Arabic Passive Voice: It was done (فُعِلَ / يُفْعَلُ)
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
The passive voice shifts focus from the doer to the action by changing the verb's internal vowel pattern.
- For past tense, change vowels to u-i: 'kataba' (wrote) becomes 'kutiba' (was written).
- For present tense, change vowels to u-a: 'yaktubu' (writes) becomes 'yuktabu' (is written).
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence (nominative case).
Overview
Arabic grammar employs a sophisticated system to convey not only what actions occur but also the emphasis and perspective from which they are viewed. One fundamental aspect of this system is the passive voice, known in Arabic as المَبْنِي لِلمَجْهُول (al-mabnī li-l-majhūl), literally translating to "built for the unknown." This construction shifts focus from the performer of an action (the agent) to the action itself or its recipient. Rather than stating who did something, the passive voice highlights what was done.
For B1 learners, mastering the passive voice unlocks a more nuanced understanding of Arabic prose, particularly in formal contexts like news, academic texts, and official reports. It allows for conciseness and objectivity by omitting the agent, or by implying the agent is irrelevant, obvious, or intentionally withheld. Consider the difference between كَتَبَ الطَالِبُ الرِّسَالَةَ (kataba aṭ-ṭālibu ar-risālata – The student wrote the letter) and كُتِبَتِ الرِّسَالَةُ (kutibat ar-risālatu – The letter was written).
The former identifies the agent (الطَالِبُ), while the latter foregrounds the action and its recipient (الرِّسَالَةُ) without specifying the writer.
How This Grammar Works
الْفَاعِل - al-fāʿil) that performs the action, and often an object (الْمَفْعُول بِهِ - al-mafʿūl bihi) that receives the action. For instance, in قَرَأَ الْوَلَدُ الْكِتَابَ (qaraʾa al-waladu al-kitāba – The boy read the book), الْوَلَدُ is the subject and الْكِتَابَ is the object.- 1Deletion of the Subject: The original subject (
الْفَاعِل) is entirely removed from the sentence. This is the core reason for the termمَجْهُول(unknown) – the performer of the action becomes explicitly unmentioned. If the agent is known and important, the active voice is preferred. - 2Promotion of the Object: The direct object (
الْمَفْعُول بِهِ) of the active sentence steps into the syntactic position of the subject. It is no longer an object but assumes a new grammatical role: the deputy subject (نَائِب الْفَاعِل- nāʾib al-fāʿil). As a deputy subject, it adopts the nominative case (marked by aضَمَّة- ḍamma - orـُat the end for single nouns, or other nominative markers for duals/plurals). This promotion necessitates a change in its grammatical ending (itsإِعْرَاب- iʿrāb) from the accusative (typicallyفَتْحَة- fatḥa - orـَ) to the nominative. For example,الْكِتَابَ(accusative) becomesالْكِتَابُ(nominative). - 3Verb Vowel Transformation: The verb itself undergoes internal vowel changes (tashkeel) to signal that it is in the passive voice. These changes are systematic and depend on the verb's form and tense. They serve as an immediate indicator that the sentence structure is passive, even without seeing the subject's absence. For example,
قَرَأَ(qaraʾa – he read) becomesقُرِئَ(quriʾa – it was read), andيَقْرَأُ(yaqraʾu – he reads) becomesيُقْرَأُ(yuqraʾu – it is read).
شَرِبَ أَحْمَدُ الْقَهْوَةَ (shariba Aḥmadu al-qahwata – Ahmad drank the coffee). In the passive, أَحْمَدُ (the subject) is dropped, الْقَهْوَةَ (the object) becomes الْقَهْوَةُ (the deputy subject), and the verb شَرِبَ becomes شُرِبَتْ (shuribat – it was drunk), with the feminine تَاء التَّأْنِيث (tāʾ at-taʾnīth) agreeing with الْقَهْوَةُ. The sentence becomes شُرِبَتِ الْقَهْوَةُ (shuribat al-qahwatu – The coffee was drunk).Formation Pattern
الْماضِي) and present (الْمُضَارِع) tenses.
الْفِعْل الثُّلاثِيّ الْمُجَرَّد)
الْماضِي): The first radical (root letter) takes a ضَمَّة (ـُ), and the second radical takes a كَسْرَة (ـِ). The pattern changes from فَعَلَ (faʿala) to فُعِلَ (fuʿila).
كَتَبَ (kataba – he wrote) becomes كُتِبَ (kutiba – it was written).
فَتَحَ (fataḥa – he opened) becomes فُتِحَ (futiḥa – it was opened).
ضَرَبَ (ḍaraba – he hit) becomes ضُرِبَ (ḍuriba – it was hit).
الْمُضَارِع): The prefix letter (يَـ, تَـ, أَـ, نَـ) takes a ضَمَّة (ـُ), and the second radical takes a فَتْحَة (ـَ). The pattern changes from يَفْعَلُ/يَفْعُلُ/يَفْعِلُ to يُفْعَلُ (yufʿalu).
يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu – he writes) becomes يُكْتَبُ (yuktabu – it is written).
يَفْتَحُ (yaftaḥu – he opens) becomes يُفْتَحُ (yuftaḥu – it is opened).
يَضْرِبُ (yaḍribu – he hits) becomes يُضْرَبُ (yuḍrabu – it is hit).
كَتَبَ | كُتِبَ | يَكْتُبُ | يُكْتَبُ | Write |
فَتَحَ | فُتِحَ | يَفْتَحُ | يُفْتَحُ | Open |
شَرِبَ | شُرِبَ | يَشْرَبُ | يُشْرَبُ | Drink |
الأفعال الْمُعْتَلَّة) in Form I
و or ي) as one of their radicals, requiring specific adaptations.
الأَجْوَف): The middle radical is a weak letter.
يَاء (ي) and takes a كَسْرَة (ـِ) on the first radical. The pattern effectively becomes فِيلَ.
قَالَ (qāla – he said) becomes قِيلَ (qīla – it was said).
بَاعَ (bāʿa – he sold) becomes بِيعَ (bīʿa – it was sold).
أَلِف (ا) and the prefix takes a ضَمَّة. The pattern effectively becomes يُفَالُ.
يَقُولُ (yaqūlu – he says) becomes يُقَالُ (yuqālu – it is said).
يَبِيعُ (yabīʿu – he sells) becomes يُبَاعُ (yubāʿu – it is sold).
قَالَ | قِيلَ | يَقُولُ | يُقَالُ | Say |
بَاعَ | بِيعَ | يَبِيعُ | يُبَاعُ | Sell |
النَّاقِص): The last radical is a weak letter.
ضَمَّة, and the second and third radicals (the weak letter) take a كَسْرَة, often resulting in a يَاء (ي).
رَمَى (ramā – he threw) becomes رُمِيَ (rumiya – it was thrown).
دَعَا (daʿā – he called) becomes دُعِيَ (duʿiya – it was called).
ضَمَّة, and the second radical takes a فَتْحَة. The final weak letter often transforms into أَلِف مَقْصُورَة (ى) or أَلِف (ا) and takes a فَتْحَة.
يَرْمِي (yarmī – he throws) becomes يُرْمَى (yurmā – it is thrown).
يَدْعُو (yadʿū – he calls) becomes يُدْعَى (yudʿā – it is called).
رَمَى | رُمِيَ | يَرْمِي | يُرْمَى | Throw |
دَعَا | دُعِيَ | يَدْعُو | يُدْعَى | Call |
ضَمَّة on every movable letter preceding the penultimate (second to last) letter. The penultimate letter then takes a كَسْرَة in the past tense and a فَتْحَة in the present tense.
فَعَّلَ - faʿʿala) (e.g., to teach, to cause to do repeatedly):
فُعِّلَ (fuʿʿila). Example: دَرَّسَ (darrasa – he taught) becomes دُرِّسَ (durrisa – he was taught).
يُفَعَّلُ (yufaʿʿalu). Example: يُدَرِّسُ (yudarrisu – he teaches) becomes يُدَرَّسُ (yudarrasu – he is taught).
فَاعَلَ - fāʿala) (e.g., to correspond, to try to do):
فُوعِلَ (fūʿila). Example: قَاتَلَ (qātala – he fought) becomes قُوتِلَ (qūtila – he was fought/killed).
يُفَاعَلُ (yufāʿalu). Example: يُقَاتِلُ (yuqātilu – he fights) becomes يُقَاتَلُ (yuqātalu – he is fought/killed).
أَفْعَلَ - ʾafʿala) (e.g., to inform, to make someone do):
أُفْعِلَ (ʾufʿila). Example: أَعْلَنَ (ʾaʿlana – he announced) becomes أُعْلِنَ (ʾuʿlina – it was announced).
يُفْعَلُ (yufʿalu). Example: يُعْلِنُ (yuʿlinu – he announces) becomes يُعْلَنُ (yuʿlanu – it is announced).
تَفَعَّلَ - tafaʿʿala) (e.g., to learn, to do something to oneself):
تُفُعِّلَ (tufuʿʿila). Example: تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama – he learned) becomes تُعُلِّمَ (tuʿullima – it was learned).
يُتَفَعَّلُ (yutafaʿʿalu). Example: يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu – he learns) becomes يُتَعَلَّمُ (yutaʿallamu – it is learned).
تَفَاعَلَ - tafāʿala) (e.g., to correspond with each other, to pretend):
تُفُوعِلَ (tufūʿila). Example: تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala – he took/ate) becomes تُنُووِلَ (tunūwila – it was taken/eaten).
يُتَفَاعَلُ (yutafāʿalu). Example: يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu – he takes/eats) becomes يُتَنَاوَلُ (yutanāwalu – it is taken/eaten).
اِنْفَعَلَ - infaʿala) (e.g., to break, to split):
نَائِب الْفَاعِل. اِنْكَسَرَ (inkasara – it broke itself) cannot be passively اُنْكُسِرَ.
اِفْتَعَلَ - iftaʿala) (e.g., to gather, to choose):
اُفْتُعِلَ (uftuʿila). Example: اِخْتَارَ (ikhtāra – he chose) becomes اُخْتِيرَ (ukhtīra – it was chosen).
يُفْتَعَلُ (yuftaʿalu). Example: يَخْتَارُ (yakhtāru – he chooses) becomes يُخْتَارُ (yukhtāru – it is chosen).
اِسْتَفْعَلَ - istafʿala) (e.g., to use, to seek):
اُسْتُفْعِلَ (ustufʿila). Example: اِسْتَخْدَمَ (istakhdama – he used) becomes اُسْتُخْدِمَ (ustukhdima – it was used).
يُسْتَفْعَلُ (yustafʿalu). Example: يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu – he uses) becomes يُسْتَخْدَمُ (yustakhdamu – it is used).
فَعَلَ | فُعِلَ | يَفْعَلُ | يُفْعَلُ | كَتَبَ -> كُتِبَ / يَكْتُبُ -> يُكْتَبُ |
فَعَّلَ | فُعِّلَ | يُفَعِّلُ | يُفَعَّلُ | كَتَّبَ -> كُتِّبَ / يُكَتِّبُ -> يُكَتَّبُ |
فَاعَلَ | فُوعِلَ | يُفَاعِلُ | يُفَاعَلُ | كَاتَبَ -> كُوتِبَ / يُكَاتِبُ -> يُكَاتَبُ |
أَفْعَلَ | أُفْعِلَ | يُفْعِلُ | يُفْعَلُ | أَكْتَبَ -> أُكْتِبَ / يُكْتِبُ -> يُكْتَبُ |
تَفَعَّلَ | تُفُعِّلَ | يَتَفَعَّلُ | يُتَفَعَّلُ | تَكَتَّبَ -> تُكُتِّبَ / يَتَكَتَّبُ -> يُتَكَتَّبُ |
تَفَاعَلَ | تُفُوعِلَ | يَتَفَاعَلُ | يُتَفَاعَلُ | تَكَاتَبَ -> تُكُوتِبَ / يَتَكَاتَبُ -> يُتَكَاتَبُ |\
اِنْفَعَلَ | N/A | يَنْفَعِلُ | N/A | اِنْكَسَرَ (Intransitive) |
اِفْتَعَلَ | اُفْتُعِلَ | يَفْتَعِلُ | يُفْتَعَلُ | اِكْتَتَبَ -> اُكْتُتِبَ / يَكْتَتِبُ -> يُكْتَتَبُ |\
اِسْتَفْعَلَ | اُسْتُفْعِلَ | يَسْتَفْعِلُ | يُسْتَفْعَلُ | اِسْتَكْتَبَ -> اُسْتُكْتِبَ / يَسْتَكْتِبُ -> يُسْتَكْتَبُ |
نَائِب الْفَاعِل (deputy subject).
When To Use It
- Obscuring or Omitting the Agent: This is the primary reason for using the passive. When the agent is unknown, irrelevant, self-evident, or deliberately hidden, the passive voice is ideal. Imagine a situation where a report is missing: saying
فُقِدَ التَّقْرِيرُ(fuqida at-taqrīru – The report was lost) avoids assigning blame, which can be important in polite or diplomatic contexts. In news reporting,قُتِلَ رَجُلٌ(qutila rajulun – A man was killed) reports the event without identifying the killer, often because the information is unavailable or not yet confirmed. - Example:
سُرِقَتِ الْمَحْفَظَةُ.(suriqat al-maḥfaẓatu – The wallet was stolen.) – The thief is unknown.
- Emphasizing the Action or Recipient: By removing the subject, the action itself or the entity acted upon gains prominence. This is common in scientific or technical writing, where processes and results are more important than who performed them.
- Example:
يُجْرَى الْبَحْثُ فِي الْمُخْتَبَرِ.(yujrā al-baḥthu fī al-mukhtabari – The research is conducted in the lab.) – The focus is on the research, not the researchers.
- Formality and Objectivity: The passive voice lends a formal and objective tone. It is ubiquitous in official documents, academic papers, legal texts, and news articles, where personal agency might be downplayed in favor of a neutral presentation of facts or procedures. This makes your writing sound more authoritative and less personal.
- Example:
تَمَّ اِعْتِمَادُ الْقَرَارِ بِالْإِجْمَاعِ.(tamma iʿtimādu al-qarāri bi-l-ʾijmāʿi – The decision was adopted unanimously.) – A formal announcement.
- Instructions and Recipes: When providing directions, the focus is on the steps to be followed, not who performs them. Passive verbs are naturally suited for this.
- Example:
يُضَافُ السُّكَّرُ إِلَى الْحَلِيبِ.(yuḍāfu as-sukkaru ʾilā al-ḥalībi – The sugar is added to the milk.) – A step in a recipe.
- General Statements and Proverbs: For timeless truths or generally accepted facts, the passive voice allows for broad statements that are not tied to a specific agent.
- Example:
يُقَالُ إِنَّ الْعِلْمَ نُورٌ.(yuqālu ʾinna al-ʿilma nūrun – It is said that knowledge is light.) – A common saying.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect
إِعْرَاب(Case Endings) forنَائِب الْفَاعِل: The most frequent error is failing to put theنَائِب الْفَاعِلin the nominative case (مَرْفُوع- marfūʿ). Remember, the original object becomes the new subject and must take the subject's ending, typically aضَمَّةfor singular nouns. Forgetting this results in grammatical dissonance. - Incorrect:
كُتِبَ الْكِتَابَ.(kutiba al-kitāba) – Here,الْكِتَابَis still in the accusative. This is wrong. - Correct:
كُتِبَ الْكِتَابُ.(kutiba al-kitābu – The book was written.) –الْكِتَابُis correctly in the nominative.
- Lack of Gender and Number Agreement: The passive verb must agree in gender and number with its
نَائِب الْفَاعِل. If the deputy subject is feminine, the verb (especially in the past tense) must take the feminine markerتَاء التَّأْنِيث(ـَتْ). If it's plural, the verb remains singular feminine for non-human plurals, but can be plural for human plurals. This is a common oversight. - Incorrect:
شُرِبَ الْقَهْوَةُ.(shuriba al-qahwatu) –الْقَهْوَةُ(coffee) is feminine, but the verbشُرِبَis masculine. - Correct:
شُرِبَتِ الْقَهْوَةُ.(shuribat al-qahwatu – The coffee was drunk.) – Theـَتْon the verb agrees with the feminineالْقَهْوَةُ.
- Attempting to Mention the Agent with
بِوَاسِطَةor Similar: Learners often try to translate the English
Passive Voice Conjugation (Form I)
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
|
Past
|
kataba
|
kutiba
|
|
Present
|
yaktubu
|
yuktabu
|
Meanings
The passive voice is used when the agent of an action is unknown, irrelevant, or when the speaker wishes to emphasize the recipient of the action.
Focus on Object
Highlighting the receiver of the action.
“أُكِلَ الطَّعَامُ (The food was eaten).”
“سُرِقَتِ السَّيَّارَةُ (The car was stolen).”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Past
|
u-i
|
kutiba
|
|
Present
|
u-a
|
yuktabu
|
|
Negative
|
lam + yuf'al
|
lam yuktab
|
|
Question
|
Hal + passive
|
Hal kutiba?
|
Formality Spectrum
أُتِمَّ التَّقْرِيرُ (Work environment)
تَمَّ إِنْهَاءُ التَّقْرِيرِ (Work environment)
خَلَّصْنَا التَّقْرِير (Work environment)
خَلَّصْنَا الشُّغْل (Work environment)
Passive Voice Logic
Past
- kutiba was written
Present
- yuktabu is written
Examples by Level
أُكِلَ التُّفَّاحُ
The apple was eaten.
سُرِقَ الْكِتَابُ
The book was stolen.
يُفْتَحُ الْمَتْجَرُ فِي الصَّبَاحِ
The shop is opened in the morning.
تَمَّ اتِّخَاذُ الْقَرَارِ
The decision was taken.
عُرِفَ عَنْهُ الْكَرَمُ
He was known for generosity.
قُدِّرَتِ الْخَسَائِرُ بِالْمَلَايِينِ
The losses were estimated in the millions.
Easily Confused
Form VII (infa'ala) looks passive but is actually reflexive/intransitive.
Common Mistakes
kana kataba
kutiba
yaktubu al-kitab
yuktabu al-kitabu
fataha al-bab
futiha al-bab
tam al-kitaba
kutiba
Sentence Patterns
___ (passive verb) ___ (subject)
Real World Usage
أُعْلِنَ عَنِ الْخَبَرِ
وُقِّعَ الْعَقْدُ
دُرِسَتِ الظَّاهِرَةُ
نُشِرَتِ الصُّورَةُ
حُجِزَتِ التَّذْكِرَةُ
أُعِدَّ الطَّعَامُ
Focus on the Object
Don't add 'kana'
Use for News
Dialect vs MSA
Smart Tips
Use the passive voice to sound objective.
Use the passive voice instead of saying 'someone'.
Use 'tam' if you forget the vowel pattern.
Look for the u-i/u-a pattern to identify passive verbs.
Pronunciation
Vowel length
Ensure the 'u' and 'i' are short unless the root dictates otherwise.
Neutral
Kutiba al-kitabu ↘
Statement of fact
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Remember 'U-I' for the past (You-I did it) and 'U-A' for the present (You-Are doing it).
Visual Association
Imagine a book floating in the air by itself; no one is holding it. The book is the subject.
Rhyme
Past is U-I, Present is U-A, passive voice is the way.
Story
The king was crowned. The law was passed. The city was built. All these events happened without mentioning the people who did them.
Word Web
Challenge
Convert 5 active sentences from your textbook into passive voice in 5 minutes.
Cultural Notes
Used heavily in news and formal writing.
Root-based Semitic morphology.
Conversation Starters
هل عُرِفَ مَوْعِدُ الِاجْتِمَاعِ؟
Journal Prompts
Common Mistakes
Test Yourself
kataba -> ___
yaktubu -> ___
Find and fix the mistake:
kana kutiba al-dars
daraba al-rajulu al-walada
Passive voice uses 'kana' always.
A: Did they open the shop? B: Yes, ___.
al-bab / futiha
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Score: /8
Practice Exercises
8 exerciseskataba -> ___
yaktubu -> ___
Find and fix the mistake:
kana kutiba al-dars
daraba al-rajulu al-walada
Passive voice uses 'kana' always.
A: Did they open the shop? B: Yes, ___.
al-bab / futiha
kataba -> kutiba, daraba -> ?
Score: /8
Practice Bank
10 exercises___ التُّفَّاحَةُ.
قُرِئَ الكِتَابَ.
الحَقُّ / قِيلَ
The door is opened.
Choose the pattern:
Match:
___ المَنْشُورُ.
يَسْمَعُ الدَّرْسُ.
The glass (al-zujaj) was broken (kusira).
It is said...
Score: /10
FAQ (8)
Because the passive is a morphological change, not a syntactic one.
Only transitive verbs can be made passive.
You don't! That is the point of the passive voice.
Rarely; people use 'tam' or active voice instead.
It becomes the subject and takes the nominative case.
Once you master the vowel patterns, it becomes very intuitive.
Some verbs have irregular passive forms in higher forms (II-X).
Avoid it when you want to be clear about who did the action.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Se + verb
Arabic is morphological; Spanish is syntactic.
être + past participle
Arabic does not use auxiliary verbs for passive.
werden + past participle
Arabic is internal.
reru/rareru
Arabic changes internal vowels.
bei
Arabic is internal.
tam + masdar
MSA uses internal vowels.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
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