تَرَكَ / يَتْرُكُ is a sound Form-I verb from root ت-ر-ك. Its central idea is that someone or something is no longer kept, occupied, controlled, or acted upon. Depending on what follows, it can mean “leave behind,” “abandon,” “quit,” or “let/allow.”
English leave covers several structures that Arabic separates more clearly. ترك الهاتف في البيت means leaving the phone behind; غادر البيت focuses on departing from the house; نسي الهاتف says that the phone was forgotten. Likewise, English “leave the door open” requires an object plus a resulting-state predicate in Arabic, while “let him speak” uses تركه يتكلم with an imperfect clause. The shared verb does not make these constructions grammatically identical.
For the wider syntax of the first construction, compare object-predicate verbs; this page shows how ترك adds its own result and permission readings.
Lookup card and principal parts
| Item | Verified form | Function |
|---|---|---|
| root and Form | ت-ر-ك، Form I | sound and transitive |
| perfect | تَرَكَ | he left / abandoned / let |
| imperfect indicative | يَتْرُكُ | he leaves / is letting |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | اُتْرُكْ | leave! / let! |
| maṣdar | تَرْك | leaving, abandonment, omission |
| active participle | تَارِك | one leaving or abandoning |
| passive participle | مَتْرُوك | left, abandoned, omitted |
| passive | تُرِكَ — يُتْرَكُ | was left — is left |
The principal-parts bundle is تَرَكَ — يَتْرُكُ — اُتْرُكْ — تَرْكًا. Form I does not make the imperfect vowel predictable from the perfect, so learn the u of يترك explicitly. The command begins with hamzat al-waṣl and also has u: اُتْرُكْ.
تركت سلمى حقيبتها في غرفة الاجتماعات.
tarakat salmā ḥaqībatahā fī ghurfati l-ijtimāʿāt.
Salma left her bag in the meeting room. (Formal neutral.)
يترك كثير من الزوار سياراتهم خارج المركز.
yatruku kathīrun mina z-zuwwāri sayyārātihim khārija l-markaz.
Many visitors leave their cars outside the center. (Formal neutral.)
Compact paradigm and moods
The sound consonants remain stable. The perfect uses تركـ, and the imperfect has the stem vowel u.
| Environment | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfect samples | تَرَكْتُ، تَرَكَتْ، تَرَكُوا | I/she/they left |
| indicative samples | أَتْرُكُ، تَتْرُكِينَ، يَتْرُكُونَ | I leave; you f.sg. leave; they leave |
| subjunctive | لَنْ يَتْرُكَ، لَنْ يَتْرُكُوا | will not leave |
| jussive | لَمْ يَتْرُكْ، لَمْ يَتْرُكُوا | did not leave |
| imperatives | اُتْرُكْ، اُتْرُكِي، اُتْرُكُوا | leave! by addressee |
لن يترك الفريق الموقع قبل انتهاء الفحص.
lan yatruka l-farīqu l-mawqiʿa qabla ntihāʾi l-faḥṣ.
The team will not leave the site before the inspection is complete. (Formal; subjunctive after لن.)
اتركوا ممرا خاليا لسيارات الإسعاف.
utrukū mamarran khāliyan lisayyārāti l-ʾisʿāf.
Leave a lane clear for ambulances. (Formal instruction to a group.)
After a preceding vowel, the imperative's hamzat al-waṣl elides: واترك is wa-truk. It is not pronounced with a new glottal stop. Object pronouns attach normally: اتركه، اتركها، اتركهم.
Ranked meanings and valency
1. Leave something behind: direct object plus location
The object is what remains; a location commonly follows في، على، عند، أمام or another place expression. If the leaving was accidental, نسي can explicitly mean “forgot,” while ترك itself does not tell us whether the act was deliberate.
ترك السائق الطرد عند مكتب الاستقبال.
taraka s-sāʾiqu ṭ-ṭarda ʿinda maktabi l-istiqbāl.
The driver left the parcel at reception. (Formal neutral.)
نسيت هاتفي في المنزل، ولم أتركه هناك عمدا.
nasītu hātifī fī l-manzili, wa-lam ʾatrukhu hunāka ʿamdan.
I forgot my phone at home; I did not leave it there deliberately. (Formal neutral contrast.)
2. Abandon, relinquish, or quit
With an activity, position, habit, or course of study as object, ترك can mean “give up, quit, leave.” Context distinguishes temporary physical departure from ending one's involvement: ترك العمل may mean “left the job/work,” and ترك التدخين means “quit smoking.”
ترك منصبه بعد عشر سنوات من الخدمة العامة.
taraka manṣibahu baʿda ʿashri sanawātin mina l-khidmati l-ʿāmma.
He left his post after ten years of public service. (Formal.)
حاولت أن أترك التدخين أكثر من مرة.
ḥāwaltu ʾan ʾatruka t-tadkhīna ʾakthara min marra.
I tried to quit smoking more than once. (Formal neutral.)
The passive participle متروك follows this sense in مبنى متروك “an abandoned building” and سؤال متروك بلا جواب “a question left unanswered.” It does not mean “former” in every context.
3. Leave an object in a resulting state
In ترك + object + predicate, the second element states the condition that holds after the action. It is often an adjective or participle: ترك الباب مفتوحا “left the door open,” ترك المهمة ناقصة “left the task incomplete,” تركه مصابا “left him injured.” The predicate agrees with the object and is accusative when endings are expressed.
ترك الموظف النافذة مفتوحة طوال الليل.
taraka l-muwaẓẓafu n-nāfidhata maftūḥatan ṭiwāla l-layl.
The employee left the window open all night. (Formal neutral.)
تركت العاصفة عدة طرق مقطوعة في المنطقة الجبلية.
tarakati l-ʿāṣifatu ʿiddata ṭuruqin maqṭūʿatan fī l-minṭaqati l-jabaliyya.
The storm left several roads cut off in the mountain region. (Journalistic.)
Because طرق is a non-human plural, its adjective is feminine singular مقطوعة. English does not have this agreement distinction, so the object-predicate frame exposes an important Arabic pattern.
4. Let someone act: object plus imperfect
ترك + person/object pronoun + imperfect means “let, allow, leave someone to” do something: تركه يتكلم. The object of ترك is simultaneously understood as the subject of the following imperfect. The imperfect comes directly, without أن.
ترك المدير الخبراء يناقشون التفاصيل من دون مقاطعة.
taraka l-mudīru l-khubarāʾa yunāqishūna t-tafāṣīla min dūni muqāṭaʿa.
The director let the experts discuss the details without interruption. (Formal neutral.)
اتركه يشرح فكرته كاملة قبل أن تجيبه.
utrukhu yashraḥu fikratahu kāmilatan qabla ʾan tujībah.
Let him explain his idea fully before you answer him. (Formal neutral.)
This frame often describes non-interference rather than official permission. For explicit authorization, سمح له بأن يفعل is clearer: “authorized/allowed him to do.” Arabic therefore distinguishes “did not stop him” from “formally gave him permission” more readily than English let sometimes does.
5. Leave something to or for someone
لـ marks a recipient, beneficiary, or person given responsibility: ترك له رسالة “left him a message,” ترك الأمر للجنة “left the matter to the committee.” The item remains the direct object.
ترك الطبيب للممرضة تعليمات مفصلة بشأن الدواء.
taraka ṭ-ṭabību lil-mumarriḍati taʿlīmātin mufaṣṣalatan bishaʾni d-dawāʾ.
The doctor left the nurse detailed instructions about the medication. (Formal.)
سنترك القرار النهائي للجنة المستقلة.
sa-natruku l-qarāra n-nihāʾiyya lil-lajnati l-mustaqilla.
We will leave the final decision to the independent committee. (Formal.)
Passive, participles, and common clusters
The passive is productive, especially with the resulting-state frame: تُرك الباب مفتوحا “the door was left open.” The passive subject is what was left; a following predicate still describes its resulting state.
ترك الملف بلا توقيع، فأعيد إلى صاحبه.
turika l-malaffu bilā tawqīʿin, faʾuʿīda ʾilā ṣāḥibih.
The file was left unsigned, so it was returned to its owner. (Administrative passive.)
| Cluster | Meaning and register |
|---|---|
| تَرَكَ شَيْئًا فِي مَكَانٍ | leave something in a place (neutral) |
| تَرَكَ الْعَمَلَ / التَّدْخِينَ | leave work / quit smoking (neutral) |
| تَرَكَهُ وَحْدَهُ | leave him alone (neutral) |
| تَرَكَ الْبَابَ مَفْتُوحًا | leave the door open (neutral) |
| تَرَكَ مَجَالًا لِـ | leave room for (formal) |
| تَرَكَ الْأَمْرَ لِـ | leave the matter to (formal) |
Common Mistakes
Guessing the imperfect vowel
❌ يترك الحارس البوابة بعد منتصف الليل.
yatraku
Incorrect reading—the verified imperfect is yatruku, with u after r.
✅ يترك الحارس البوابة بعد منتصف الليل كل يوم.
yatruku l-ḥārisu l-bawwābata baʿda muntaṣafi l-layli kulla yawm.
The guard leaves the gate after midnight every day.
Inserting أن into the “let” frame
❌ تركت الطفل أن يلعب في الحديقة.
Incorrect in the ترك ‘let’ construction—the object's action follows directly as an imperfect clause, without أن.
✅ تركت الطفل يلعب في الحديقة.
taraktu ṭ-ṭifla yalʿabu fī l-ḥadīqa.
I let the child play in the garden.
Using masculine plural agreement with a non-human plural object
❌ تركت الأبواب مفتوحين بعد الاجتماع.
Incorrect—أبواب is a non-human plural, so its predicate adjective is feminine singular: مفتوحة.
✅ تركت الأبواب مفتوحة بعد الاجتماع.
taraktu l-ʾabwāba maftūḥatan baʿda l-ijtimāʿ.
I left the doors open after the meeting.
Using ترك when only departure is meant
❌ ترك القطار من المحطة في الثامنة.
Incorrect for ‘the train departed from the station’—do not build a departure frame as ترك + من; use غادر with the place as its direct object.
✅ غادر القطار المحطة في الثامنة.
ghādara l-qiṭāru l-maḥaṭṭata fī th-thāmina.
The train left the station at eight.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize تَرَكَ — يَتْرُكُ — اُتْرُكْ — تَرْكًا; the imperfect and imperative have u.
- Use a direct object for what is left, abandoned, or quit; add a location or a recipient phrase as needed.
- ترك + object + adjective/participle describes a resulting state.
- ترك + object + imperfect means “let someone act” and takes no أن.
Related Topics
- وضع — putB1 — Conjugate the assimilated verb وضع and choose its placement, policy-making, passive, and fixed-expression frames accurately.
- فتح — openB1 — Conjugate فتح and distinguish physical opening, institutional opening, opening onto, and the historical sense ‘conquer.’
- Form I: The Lexical BaseA2 — Learn why Form I must be stored through verified principal parts, stem-vowel class, valency, and maṣdar rather than one universal pattern.
- ظنّ and Object–Predicate VerbsB2 — Use two accusatives after selected verbs of belief, judgment, discovery, and causation as one compact predication about an object.