Formal exclamations of wonder (أَفْعِلْ بِـ)

Formal Exclamations of Wonder

To express deep admiration or amazement in formal Arabic—such as when marveling at fine art or breathtaking scenery—you can use the exclamatory pattern أَفْعِلْ بِـ.

This classical structure roughly translates to "How [adjective] is [noun]!" and is composed of two parts:

• أَفْعِلْ: The exclamatory verb. Although it looks exactly like an imperative (command) verb, it functions as an exclamation of wonder. For example, to say "How magnificent!", we use أبدع.
• بِـ: A preposition attached directly to the noun you are admiring. Because it follows a preposition, the admired noun must be in the genitive case.

You can apply this pattern to many descriptive roots. For instance, using the root for "great," we get أعظم.

Discussing Masterpieces

When critiquing art and scenery, you will naturally combine these exclamations with expressive vocabulary like "perspective" (منظور), "gradation" (تدرج), and "harmony" (انسجام).