The imperfect passive combines a passive stem melody with ordinary imperfect person prefixes and mood endings. For sound Form I, the model is يُفْعَلُ: active يَكْتُبُ yaktubu “he/it writes” contrasts with passive يُكْتَبُ yuktabu “he/it is written.” The prefix vowel u, internal sukūn, and vowel a before the final radical identify the passive stem.
Because this is an imperfect verb, particles can put it in the indicative, subjunctive, or jussive. Voice does not freeze mood: يُعْتَمَدُ, لن يُعْتَمَدَ, and لم يُعْتَمَدْ differ at the end even though all three are passive. The perfect-passive patterns page gives the corresponding completed-event stems.
Form I: يُفْعَلُ
The sound-root model uses root ك-ت-ب, Form I, active principal parts كَتَبَ — يَكْتُبُ “write.” Its imperfect passive is يُكْتَبُ. The person prefix changes with the subject, but every prefix retains ḍamma in the passive: أُكْتَبُ، تُكْتَبُ، يُكْتَبُ، نُكْتَبُ.
| Person | Imperfect passive | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | أُكْتَبُ | ʾuktabu |
| أنتَ / هي | تُكْتَبُ | tuktabu |
| هو | يُكْتَبُ | yuktabu |
| نحن | نُكْتَبُ | nuktabu |
| هم | يُكْتَبُونَ | yuktabūna |
| هنّ | يُكْتَبْنَ | yuktabna |
Some forms of كتب are semantically odd with human subjects, but the table makes the agreement endings visible. In real prose, choose a lexeme whose passive suits its subject:
ينشر التقرير في بداية كل شهر.
yunsharu t-taqrīru fī bidāyati kulli shahr.
The report is published at the beginning of every month.
تحفظ النسخة الأصلية في خزانة مقاومة للحريق.
tuḥfaẓu n-nuskhatu l-ʾaṣliyyatu fī khizānatin muqāwimatin lil-ḥarīq.
The original copy is kept in a fire-resistant cabinet.
سيذكر اسما الفائزين في نهاية الحفل.
sayudhkaru smā l-fāʾizayni fī nihāyati l-ḥafl.
The names of the two winners will be mentioned at the end of the ceremony. (Verb-first singular agreement.)
The future prefix سـ attaches outside the already passive imperfect: سَيُذْكَرُ. It does not change the stem or the indicative ending.
Derived-form passive stems
In the derived forms, the imperfect person prefix also takes ḍamma. The derivational consonants remain, while the vowel before the last radical is a in the passive.
| Form | Active imperfect | Passive imperfect | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| II | يُفَعِّلُ | يُفَعَّلُ | يُنَظِّمُ → يُنَظَّمُ |
| III | يُفَاعِلُ | يُفَاعَلُ | يُنَاقِشُ → يُنَاقَشُ |
| IV | يُفْعِلُ | يُفْعَلُ | يُعْلِنُ → يُعْلَنُ |
| V | يَتَفَعَّلُ | يُتَفَعَّلُ | lexically restricted |
| VI | يَتَفَاعَلُ | يُتَفَاعَلُ | يَتَدَاوَلُ → يُتَدَاوَلُ |
| VII | يَنْفَعِلُ | يُنْفَعَلُ | usually restricted because many VII verbs are intransitive |
| VIII | يَفْتَعِلُ | يُفْتَعَلُ | يَعْتَمِدُ → يُعْتَمَدُ |
| X | يَسْتَفْعِلُ | يُسْتَفْعَلُ | يَسْتَخْدِمُ → يُسْتَخْدَمُ |
Form VI يُتَدَاوَلُ illustrates why writing alone may not reveal voice: the active يَتَدَاوَلُ differs chiefly in the prefix vowel. Fully vocalized pronunciation and syntax are decisive. Not every theoretical passive is equally idiomatic; test the lexeme's transitivity and attested use rather than forcing an intransitive verb into the chart.
تناقش الموازنة في جلسة علنية.
tunāqashu l-muwāzanatu fī jalsatin ʿalaniyya.
The budget is discussed in a public session. (Form III.)
تعلن النتائج فور اكتمال عملية الفرز.
tuʿlanu n-natāʾiju fawra ktimāli ʿamaliyyati l-farz.
The results are announced as soon as the counting process is complete. (Form IV; nonhuman plural.)
تعتمد الطلبات المستوفية للشروط خلال خمسة أيام.
tuʿtamadu ṭ-ṭalabātu l-mustawfiyatu li-sh-shurūṭi khilāla khamsati ʾayyām.
Applications that meet the conditions are approved within five days. (Form VIII.)
تستخدم هذه الغرفة لحفظ الوثائق السرية.
tustakhdamu hādhihi l-ghurfatu liḥifẓi l-wathāʾiqi s-sirriyya.
This room is used to store confidential documents. (Form X.)
Indicative, subjunctive, and jussive
For a sound singular stem, the indicative ends in -u, the subjunctive in -a, and the jussive in sukūn. The passive melody inside the stem remains constant.
| Environment | Form VIII passive | Function |
|---|---|---|
| unmarked indicative | يُعْتَمَدُ | is approved / is relied on |
| after لن | لَنْ يُعْتَمَدَ | will not be approved |
| after لم | لَمْ يُعْتَمَدْ | was not approved |
لن يعتمد القرار قبل نشر المحضر.
lan yuʿtamada l-qarāru qabla nashri l-maḥḍar.
The decision will not be approved before the minutes are published. (Subjunctive.)
لم يعتمد القرار في الجلسة السابقة.
lam yuʿtamadi l-qarāru fī l-jalsati s-sābiqa.
The decision was not approved at the previous session. (Jussive with a linking kasra before the article.)
Underlying يُعْتَمَدْ ends in sukūn. Before القرار, connected pronunciation inserts a kasra to break the cluster: yuʿtamadi l-qarāru. Do not mistake that phonetic linking vowel for an indicative ending.
The “five verbs” lose ن in both subjunctive and jussive. Passive يُكَرَّمُونَ “they are honored” therefore becomes لن يُكَرَّمُوا and لم يُكَرَّمُوا. The governor, not the visible ending alone, tells you which mood is present.
المشاركون لن يكرموا قبل إعلان النتائج النهائية.
al-mushārikūna lan yukarramū qabla ʾiʿlāni n-natāʾiji n-nihāʾiyya.
The participants will not be honored before the final results are announced.
Weak, hamzated, and geminate stems
Weak verbs preserve the passive contrast but reshape the mood ending.
| Class | Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|---|
| hollow قال | يُقَالُ | لَنْ يُقَالَ | لَمْ يُقَلْ |
| hollow باع | يُبَاعُ | لَنْ يُبَاعَ | لَمْ يُبَعْ |
| final-weak دعا | يُدْعَى | لَنْ يُدْعَى | لَمْ يُدْعَ |
| hamzated قرأ | يُقْرَأُ | لَنْ يُقْرَأَ | لَمْ يُقْرَأْ |
| geminate ردّ | يُرَدُّ | لَنْ يُرَدَّ | لَمْ يُرَدَّ |
The contracted geminate jussive لم يُرَدَّ ends in fatḥa on the shadda to avoid an impossible cluster; that final fatḥa does not make it subjunctive. A fully expanded لم يُرْدَدْ is also grammatically possible, but contracted forms are common and demand recognition.
لم يقل شيء عن موعد التسليم.
lam yuqal shayʾun ʿan mawʿidi t-taslīm.
Nothing was said about the delivery date. (Hollow jussive.)
لن تدعى المرشحة إلى مقابلة ثانية.
lan tudʿā l-murashshaḥatu ʾilā muqābalatin thāniya.
The female candidate will not be invited to a second interview. (Final-weak subjunctive.)
لم يرد الطلب بسبب نقص الوثائق.
lam yuradda ṭ-ṭalabu bisababi naqṣi l-wathāʾiq.
The application was not rejected because of missing documents. (Contracted geminate jussive.)
Common Mistakes
Using the active prefix vowel
❌ يكتب التقرير كل صباح.
yaktabu t-taqrīru kulla ṣabāḥ
Incorrect passive reading—the Form I passive is يُكتب yuktabu, not yaktabu.
✅ يكتب التقرير كل صباح ويرسل قبل الظهر.
yuktabu t-taqrīru kulla ṣabāḥin wa-yursalu qabla ẓ-ẓuhr.
The report is written every morning and sent before noon.
Keeping the indicative after لن
❌ لن يعتمد القرار اليوم.
lan yuʿtamadu l-qarāru l-yawm
Incorrect mood—لن requires subjunctive يُعتمدَ yuʿtamada.
✅ لن يعتمد القرار اليوم بسبب غياب عضوين.
lan yuʿtamada l-qarāru l-yawma bisababi ghiyābi ʿuḍwayn.
The decision will not be approved today because two members are absent.
Keeping a sound ending in a hollow jussive
❌ لم يقال شيء عن المشكلة.
Incorrect—after لم, hollow passive يُقال shortens to يُقَلْ, written يقل.
✅ لم يقل شيء عن المشكلة في التقرير.
lam yuqal shayʾun ʿani l-mushkilati fī t-taqrīr.
Nothing was said about the problem in the report.
Retaining nūn after a subjunctive governor
❌ المشاركون لن يكرمون قبل المسابقة.
Incorrect if read yukarramūna—لن deletes the final nūn of the five verbs.
✅ المشاركون لن يكرموا قبل انتهاء المسابقة.
al-mushārikūna lan yukarramū qabla ntihāʾi l-musābaqa.
The participants will not be honored before the competition ends.
Giving a nonhuman plural full plural agreement
❌ التقارير ينشرون كل شهر.
Incorrect—nonhuman plural التقارير takes feminine singular تُنشر, not masculine plural agreement.
✅ التقارير تنشر في بداية كل شهر.
at-taqārīru tunsharu fī bidāyati kulli shahr.
The reports are published at the beginning of every month.
Key Takeaways
- Sound Form I uses يُفْعَلُ; the person prefix has ḍamma and the stem vowel before the last radical is fatḥa.
- Derived passives preserve their Form: يُنَظَّمُ، يُنَاقَشُ، يُعْلَنُ، يُعْتَمَدُ، يُسْتَخْدَمُ.
- Mood remains visible: يُعْتَمَدُ / لن يُعْتَمَدَ / لم يُعْتَمَدْ; the five verbs lose nūn in subjunctive and jussive.
- Weak and geminate jussives reshape the stem: لم يُقَلْ، لم يُدْعَ، لم يُرَدَّ.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Perfect Passive PatternsB1 — Form completed passive events with فُعِلَ and the corresponding derived-form melodies, including agreement and weak-root changes.
- The نائب الفاعلB1 — Identify the passive clause's nominative promoted argument and control agreement in verb-first and subject-first MSA.
- The Arabic Verb SystemA1 — See how Arabic verb stems, agreement, mood, voice, and derived Forms work together in complete sentences.