Impersonal Passives
In Arabic, standard passive sentences are formed by turning the direct object into the new subject (known as the "deputy agent"). When a verb is intransitive—meaning it relies on a preposition to connect to its target (like "to gesture to" or "to search for")—Arabic uses an impersonal passive. In this structure, the entire prepositional phrase acts as the deputy agent.
Because a prepositional phrase does not have a gender or a number, the passive verb is always locked into the third-person masculine singular form.
Notice in the example below that even though "dome" (قبة) is feminine, the passive verb is masculine (أومئ) because it is modifying the entire prepositional phrase (إلى القبة), not the noun itself.
| The huge dome was gestured to. | أومئ إلى القبة الضخمة.'ûmi'a ilâ al-qubbati ad-dakhmah. |
Tour Activities in the Past Tense
This structure is extremely common when describing historical events or activities during a walking tour. Whether a mural was praised (using على), a famous actress was honored (using بـ), or a queen was searched for (using عن), the verb remains in its fixed masculine singular passive form.
| The actress was honored at the historical shrine. | احتفي بالممثلة في المزار التاريخي.uhtufiya bil-mumaththilati fi-l-mazâri at-târîkhiyyi |
| The mural was praised, not to mention the shrine. | أثني على الجدارية، ناهيك عن المزار.uthniya alâ al-jidâriyyati, nâhîka ani al-mazâr |
| The queen was searched for beside the minaret. | بحث عن الملكة بجانب المئذنة.buhitha ani almalikati bijanibi almi'dhanati |
Present Tense Passives
The exact same rule applies in the present tense. To form the present impersonal passive, use the masculine third-person prefix. It keeps the passive vowel pattern regardless of who or what is inside the prepositional phrase.
| On the tour, the guide is listened to and the historical building is gestured to. | في الجولة، يصغى إلى المرشدة ويومأ إلى المبنى التاريخي.fil jawla, yusghâ ilal murshida wa yooma' ilal mabna t-târîkhi. |
Historical Contexts
Impersonal passives are incredibly useful for setting a scene or providing historical context about a location. You will frequently encounter them combined with particles like قد to describe an action that had already taken place before you arrived.
| We visited the square, and the king had already been overthrown. | زرنا الساحة وقد أطيح بالملك.zurnâ as-sâḥata waqad utîha bil-maliki |