Form I مَدَّ / يَمُدُّ / مَدٌّ “extend; stretch out; supply,” root م-د-د, is a model geminate verb: its second and third root consonants are identical. In the contracted stem, the two د sounds are written as one letter with shadda. Before certain consonantal suffixes, however, Arabic unfolds them into دَدْ: compare مَدَّ madda “he extended” with مَدَدْتُ madadtu “I extended.”
This is not an optional spelling flourish. The choice follows the shape of the ending, and the same opposition reaches the imperfect, jussive, and imperative. English has no comparable alternation inside extend, so learn a geminate verb through several principal parts rather than treating مدّ as an invariant block.
The verified lexical set
مَدَّ is Form I and normally takes a direct object when it means “extend, stretch out, supply.” With إلى, it can describe extending something to a limit; with a person as indirect beneficiary, the context identifies what is being supplied. Its principal parts are مَدَّ / يَمُدُّ / مَدٌّ. The maṣdar مَدّ is also used for lengthening a sound or vowel in linguistic discussion.
| Environment | Form | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 3 m.sg. | مَدَّ | contracted root consonants دّ |
| perfect, 1 sg. | مَدَدْتُ | unfolded before ـتُ |
| imperfect indicative, 3 m.sg. | يَمُدُّ | contracted stem |
| imperfect jussive, 3 m.sg. | لَمْ يَمْدُدْ / لَمْ يَمُدَّ | unfolded or contracted |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | اُمْدُدْ / مُدَّ | unfolded or contracted |
| maṣdar | مَدٌّ | lexical verbal noun |
مدت البلدية خط الحافلات إلى الحي الجديد
maddati l-baladiyyatu khaṭṭa l-ḥāfilāti ʾilā l-ḥayyi l-jadīd
The municipality extended the bus route to the new neighborhood. (Formal.)
يمد المولد الاحتياطي المستشفى بالكهرباء عند انقطاع التيار
yamuddu l-muwallidu l-iḥtiyāṭiyyu l-mustashfā bil-kahrabāʾi ʿinda nqiṭāʿi t-tayyār
The backup generator supplies the hospital with electricity during a power outage. (Formal.)
The second sentence uses the ordinary indicative يَمُدُّ. Its final u is the indicative mood ending; the shadda still represents two root consonants underneath it.
Why the perfect sometimes unfolds
The contracted perfect stem ends in two identical consonants represented by shadda. Endings beginning with a vowel attach directly: مَدَّتْ “she extended,” مَدَّا “the two men extended,” and مَدُّوا “they (m.) extended.” Endings beginning with a consonant require an uncontracted base: مَدَدْتُ، مَدَدْتَ، مَدَدْتِ، مَدَدْنَا، مَدَدْنَ.
مددت الكابل خلف الخزانة، ثم ثبته بالحائط
madadtu l-kābila khalfa l-khizānati, thumma thabbattuhu bil-ḥāʾiṭ
I ran the cable behind the cabinet, then fixed it to the wall. (Neutral formal MSA.)
مددنا الاجتماع نصف ساعة كي نسمع رأي الخبيرتين
madadnā l-ijtimāʿa niṣfa sāʿatin kay nasmaʿa raʾya l-khabīratayn
We extended the meeting by half an hour so that we could hear the two experts' opinion. (Formal.)
مددن أيديهن لمساعدة الطفل على النهوض
madadna ʾaydiyahunna limusāʿadati ṭ-ṭifli ʿalā n-nuhūḍ
They (f.) held out their hands to help the child stand up. (Formal.)
Notice that مَدَدْنَ “they (f.) extended” is not مَدَّنَ. The first د has a vowel and the second has sukūn before نَ. The dedicated geminate perfect page gives the complete person paradigm.
The imperfect: contracted except before ـنَ
The ordinary indicative is يَمُدُّ. Person prefixes change normally: أَمُدُّ “I extend,” نَمُدُّ “we extend,” and تَمُدُّ “you (m.sg.) extend / she extends.” Vowel-initial or vowel-bearing agreement endings preserve contraction: يَمُدَّانِ، يَمُدُّونَ، تَمُدِّينَ. Feminine-plural ـنَ instead triggers the expanded stem يَمْدُدْنَ / تَمْدُدْنَ.
نمد فترة التسجيل حتى مساء الخميس
namuddu fatrata t-tasjīli ḥattā masāʾi l-khamīs
We are extending the registration period until Thursday evening. (Formal announcement.)
الممرضات يمددن المرضى بالمعلومات قبل العملية
al-mumarriḍātu yamdudna l-marḍā bil-maʿlūmāti qabla l-ʿamaliyya
The nurses provide the patients with information before the operation. (Formal, subject-first feminine-plural agreement.)
With a following overt plural subject in neutral VSO, the verb remains singular: يمد المهندسون. Full plural يمدون المهندسون is not the neutral formal pattern.
The command: مُدَّ and اُمْدُدْ
For the masculine singular, formal Arabic permits a contracted command مُدَّ and an expanded command اُمْدُدْ. The contracted form is the ordinary compact shape; the expanded form makes both radicals audible and is especially useful when discussing morphology. Initial ا in اُمْدُدْ carries hamzat al-waṣl: it is pronounced at the start of an utterance but joins without a glottal stop after a preceding vowel.
مد يدك إلى الأمام، لكن لا تحرك كتفك
mudda yadaka ʾilā l-ʾamāmi, lākin lā tuḥarrik katifak
Extend your hand forward, but do not move your shoulder. (Formal instruction to one man.)
امددن الحبال على الأرض قبل قياسها
umdudna l-ḥibāla ʿalā l-ʾarḍi qabla qiyāsihā
Lay the ropes out on the ground before measuring them. (Formal instruction to a group of women.)
The feminine singular and masculine plural use مُدِّي and مُدُّوا. Feminine-plural اُمْدُدْنَ unfolds because ـنَ begins with a consonant.
Jussive contraction is not subjunctive fatḥa
After لم, masculine-singular يمدّ can appear in two standard formal shapes: expanded لَمْ يَمْدُدْ or contracted لَمْ يَمُدَّ. In the contracted form, a final fatḥa resolves the otherwise impossible cluster created by joining the two final radicals. It is still jussive because لم governs the jussive. By contrast, لَنْ يَمُدَّ is subjunctive because لن governs the subjunctive. Surface يَمُدَّ is identical; the governor supplies the analysis.
لم يمدد المصرف الموعد النهائي، فقدمنا الطلب اليوم
lam yamdudi l-maṣrifu l-mawʿida n-nihāʾiyya, faqaddamnā ṭ-ṭalaba l-yawm
The bank did not extend the deadline, so we submitted the application today. (Formal; expanded jussive with a linking vowel before the article.)
لم يمد الفريق فترة الاختبار رغم تأخر التسليم
lam yamudda l-farīqu fatrata l-ikhtibāri raghma taʾakhkhuri t-taslīm
The team did not extend the testing period despite the delayed delivery. (Formal; contracted jussive.)
لن يمد المدير العقد من دون موافقة قانونية
lan yamudda l-mudīru l-ʿaqda min dūni muwāfaqatin qānūniyya
The director will not extend the contract without legal approval. (Formal; subjunctive.)
Common Mistakes
Keeping the contracted stem before ـتُ
❌ مدت الكابل بنفسي
Incorrect for ‘I extended’—مدّت is ‘she extended’; first singular unfolds to مددتُ.
✅ مددت الكابل بنفسي قبل وصول الفني
madadtu l-kābila binafsī qabla wuṣūli l-fanniyy
I ran the cable myself before the technician arrived.
Unfolding the ordinary indicative
❌ يمدد المولد المستشفى بالكهرباء
Incorrect for Form I مدّ—the ordinary indicative is يمدّ. يمدّد would instead point to a distinct Form II analysis.
✅ يمد المولد المستشفى بالكهرباء
yamuddu l-muwallidu l-mustashfā bil-kahrabāʾ
The generator supplies the hospital with electricity.
Calling every final fatḥa subjunctive
❌ الفتحة في لم يمد تجعله منصوبا
Incorrect—لم governs the jussive; the fatḥa of contracted يمدَّ resolves gemination and is not a subjunctive marker.
✅ لم يمد المسؤول المهلة بعد
lam yamudda l-masʾūlu l-muhlata baʿd
The official has not extended the deadline yet. (Contracted jussive.)
Contracting before feminine-plural ـنَ
❌ هن يمدن أيديهن للمساعدة
Incorrect in fully vocalized MSA if intended as *yamudna*—the feminine-plural stem unfolds: يمددنَ.
✅ هن يمددن أيديهن للمساعدة
hunna yamdudna ʾaydiyahunna lil-musāʿada
They (f.) hold out their hands to help.
Giving a preverbal verb full plural agreement
❌ يمدون المهندسون الخط إلى القرية
Incorrect in neutral formal VSO—use singular يمد before the overt plural subject.
✅ يمد المهندسون الخط إلى القرية المجاورة
yamuddu l-muhandisūna l-khaṭṭa ʾilā l-qaryati l-mujāwira
The engineers are extending the line to the neighboring village.
Key Takeaways
- مَدَّ / يَمُدُّ / مَدٌّ is Form I from root م-د-د.
- Contract before vowel-bearing endings, but unfold before consonantal perfect suffixes: مَدَدْتُ، مَدَدْنَا، مَدَدْنَ.
- The indicative is يَمُدُّ; feminine-plural يَمْدُدْنَ unfolds.
- Masculine-singular jussive permits لَمْ يَمْدُدْ and لَمْ يَمُدَّ; the latter is not subjunctive.
- Masculine-singular commands include contracted مُدَّ and expanded اُمْدُدْ.
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