A lafīf maqrūn verb (لفيف مقرون, “joined doubly weak”) has two adjacent weak radicals. Common Form-I examples include رَوَى / يَرْوِي “narrate; transmit,” root ر-و-ي, and طَوَى / يَطْوِي “fold,” root ط-و-ي. In both, the second and third radicals are و + ي. Their adjacency produces compact surface forms and suffix-driven alternations, but it does not turn them into one interchangeable lexical pattern.
Unlike the separated type explained in the lafīf mafrūq guide, these verbs do not have an initial weak radical to lose. Their main changes occur at the end of the stem: رَوَى، رَوَيْتُ، رَوَتْ، رَوَوْا and يَرْوِي، لَنْ يَرْوِيَ، لَمْ يَرْوِ. Learn that chain before attempting a full paradigm.
The joined root inside the principal parts
The adjacent weak radicals are easiest to see when several forms are compared:
| Environment | ر-و-ي “narrate” | ط-و-ي “fold” |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 3 m.sg. | رَوَى | طَوَى |
| imperfect indicative | يَرْوِي | يَطْوِي |
| verified maṣdar | رِوَايَة | طَيّ |
| perfect, 1 sg. | رَوَيْتُ | طَوَيْتُ |
| jussive, 3 m.sg. | لَمْ يَرْوِ | لَمْ يَطْوِ |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | اِرْوِ | اِطْوِ |
The maṣdar is lexical as well as morphological. رِوَايَة belongs to the narration and transmission sense of روى; the same verb uses رَيّ in its watering sense. The shared perfect and imperfect do not license one maṣdar for every meaning.
The perfect ending ى spells long ā; it is not a third written radical that remains unchanged before every suffix. In رَوَيْتُ / طَوَيْتُ, yāʾ becomes consonantal before ـتُ. The middle wāw remains part of the stem, yielding rawaytu and ṭawaytu. In singular jussive يروِ / يطوِ, final yāʾ is deleted and the remaining kasra is audible.
Perfect suffixes reshape the final sequence
The smallest useful perfect paradigm shows four different outcomes:
| Subject | روى | طوى |
|---|---|---|
| هو | رَوَى | طَوَى |
| هي | رَوَتْ | طَوَتْ |
| هما (m.) | رَوَيَا | طَوَيَا |
| هما (f.) | رَوَتَا | طَوَتَا |
| هم | رَوَوْا | طَوَوْا |
| هنّ | رَوَيْنَ | طَوَيْنَ |
| أنا | رَوَيْتُ | طَوَيْتُ |
The feminine-singular رَوَتْ and طَوَتْ lose final yāʾ; the masculine dual رَوَيَا / طَوَيَا displays it; and the masculine plural رَوَوْا / طَوَوْا ends in the plural sequence وا after the reshaped stem. These are paradigm forms, not spelling variants chosen by style.
روت الصحفية قصة الناجين بدقة واحترام.
rawati ṣ-ṣaḥafiyyatu qiṣṣata n-nājīna bidiqqatin wa-ḥtirām.
The journalist told the survivors’ story accurately and respectfully. (Formal.)
روى الشهود الوقائع نفسها بترتيب مختلف.
rawā sh-shuhūdu l-waqāʾiʿa nafsahā bitartībin mukhtalif.
The witnesses recounted the same events in a different order. (Neutral formal VSO; singular verb.)
الكاتبتان روتا التجربة من وجهتي نظر مختلفتين.
al-kātibatāni rawatā t-tajribata min wijhatay naẓarin mukhtalifatayn.
The two writers narrated the experience from two different viewpoints. (Both female; full dual agreement.)
طويت الخريطة ووضعتها في الجيب الجانبي.
ṭawaytu l-kharīṭata wa-waḍaʿtuhā fī l-jaybi l-jānibiyy.
I folded the map and put it in the side pocket.
طوت الموظفة الرسالة وأعادتها إلى المغلف.
ṭawati l-muwaẓẓafatu r-risālata wa-ʾaʿādathā ʾilā l-mughallaf.
The employee folded the letter and returned it to the envelope.
The imperfect: long ī, then mood
Indicative يَرْوِي / يَطْوِي ends in long ī. In the singular subjunctive, final yāʾ remains and takes audible fatḥa: لَنْ يَرْوِيَ / لَنْ يَطْوِيَ. In the singular jussive, yāʾ is deleted: لَمْ يَرْوِ / لَمْ يَطْوِ. The remaining kasra belongs to the shortened stem; it is not an indicative ending.
| Mood | روى / يروي | طوى / يطوي |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | يَرْوِي | يَطْوِي |
| subjunctive after لن | لَنْ يَرْوِيَ | لَنْ يَطْوِيَ |
| jussive after لم | لَمْ يَرْوِ | لَمْ يَطْوِ |
يروي المتحف تاريخ الميناء من خلال صور ووثائق أصلية.
yarwī l-matḥafu tārīkha l-mīnāʾi min khilāli ṣuwarin wa-wathāʾiqa ʾaṣliyya.
The museum tells the history of the port through original photographs and documents. (Formal.)
لن تروي المؤسسة شهادات المبلغين في التقرير العلني.
lan tarwiya l-muʾassasatu shahādāti l-muballighīna fī t-taqrīri l-ʿalaniyy.
The organization will not recount the whistleblowers’ testimonies in the public report. (Subjunctive.)
لم يرو الفيلم ما حدث بعد انتهاء المحاكمة.
lam yarwi l-fīlmu mā ḥadatha baʿda ntihāʾi l-muḥākama.
The film did not recount what happened after the trial ended. (Jussive.)
يطوي الجهاز الورق تلقائيا بعد طباعته.
yaṭwī l-jihāzu l-waraqa tilqāʾiyyan baʿda ṭibāʿatih.
The machine folds the paper automatically after printing it. (Formal technical register.)
لم يطو العامل القماش قبل قياسه.
lam yaṭwi l-ʿāmilu l-qumāsha qabla qiyāsih.
The worker did not fold the fabric before measuring it. (Jussive.)
Agreement suffixes outrank the singular shortcut
The deletion rule لم يروِ applies to forms without a following person-number ending. In the five verbs, indicative nūn is the mood marker: هما يرويان، هم يروون، أنتِ تروين. Subjunctive and jussive delete nūn: لن يرويا / لم يرويا، لن يرووا / لم يرووا، لن تروي / لم تروي. The weak stem and the agreement ending must be analyzed together.
Feminine-plural هن يروينَ also ends in written يروين, but its nūn is nūn al-niswa and remains under every governor. Context and the subject distinguish “you (one woman) narrate” from “they (women) narrate” when the unvocalized spelling coincides.
الباحثون يروون شهادات المشاركين بلغتهم الأصلية.
al-bāḥithūna yarwūna shahādāti l-mushārikīna bilughatihimu l-ʾaṣliyya.
The researchers recount the participants’ testimonies in their original language. (Masculine or mixed plural.)
الباحثات لن يروين تفاصيل تكشف هوية المشاركين.
al-bāḥithātu lan yarwīna tafāṣīla takshifu huwiyyata l-mushārikīn.
The female researchers will not recount details that reveal the participants’ identity. (Feminine-plural form remains unchanged after لن.)
The imperative comes from the shortened jussive
Second-person jussive تَرْوِ becomes اِرْوِ “narrate!” after removal of تـ and addition of hamzat al-waṣl for the initial cluster. Likewise تَطْوِ gives اِطْوِ “fold!” These commands are fully standard. Their initial alif is hamzat al-waṣl, while the final kasra reflects deletion of yāʾ in the masculine singular.
ارو القصة كما سمعتها، ولا تضف إليها تفاصيل.
irwi l-qiṣṣata kamā samiʿtahā, wa-lā tuḍif ʾilayhā tafāṣīl.
Tell the story as you heard it, and do not add details to it. (Addressing one man; formal MSA.)
Common Mistakes
Preserving ى before a consonant-initial suffix
❌ روىت ما شاهدته أمام اللجنة.
Incorrect—‘I recounted’ is رويتُ; citation-form ى cannot remain before ـتُ.
✅ رويت ما شاهدته أمام اللجنة.
rawaytu mā shāhadtuhu ʾamāma l-lajna.
I recounted what I had seen before the committee.
Keeping final yāʾ in the singular jussive
❌ لم يروي الشاهد القصة كاملة.
Incorrect in careful MSA—لم requires singular jussive يروِ, written يرو.
✅ لم يرو الشاهد القصة كاملة.
lam yarwi sh-shāhidu l-qiṣṣata kāmila.
The witness did not tell the whole story.
Deleting final yāʾ in the subjunctive
❌ لن ترو المؤسسة شهادات المشاركين.
Incorrect—the singular subjunctive retains final ي and takes fatḥa: لن ترويَ.
✅ لن تروي المؤسسة شهادات المشاركين في النسخة المنشورة.
lan tarwiya l-muʾassasatu shahādāti l-mushārikīna fī n-nuskhati l-manshūra.
The organization will not recount the participants’ testimonies in the published version.
Using full plural agreement before an explicit plural subject
❌ رووا الخبراء تاريخ الموقع للزوار.
Incorrect in neutral formal VSO—use singular روى before the explicit human plural subject.
✅ روى الخبراء تاريخ الموقع للزوار.
rawā l-khubarāʾu tārīkha l-mawqiʿi liz-zuwwār.
The experts told the visitors the history of the site.
Treating feminine-plural nūn like five-verb nūn
❌ الباحثات لن يرووا التفاصيل السرية.
Incorrect—an all-female subject requires يروينَ; its nūn remains after لن.
✅ الباحثات لن يروين التفاصيل السرية.
al-bāḥithātu lan yarwīna t-tafāṣīla s-sirriyya.
The female researchers will not recount the confidential details.
Key Takeaways
- Lafīf maqrūn roots contain two adjacent weak radicals; ر-و-ي and ط-و-ي place them in R2 and R3.
- Learn روى / يروي / رويت / لم يروِ and طوى / يطوي / طويت / لم يطوِ as verified chains.
- Perfect suffixes produce distinct forms such as روت، رويا، رووا، روين.
- Singular subjunctive retains yāʾ, singular jussive deletes it, and agreement suffixes require their own analysis.
- Meaning and complement frame remain lexical: روى may narrate, transmit, or water according to context.
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- Lafīf Mafrūq VerbsB1 — Conjugate separated doubly weak roots such as و-ق-ي and و-ف-ي across the perfect, imperfect, moods, and very short imperatives.
- Weak Verbs and Alif SpellingB1 — Choose ا versus ى in final-weak verbs, recover hidden و or ي before suffixes, and distinguish plural alif from a root letter or hamza carrier.
- Mood Endings on Weak-Final VerbsB1 — Distinguish indicative retention, subjunctive vocalization, and jussive deletion in final-wāw, final-yāʾ, and alif-maqṣūra verbs.
- The Arabic Verb SystemA1 — See how Arabic verb stems, agreement, mood, voice, and derived Forms work together in complete sentences.