Form I سَعَى — يَسْعَى — سَعْيًا “seek; strive,” root س-ع-ي, is a final-yāʾ verb whose perfect and imperfect citation forms both end in the sound ā. It differs from رَمَى — يَرْمِي because its imperfect has an a-stem: يسعى, not a long-ī ending. That one lexical fact controls its visible mood pattern.
The crucial contrast is يَسْعَى — لَنْ يَسْعَى — لَمْ يَسْعَ. Indicative and subjunctive have identical spelling and pronunciation because neither estimated ḍamma nor estimated fatḥa can appear on final alif maqṣūra. The jussive is different: it deletes ى and leaves audible fatḥa on the preceding consonant. For the broader system, see the subjunctive and jussive guides.
Verified principal parts, not a guessed stem
The principal parts are سَعَى saʿā, يَسْعَى yasʿā, and سَعْي saʿy. The third radical ي is easiest to see in the maṣdar and before suffixes, as in سَعَيْتُ “I strove.” Neither final ى in the finite forms is the root radical written directly; it is the spelling of final ā produced by the weak-root paradigm.
| Environment | Form | Surface result |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 3 m.sg. | سَعَى | final ى, pronounced ā |
| imperfect indicative | يَسْعَى | ā with estimated ḍamma |
| perfect before -t | سَعَيْتُ | consonantal y appears |
| subjunctive after لن | لَنْ يَسْعَى | ā with estimated fatḥa |
| jussive after لم | لَمْ يَسْعَ | ى deleted; final a remains |
سعى الفريق إلى حل المشكلة قبل نهاية الأسبوع.
saʿā l-farīqu ʾilā ḥalli l-mushkilati qabla nihāyati l-ʾusbūʿ.
The team worked to solve the problem before the end of the week. (Formal contemporary MSA.)
تسعى الطبيبة إلى تحسين رعاية المرضى في المنطقة.
tasʿā ṭ-ṭabībatu ʾilā taḥsīni riʿāyati l-marḍā fī l-minṭaqa.
The doctor is seeking to improve patient care in the region. (Formal.)
In its common goal-directed sense, سعى selects إلى before a noun or maṣdar: سعى إلى اتفاق “sought an agreement,” سعى إلى تحسين الخدمة “worked to improve the service.” English often uses a direct infinitive after seek or strive; do not copy that frame by dropping إلى.
The perfect: y appears before consonant-initial suffixes
Like رمى, this verb shows consonantal ي before suffixes beginning with a consonant: سَعَيْتُ “I strove,” سَعَيْتِ “you (f.sg.) strove,” سَعَيْنَا “we strove.” The feminine singular is سَعَتْ, the masculine plural سَعَوْا, and the feminine plural سَعَيْنَ.
| Person | Perfect | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| he | سَعَى | saʿā |
| she | سَعَتْ | saʿat |
| they two, masculine | سَعَيَا | saʿayā |
| they, masculine/mixed | سَعَوْا | saʿaw |
| they, feminine | سَعَيْنَ | saʿayna |
| I | سَعَيْتُ | saʿaytu |
| we | سَعَيْنَا | saʿaynā |
سعيت إلى التحقق من الخبر قبل نشره.
saʿaytu ʾilā t-taḥaqquqi mina l-khabari qabla nashrih.
I tried to verify the report before publishing it.
سعت الباحثتان إلى جمع عينات من موقعين مختلفين.
saʿati l-bāḥithatāni ʾilā jamʿi ʿayyinātin min mawqiʿayni mukhtalifayn.
The two female researchers sought to collect samples from two different sites. (Neutral VSO: singular feminine verb.)
الباحثتان سعتا إلى جمع عينات إضافية.
al-bāḥithatāni saʿatā ʾilā jamʿi ʿayyinātin ʾiḍāfiyya.
The two female researchers sought to collect additional samples. (Subject-first dual agreement.)
The last pair separates word order from weak-stem formation. Neutral VSO سعت الباحثتان has a singular feminine verb, while subject-first الباحثتان سعتا has a dual verb. Both still use the same weak root.
Why indicative and subjunctive look identical
Ordinary indicative يسعى is grammatically marked by an estimated ḍamma. After لن، أن، كي، لكي and other subjunctive governors, يسعى has an estimated fatḥa. Alif maqṣūra cannot carry either ending, so the surface form does not change. Syntax, not visible spelling, identifies the mood.
لن يسعى المدير إلى تغيير الخطة قبل استشارة الفريق.
lan yasʿā l-mudīru ʾilā taghyīri l-khuṭṭati qabla stishārati l-farīq.
The manager will not seek to change the plan before consulting the team. (Subjunctive with estimated fatḥa.)
تريد الشركتان أن تسعيا إلى تسوية النزاع وديا.
turīdu sh-sharikatāni ʾan tasʿayā ʾilā taswiyati n-nizāʿi wuddiyyan.
The two companies want to seek an amicable settlement of the dispute. (Dual subjunctive five-verb form without nūn.)
The dual illustrates a different mechanism. Indicative تسعيانِ becomes subjunctive تسعيا because the five verbs lose nūn. Here the mood is visible even though singular تسعى stays unchanged.
The jussive deletes alif maqṣūra
After لم, prohibitive لا, command-lām, and other jussive governors, singular يسعى becomes يَسْعَ. The final written ى disappears. The last audible a is the vowel on ع, not a retained long ā.
لم يسع الوفد إلى تمديد المفاوضات بعد رفض العرض.
lam yasʿa l-wafdu ʾilā tamdīdi l-mufāwaḍāti baʿda rafḍi l-ʿarḍ.
The delegation did not seek to extend the negotiations after the offer was rejected. (Jussive after lam.)
لم تسع المهندسات إلى حل مؤقت، بل قدمن خطة دائمة.
lam tasʿa l-muhandisātu ʾilā ḥallin muʾaqqatin, bal qaddamna khuṭṭatan dāʾima.
The female engineers did not seek a temporary solution; instead, they presented a permanent plan. (Neutral VSO with a singular feminine verb.)
The masculine-singular imperative اِسْعَ “strive; seek!” is built from second-person jussive تَسْعَ by removing تـ and adding hamzat al-waṣl. The full weak-imperative paradigm is treated separately because suffixes produce اِسْعَيْ، اِسْعَيَا، اِسْعَوْا، اِسْعَيْنَ.
Common Mistakes
Deleting ى in the subjunctive
❌ لن يسع المدير إلى تغيير الخطة.
Incorrect—the singular subjunctive has estimated fatḥa and keeps ى: لن يسعى. The shortened يسع is jussive.
✅ لن يسعى المدير إلى تغيير الخطة.
lan yasʿā l-mudīru ʾilā taghyīri l-khuṭṭa.
The manager will not seek to change the plan.
Keeping ى after jussive لم
❌ لم يسعى الوفد إلى حل وسط.
Incorrect in careful MSA—the jussive deletes final ى: لم يسعَ.
✅ لم يسع الوفد إلى حل وسط.
lam yasʿa l-wafdu ʾilā ḥallin wasaṭ.
The delegation did not seek a compromise.
Regularizing the first-person perfect
❌ سعت إلى التحقق من الخبر، وأنا المتكلم.
Incorrect for ‘I sought’—سعت is third-person feminine singular. The first-person form restores yāʾ: سعيت.
✅ سعيت إلى مراجعة المصدر قبل اقتباس الخبر.
saʿaytu ʾilā murājaʿati l-maṣdari qabla qtibāsi l-khabar.
I tried to review the source before quoting the report.
Dropping the goal preposition
❌ سعت الشركة زيادة مبيعاتها.
Incorrect ordinary complement frame—goal-directed سعى normally uses إلى before the noun or maṣdar.
✅ سعت الشركة إلى زيادة مبيعاتها في الأسواق الجديدة.
saʿati sh-sharikatu ʾilā ziyādati mabīʿātihā fī l-ʾaswāqi l-jadīda.
The company sought to increase its sales in new markets.
Giving a verb-first dual full agreement
❌ سعيا الباحثان إلى تفسير النتيجة.
Incorrect in neutral formal VSO—use singular سعى before an overt masculine dual subject.
✅ سعى الباحثان إلى تفسير النتيجة غير المتوقعة.
saʿā l-bāḥithāni ʾilā tafsīri n-natījati ghayri l-mutawaqqaʿa.
The two researchers sought to explain the unexpected result.
Key Takeaways
- Learn سَعَى — يَسْعَى — سَعْيًا as the principal parts of root س-ع-ي.
- Suffixes reveal yāʾ in سَعَيْتُ and related forms; masculine plural is سَعَوْا.
- Singular indicative and subjunctive يسعى look and sound alike because their endings are estimated.
- Jussive يسعَ deletes alif maqṣūra and is visibly shorter.
- In the common goal-directed construction, use سعى إلى + noun/maṣdar.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- رَمَى-type Final-Yāʾ VerbsA2 — Conjugate رمى and other final-yāʾ Form I verbs across the perfect, imperfect, moods, and imperative.
- Imperatives of Weak VerbsA2 — Derive weak-verb commands from the second-person jussive, preserving radical loss, helping vowels, and addressee suffixes.
- Mood Endings on Weak-Final VerbsB1 — Distinguish indicative retention, subjunctive vocalization, and jussive deletion in final-wāw, final-yāʾ, and alif-maqṣūra verbs.
- The Subjunctive ImperfectB1 — Form the imperfect subjunctive with final ـَ or nūn deletion after أنْ، لن، and كي in complements, future denials, and purpose clauses.
- The Jussive ImperfectB1 — Form the jussive with sukūn, weak-letter deletion, or nūn deletion after past negation, prohibitions, commands, and conditional governors.
- The Arabic Verb SystemA1 — See how Arabic verb stems, agreement, mood, voice, and derived Forms work together in complete sentences.