Hollow Verbs (الأجوف)
Verbs with a weak middle letter (usually an ا in the basic past tense) are called "hollow" verbs (الأجوف).
| to live | عاشâsha |
Stem Shortening in the Past Tense
When conjugating hollow verbs in the past tense for the first person ("I" and "we") and the second person ("you"), the middle weak letter is dropped.
For example, عاش drops its middle ا and adds the standard "I" suffix (ت) to become عشت. Similarly, كان (he was) drops its middle letter to become كنت (I was).
| I lived my childhood in an old house. | عشت طفولتي في بيت قديم.'ishtu tufoolati fi baytin qadeem |
| I was very happy in my youth. | كنت سعيدا جدا في شبابي.kuntu sa'îdan jiddan fî shabâbî. |
Applying the Rule to Other Verbs
This stem shortening applies to all hollow verbs. When adding the "we" suffix (نا) to زار (to visit) or عاد (to return), the middle letter disappears, giving us زرنا and عدنا.
| We visited my paternal uncle and remembered childhood. | زرنا عمي وتذكرنا الطفولة.zurnâ ammî wa tadhakkarnâ at-tufûlah. |
| We returned to our old house yesterday. | عدنا إلى بيتنا القديم أمس.'udnâ ilâ baytinâ-l-qadîmi ams |
The exact same rule applies when using the second person ("you") suffixes, seen in verbs like قال (to say) and نام (to sleep).
| I said to my paternal uncle that the story is interesting. | قلت لعمي إن القصة ممتعة.qultu li'ammî inna-l-qissata mumti'ah |
| Did you sleep in my maternal uncle's house? | هل نمت في بيت خالي؟hal nimta fî bayti khâlî? |
| Where did you live during the period of youth? | أين عشت في فترة الشباب؟ayna 'ishta fi fatrati ash-shabâb? |
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