Verbs with a preposition
Some verbs reach their object through a preposition: سمح ب to allow, اتفق على to agree on, شك في to doubt. Their passive participle keeps the preposition, and the preposition carries a pronoun: مسموح به is allowed; its به (literally with it) points back to what is allowed.
| verb | participle | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| سمح ب | مسموح به | allowed |
| اتفق على | متفق(muttafaq) عليه | agreed (upon) |
| شك في | مشكوك(mashkûk) فيه | doubtful |
| رغب في | مرغوب(marghûb) فيه | desirable |
| عمل ب | معمول(maamool) به | in force |
| اعترف ب | معترف(mu'taraf) به | recognized |
| وثق ب | موثوق به | reliable |
The pronoun agrees, the participle does not
The pronoun points back to the noun and agrees with it: ه for a masculine noun, ها for a feminine noun or a non-human plural, هم for men or a mixed group (هن for women, هما for two). The participle stays masculine singular, because its subject is the phrase (به، فيها), not the noun. In مشقوقة شاشته the participle agreed with the noun after it; here there is no such noun.
| The guests arrived at the agreed time. | وصل الضيوف في الموعد المتفق عليه.wasala ad-duyûfu fî al-maw'idi al-muttafaqi 'alayhi |
| The result of the elections is doubtful. | نتيجة الانتخابات مشكوك فيها.natijatu al-intikhabati mashkukun fiha |
| Reliable employees are few. | الموظفون الموثوق بهم قليلون.al-muwazzafûna al-mawthûqu bihim qalîlûna |
With and without ال
When the participle describes a noun, it takes ال after a definite noun (الموعد المتفق عليه) and none after an indefinite one (جامعة معترف بها). As the predicate it has no ال, even after a definite noun: نتيجة الانتخابات مشكوك فيها. غير makes the opposite: غير مسموح به not allowed, غير مرغوب فيه unwanted.
| I studied at a recognized university. | درست في جامعة معترف بها.darastu fī jâmi'atin mu'tarafin bihâ |
| Photography is not allowed in the museum. | التصوير غير مسموح به في المتحف.at-taswîru ghayru masmûhin bihi fil-mathafi. |
You will also meet مسموح on its own, but written Arabic usually keeps به.
