/news) |
| بَقِيَ دُونَ تَغْيِيرٍ | remained unchanged (formal) |
| لَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا | nothing/only ... remained (neutral/formal) |
| بَقِيَ أَنْ | it remained to... (formal) |
| بَاقِي الْوَقْتِ | the rest of the time (neutral) |
Common Mistakes
Keeping alif maqṣūra after لم
❌ لم يبقى من الوقت إلا عشر دقائق.
Incorrect in formal MSA—the singular jussive after لم deletes the final weak letter.
✅ لم يبق من الوقت إلا عشر دقائق.
lam yabqa mina l-waqti ʾillā ʿashru daqāʾiq.
Only ten minutes remain.
Using the feminine command for a masculine addressee
❌ ابقي هنا يا خالد حتى أعود.
Incorrect agreement for خالد—ابقي is the feminine-singular command.
✅ ابق هنا يا خالد حتى أعود.
ibqa hunā yā khālidu ḥattā ʾaʿūd.
Stay here, Khalid, until I return.
Keeping final yāʾ on an indefinite participle
❌ لا يزال وقت باقي لاتخاذ القرار.
Incorrect in formal MSA—indefinite nominative باقٍ loses final yāʾ in writing; باقي is retained with the article or in construct.
✅ لا يزال وقت باق لاتخاذ القرار.
lā yazālu waqtun bāqin littikhādhi l-qarār.
There is still time left to make the decision.
Omitting أن before a finite unfinished task
❌ بقي نراجع الأرقام قبل إرسال التقرير.
Incorrect in formal MSA for impersonal ‘it remains to review’; use أن plus the subjunctive.
✅ بقي أن نراجع الأرقام النهائية قبل إرسال التقرير.
baqiya ʾan nurājiʿa l-ʾarqāma n-nihāʾiyyata qabla ʾirsāli t-taqrīr.
It remains for us to review the final figures before sending the report.
Key Takeaways
- بقي — يبقى — بقاء — باقٍ is a final-yāʾ Form-I family from ب-ق-ي.
- The final weak letter disappears in لم يبقَ and masculine singular ابقَ, but yāʾ returns in بقيتُ and ابقَيْ.
- Complete بقي means “stay/remain”; copular بقي takes a continuing predicate.
- Choose في for location, على for a maintained stance or condition, من for a remainder, and أن for unfinished action.
- A passive is not productive in ordinary use; choose a transitive verb when English means “keep something.”
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