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In traditional Arabic grammar, the passive voice is primarily used when the doer of an action is unknown or intentionally hidden. However, Modern Standard Arabic—especially in news, business, and official statements—frequently borrows the English structure of explicitly naming the agent using the equivalent of "by".

### The Passive Agent (مِن قِبَلِ)

To explicitly state the doer of a passive action, use the following phrase:

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This phrase is placed after the passive verb and its subject. Because it functions as a prepositional phrase, the noun representing the doer (the agent) that directly follows it takes the genitive case.

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### Corporate and Administrative Actions

This structure is extremely common in professional and administrative environments to describe corporate decisions, such as acquisitions, nominations, and dismissals. Notice how the passive verb always agrees in gender with the recipient of the action (the grammatical subject), not with the agent following مِن قِبَلِ.

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{{item:1184481}}

{{item:1184478}}

### Government and Legal Reports

Journalists and officials also rely heavily on this structure to report on actions taken by authorities, committees, or the police, such as imposing laws, suspending activities, or making arrests.

{{item:1184487}}

{{item:1184490}}

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The passive agent (مِن قِبَلِ)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
to conclude (a deal / an agreement)	أبرمabrama
by (used in passive sentences)	من قبلmin qibali
The deal was concluded by the company yesterday.	أبرمت الصفقة من قبل الشركة أمس.ubrimati as-safqatu min qibali ash-sharikati amsi
Important agreements are concluded by the government.	تبرم اتفاقيات مهمة من قبل الحكومة.tubramu ittifâqiyyâtun muhimmatun min qibali-l-hukûmati.
to acquire (a company / property)	استحوذ علىistahwadha 'ala
The bank was acquired by a global group.	استحوذ على البنك من قبل مجموعة عالمية.ustuhwidha ala al-banki min qibali majmuuatin aalamiyyah
Even if it is expensive, the factory will be acquired by the competitors.	حتى لو كان مكلفا، سيستحوذ على المصنع من قبل المنافسين.hattâ law kâna mukallifan, sayustahwadhu alâ almasnai min qibali almunâfisîna.
to dismiss / to fire (from a job)	أقالaqâla
The manager was dismissed by the company.	أقيلت المديرة من قبل الشركة.uqilati al-mudiratu min qibali ash-sharikati
Why was he dismissed by the administration?	لماذا أقيل من قبل الإدارة؟limâdhâ uqîla min qibali l-idârah?
to nominate	رشحrashshaha
I was nominated for the position by the president.	رشحت للمنصب من قبل الرئيس.rushshihtu lilmansibi min qibali r-ra'îs.
We do not know whether she was nominated by her colleagues.	لا نعرف ما إذا رشحت من قبل زملائها.lâ narifu mâ idhâ rushshihat min qibali zumalâ'ihâ.
to employ / to hire	وظفwazzafa
The female workers were hired by the factory.	وظفت العاملات من قبل المصنع.wuzzifati al-âmilâtu min qibali al-masna'i
Whoever is hired by the factory gets a good salary.	من يوظف من قبل المصنع يحصل على راتب جيد.man yuwazzafu min qibali almasnai yahsulu ala ratibin jayyidin
to impose	فرضfaraḍa
New taxes were imposed by the government.	فرضت ضرائب جديدة من قبل الحكومة.furidat darâ'ibu jadîdatun min qibali al-hukûmati
What was imposed by the administration is unacceptable.	ما فرض من قبل الإدارة مرفوض.mâ furida min qibali l-idârati marfûdun
to suspend	علق'allaqa
The meeting was suspended by the committee.	علق الاجتماع من قبل اللجنة.ulliqa al-ijtimâu min qibali al-lajnati
The project will be suspended by the official committee.	سيعلق المشروع من قبل اللجنة الرسمية.sayu'allaqu al-mashrû'u min qibali al-lajnati ar-rasmiyyati
to criticize	انتقدintaqada
The official statement was criticized by the public.	انتقد البيان الرسمي من قبل الجمهور.untuqida al-bayânu ar-rasmiyyu min qibali al-jumhûri
Even if she is innocent, she will be criticized by the journalists.	حتى لو كانت بريئة، ستنتقد من قبل الصحفيين.hattâ law kânat barî'atan, satuntaqadu min qibali s-sahafiyyîn.
to arrest (to detain)	اعتقلultuqila
The suspect was arrested by the police.	اعتقلت المتهمة من قبل الشرطة.u'tuqilati al-muttahamatu min qibali ash-shurtati.
The thieves were arrested by the guard yesterday.	اعتقل اللصوص من قبل الحارس أمس.utuqila al-lusoosu min qibali al-hârisi amsi

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