Telling Legends: The Passive Voice
When sharing traditional tales and heritage, we often describe actions without focusing on exactly who performed them. For this, we use the passive voice.
| myth | خرافةkhurâfah |
| heritage | تراثturâth |
The Passive Past Tense of Hollow Verbs
Hollow verbs are verbs with a weak middle letter, which typically appears as an alif (ا) in their basic past tense (like قال for "he said" or صاد for "he hunted").
To form the passive in the past tense for a hollow verb, the first letter takes a kasra vowel, and the middle weak letter changes into a yaa (ي). For example, قال becomes قيل (it was said), and خان (he betrayed) becomes خين (was betrayed).
| It was said that a brave man entered the cave. | قيل إن رجلا شجاعا دخل الكهف.qîla inna rajulan shujâ'an dakhala al-kahfa. |
| This monster was hunted when people passed down a strange myth. | صيد هذا الوحش عندما تناقل الناس خرافة غريبة.sida hâdha al-wahshu indama tanâqala an-nâsu khurâfatan gharîbatan. |
| When the brave man was betrayed, a curse began in the village. | لما خين الرجل الشجاع، بدأت لعنة في القرية.lammâ khîna ar-rajulu ash-shujâ'u, bada'at la'natun fî al-qaryati. |
The Passive Present Tense of Hollow Verbs
To form the passive for a hollow verb in the present tense, the first letter takes a damma vowel, and the middle weak letter always changes into an alif (ا). For example, the active verb يقول (he says) becomes يقال (it is said).
| It is said that there is a cave in which a monster lived. | يقال إن هناك كهفا عاش فيه وحش.yuqâlu inna hunâka kahfan aasha fîhi wahshun |
| The friend is betrayed at the well. | يخان الصديق عند البئر.yukhânu as-sadîqu 'inda l-bi'ri. |
Comparing Past and Present Passives
Legends live on from the past into the present. Notice how the middle letter shifts between ي in the past passive and ا in the present passive when discussing these enduring tales.
When using passive verbs, the verb must agree in gender with the new subject (the entity receiving the action). Note that the word for "well" is grammatically feminine, so the verbs describing it take feminine endings.
| well | بئرbi'r |
| The dark well was visited, and therefore it is always visited. | زيرت البئر المظلمة، ولذلك تزار دائما.ziiratil bi'rul muzhlimah, wa lithâlika tuzâru dâ'iman. |
| The well's water was sold, and it is sold until now. | بيع ماء البئر، وهو يباع حتى الآن.bee'a mâ'u l-bi'ri, wa huwa yubâ'u hattâ l-âna |
