Transforming States: Verbs of Becoming
Glassblowing is a beautiful art form that relies entirely on transformation. To describe how sand turns into glass, or how liquid turns into a solid masterpiece, Arabic uses "verbs of becoming."
صار and أصبح
The two most common verbs for "to become" are صار and أصبح. They are used to express a change from one state to another.
| to become | صارsâra |
The Accusative Predicate
Grammatically, صار and أصبح belong to a special family of verbs known as the "sisters of كان" (was). Because of this, they follow a very specific rule: the subject of the sentence remains in the default nominative case, but the predicate—the new state or thing that the subject has become—must take the accusative case (منصوب).
For indefinite words, this accusative case is marked by an "-an" sound (a double fatha). In writing, this is usually indicated by adding an extra alif (اً) at the end of the word, unless the word ends in a taa marbuta (ة).
Let's see this in action with صار:
| The sand became beautiful art. | صار الرمل فنا جميلا.sâra r-ramlu fannan jamîlan |
Notice how the words for art and beautiful take the accusative ending, changing from فن جميل to فنا جميلا.
The verb أصبح works exactly the same way. Watch how the glass changes state under the heat, with the predicate (liquid) taking the accusative form:
| With the heat, the glass became a liquid. | مع الحرارة، أصبح الزجاج سائلا.ma'a al-harârati, asbaha az-zujâju sâ'ilan |
The Art of Glassblowing
Let's look at the artist at work, combining our verbs of becoming with new vocabulary for blowing and shaping glass.
| The artist blew into the liquid glass. | نفخ الفنان في الزجاج السائل.nafakha al-fannânu fî az-zujâji as-sâ'il |
| He blew inside the tube and it became a beautiful shape. | نفخ داخل الأنبوب وصار شكلا جميلا.nafakha dâkhila al-unbûbi wa sâra shaklan jamîlan. |
If the new state is a feminine word ending in a taa marbuta, the accusative double fatha sits directly on the letter (ة) without needing an extra alif:
| The new shape became a wonderful masterpiece. | صار الشكل الجديد تحفة رائعة.sâra ash-shaklu al-jadîdu tuhfatan râ'i'atan. |
Finally, we can describe the last stage of the glassblowing process, again using an accusative predicate for the new state:
| After a minute, the liquid became solid. | بعد دقيقة، أصبح السائل صلبا.ba'da daqîqatin, asbaha s-sâ'ilu sulban. |