The Modern Passive Construction
While Arabic has a traditional way to form passive verbs, modern formal Arabic—such as in news, business, and manufacturing contexts—frequently uses a multi-word passive construction.
Instead of conjugating the main verb into the passive voice, this structure uses an auxiliary verb meaning "to be completed" or "to take place," followed by the verbal noun (مصدر) of the action.
| to take place / to be completed (happen, be carried out) | تمtamma |
In the past tense, use تَمَّ. Literally, this translates to "The [action] of [the object] was completed."
| The vehicle was manufactured in the new factory. | تم تصنيع المركبة في المصنع الجديد.tamma tasniiu al-markabati fii al-masnai al-jadiid |
To express ongoing or present passive actions, use the present tense form يَتِمُّ.
| The robot is being installed on the assembly line. | يتم تركيب الروبوت على خط التجميع.yatimmu tarkeebu ar-roboti 'ala khatti at-tajmee'i |
Using جَرَى
The verbs جَرَى (past) and يَجْري (present) work just like تَمَّ to form this passive construction.
| The water was tested in the station. | جرى اختبار الماء في المحطة.jarâ ikhtibâru al-mâ'i fî al-maḥaṭṭah |
| The machines are being operated automatically. | يجري تشغيل الآلات بشكل آلي.yajrī tashghīlu al-âlâti bishaklin âliyyin |
Gender Agreement
Because the verbal noun functions as the grammatical subject of the auxiliary verb, the auxiliary verb must agree with the gender of the verbal noun (not the original object being acted upon).
For feminine verbal nouns (often ending in ة), use the feminine auxiliary forms تَمَّت (past) or تَتِمُّ (present).
| The first batch was packed successfully. | تمت تعبئة الدفعة الأولى بنجاح.tammat ta'bi'atu ad-daf'ati al-ûlâ binajâhin |
| The manager was angry while the batch was being packed. | كانت المديرة غاضبة بينما كانت تتم تعبئة الدفعة.kânati al-mudîratu ghâdibatan baynamâ kânat tatimmu ta'bi'atu ad-daf'ati |
Attaching Pronouns and Particles
When the recipient of the passive action has already been mentioned, it attaches as a possessive pronoun suffix directly to the verbal noun.
This construction also flows naturally after particles like أن (to), which simply changes the present tense auxiliary verb into the subjunctive mood as usual.
| Do not use the equipment before it is tested! | لا تستخدم المعدات قبل أن يتم اختبارها!lâ tastakhdimi-l-mu'addâti qabla an yatimma-khtibâruhâ |