Lesson 30 – الدَّرْسُ الثَّلاثُونَ

Masculinity and Feminization of Verb- تَذْكِيرُ الْفِعْلِ وَتَأْنِيثُهُ

Introduction – مُقَدِّمَةٌ

• In a previous lesson of the course, we studied the masculine and feminine nouns and recognized the signs that differentiate between a masculine and a feminine noun. Here we will do the same with verbs. Verbs are like nouns; they are subject to rules of masculinity and feminization according to the verb doer. Sometimes the verb doer makes the verb obligatory feminine – i.e. it is always feminine, as in the following examples:

Picture	English	Arabic
	The Arab woman plays an important role in the formation of the family	تَقُومُ المَرْأَةُ العَرَبِيَّةُ بِدَوْرٍ مُهِمٌّ في تَكْوينِ الأسْرَة ِ
	The university helps the youth draw their country’s future	الْجَامِعَةُ تُسَاعِدُ الشَّبَابَ فِي تَكْوِينِ مُسْتَقْبَل ِ بَلَدِهِم
	The girls and boys participated in the contest	اِشْتَرَكَتْ الْبَنَاتُ مَعَ الأوْلادِ فِي الْمُسَابَقَةِ

• In other cases the verb doer makes a verb permissible feminine or masculine – i.e. it can be either gender, as in the following examples:

English	Masculine Verb الفعل المذكر	Feminine Verb الفعل المؤنث
Arabs disagreed, thus their influence waned.	اِفْتَرَقَ العَرَبُ فَضَعُفَتْ قُوَّتُهم	اِفْتَرَقَتِ العَرَبُ فَضَعُفَت قُوَّتُهم
Fatima attended the lesson today	حَضَرَ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فاطِمَةُ	حَضَرتِ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَةُ

• Therefore, we should study three important points:

1. When a verb doer makes a verb obligatory feminine.
2. When a verb doer makes a verb obligatory masculine.
3. When a verb doer makes a verb permissible feminine or masculine.

• We shall also study the signs of the feminization of the present and past verbs, as in the following examples:

Feminine sentence translation	مُؤَنَّثٌ  Feminine sentence	Masculine sentence translation	مُذَكَّرٌ Masculine sentence
The girl came early	حَضَرَتِ البِنْتُ مُبَكِّرةً	The boy came early	حَضَرَ الوَلَدُ مُبَكِّراً
The female student writes with a pen	تَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبَة ُ بِالقَلَمِ	The male student writes with a pen	يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ بِالْقَلَمِ
The mother does her duty towards her family	أَدَّتِ الْأُمُّ مَا عَلَيْها لِأُسْرَتِها	The father does his duty towards his family	أَدَّى الأَبُ ما عَلَيْهِ لأُسْرَتِهِ

Types of Feminine- أَنْوَاعُ الْمُؤَنَّثِ

• We will first discuss briefly the types of feminine nouns in the Arabic language. There are two types of feminine nouns in Arabic:
1. Real feminine مُؤَنَّثٌ حَقِيقِيٌّ is that which begets or lays eggs, whether women, animals or birds.

حَمَامَةٌ	بَقَرَةٌ	زَرَافَةٌ	زَيْنَبُ	بِنْتٌ	اِمْرُأَةٌ	Arabic
Dove	Cow	Giraffe	Zaynab	Girl	Woman	English

• This means that a noun may not be suffixed with a feminine letter, such as Zaynabزَيْنَبُ but it is feminine by default.
1. Figurative feminine مُؤَنَّثٌ مَجَازِيٌّ is an inanimate (non-living) noun ending with a feminine suffix, or does not end with a feminine suffix but is regarded as feminine within the Arabic language. For example:

يَدٌ	شَمْسٌ	صَحْرَاءُ	جَامِعَةٌ	حَدِيقَةٌ	شَجَرَةٌ	Arabic
Hand	Sun	Desert	University	Garden	Tree	English

Obligatory feminine – الْمُؤَنَّثِ وُجُوبًا

• After we have learned types of feminine nouns in detail, we will know when a verb must be obligatory feminine. Consider the following example:

Picture	English Translation	Arabic Example	No.
	Suad has exercised sports for a month	مَارَسَتْ سُعَادُ الرِّيَاضَةَ شَهْرًا	1
	Zaynab studies at Cairo University	تَدْرُسُ زَيْنَبُ في جَامِعَةِ القَاهِرَةِ	2
	Fatima works in a big company	فَاطِمَةُ تَعْمَلُ في شَرِكَةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ	3
	Suad studied hard and passed the exam	دَرَسَتْ سُعَادُ بِجِدٍ فَنَجَحَتْ في الِامْتِحَانِ	4
	The giraffe ate a lot of carrots	أَكَلَتِ الزَّرَافَةُ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الجَزَرِ	5
	The cat entered the kitchen, ate food and then it escaped from the window	دَخَلَتِ القِطَّةُ المَطْبَخَ، وأكَلَتِ الطَّعَامَ ثُمَّ هَرَبَتْ مِنَ النَّافِذَةِ	6

• Through these examples, it becomes apparent that a verb is obligatory feminine when:
1. The verb doer is a real feminine that begets or lays eggs, whether women, animals or birds, including proper nouns (names) - examples include Suad, Zaynab, Fatima, giraffe and cat. All these nouns are real feminine nouns. However, there is a condition that should be met in order that the verb is an obligatory feminine – that is, the verb and its doer must be directly connected, i.e. the noun comes directly after the verb.
2. The verb doer is a connected pronoun (ضَمِيرٌ مُتَّصِلٌ) referring to a feminine noun mentioned before the verb. Consider the following examples:

Picture	English	Arabic
	The Mother is a gift from God; she becomes pregnant, gives birth and cares for her children	الْأُمُّ هَدِيَّةٌمِنَ اللَّهِ؛ حَمَلَتْ، وَوَضَعَتْ، وَسَهِرَتْ عَلَى رَاحَةِ أَوْلادِها
	My friend Mariam is diligent; she reads and studies much	صَدِيقَتِي مَرْيَمُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ؛ فَهِيَ تَقْرَأُ كَثِيرًا، وتَدْرُسُ كَثِيرًا
	The police exert efforts to keep security of people and protect their property and souls (lives).	تَسْهَرُ الشُّرْطَةُ عَلَى أَمْنِ الْمُوَاطِنِينَ؛ فَتَحْمِي أَمْوَالَهُمْ، وَأَرْوَاحَهُمْ
	The sky is a source of life for the land; if it rains it fills the land with goodness and life, and if not land becomes waste	السَّمْاءُ مَصْدَرُ الحَيَاةِ لِلأَرْضِ فَإذَا أَمْطَرَتْ مَلأتِ الأَرْضَ خَيْرًا وَحَيَاةً وإنْ أَمْسَكَتْ أَصْبَحَتِ الأَرْضُ خَرَابًا وَمَوَاتًا
	Planes are a wonderful invention, because they carry heavy things and transport passengers to remote countries	الطَّائِرَاتُ اخْتِرَاعٌ رَائعٌ تَحْمِلُ الْأَشْيَاءَ الثَّقِيلَةَ وَتَنْقُلُ الأَشْخَاصَ إِلَى بِلادٍ بَعِيدَةٍ

• We notice in the previous examples that all verbs are feminine. The verbs are:

Type	Verb	Sentence No.
ماضٍ Past	حَمَلَتْ	1
مَاضٍ Past	وَضَعَتْ	1
مَاضٍ Past	سَهِرَتْ	1
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَقْرَأُ	2
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَدْرُسُ	2
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَسْهَرُ	3
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَحْمِي	3
مَاضٍ Past	أَمْطَرَتْ	4
مَاضٍ Past	مَلأتِ	4
مَاضٍ Past	أَمْسَكَت	4
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَحْمِلُ	5
مُضَارِعٌ Present	تَنْقُلُ	5

• The verb doer of these verbs is a latent pronoun i.e. it means "she" or “it” and refers to the following feminine nouns (look at the examples above after looking at the table below):

Verbs relating to feminine noun	Feminine noun
حَمَلَتْ        وَضَعَتْ         سَهِرَتْ	Mother  الأمُّ
تَقْرَأُ          تَدْرُسُ	Mariam  مَرْيَم
تسْهَر         تَحْمِي	Police  الشُّرْطَةُ
أَمْطَرَتْ       مَلأتِ       أمْسَكَتْ	Sky  السماء
تَحْمِلُ        تَنْقُلُ	Planes  الطَّائرات

• To summarize, there are two cases in which the verb should be obligatory feminine:
1. If the verb doer is a feminine noun (that which begets or lays eggs, including women, animals and birds), provided that it comes directly following the verb (consider previous examples).
2. The verb doer is a latent pronoun referring to a feminine noun mentioned before the verb (consider previous examples).
   
   
   Permissibility of verb feminization or masculinity – جَوَازُ تَأْنِيثِ الْفِعْلِ وَتَذْكِيرِهِ
   • In the previous part, we studied the two cases in which a verb must be obligatory feminine. In this part, we will study the cases in which a verb may be permissibly feminine or masculine.
   •  Consider the following examples:

   English translation	الْفِعْلُ مُؤَنَّثًا Feminine Verb	الْفِعْلُ مُذَكَّرًا Masculine Verb
   Fatimah attended the lesson today.	حَضَرَتِ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَةُ	حَضَرَ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَة ُ
   The girls will go today to the garden	تَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إلى الحَدِيقةِ البَنَاتُ	يَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إلى الحَدِيقةِ البَنَاتُ
   The sun rises from the east	تَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْق ِ	يَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْق ِ
   The plane landed in the airport	هَبَطَتِ الطَّائرةُ في المَطَار	هَبَطَ الطَّائرَةُ في المَطَار ِ
   The boys played football for an hour	لَعِبَتِ الأَوْلادُ بالكُرَةِ ساعَة ً	لَعِبَ الأَوْلادُ بالكُرَةِ سَاعَة ً
   People said ‘this is strange’	قالَتِ النَّاسُ هَذا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ	قَالَ النّاسُ هّذا شَيءٌ عَجِيبٌ

   • We notice that the cases in which a verb can be feminine or masculine are three, as follows:
   1. In the first two examples, the verb doer in the sentences is as follows:

   حَضَرَتِ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَة ُ

   حَضَرَ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَة ُ

   • We notice here that the verb doer فاطمة is a real feminine, but it is permissible to make the verb feminine or masculine, because the sentence lacks an essential condition to be obligatory feminine (the verb doer must come directly after the verb). Here the verb حَضَرَ and its doer فَاطِمَة is separated. For this reason we can make the verb feminine or masculine. The same also applies to the second sentence.

   تَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إلى الحَدِيقَةِ البَنَاتُ

   يَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إِلَى الْحَدِيقةِ البَنَاتُ

   2. In the second set, we notice that the verb doers in the two sentences are الشَّمْسُ andالطَّائِرَةُ. These nouns are not real feminine, but figurative because they neither beget nor lay eggs. For this reason, their verbs can be feminine or masculine

   تَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْقِ	يَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْقِ
   هَبَطَتِ الطَّائرةُ في المطَار	هَبَطَ الطَّائرَةُ في المطَارِ

   3. In the third set of examples, we notice the third case in which a verb can be permissible feminine or masculine:

   لَعِبَتِ الأَوْلادُ بالكُرَةِ ساعَةً	لَعِبَ الأَوْلادُ بالكُرَةِ سَاعَةً
   قالَتِ النَّاسُ هَذا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ	قَالَ النّاسُ هَذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

   • The verb doers in these sentences are الأَوْلادُ (children) and النَّاسُ (people). The two nouns are broken plural (جَمْعُ تَكْسِيرٍ) forms (Lesson 13). This means that if the verb doer is a broken plural, the verb can be masculine or feminine, but if it is intact feminine plural (جَمْعُ مُؤَنَّثٍ سَالِمٌ), such as طَبِيبَاتٌ, مُهَنْدِسَاتٌ andبَنَاتٌ and comes directly after the verb, it must be obligatory feminine.
   • But if the verb doer is intact masculine plural, such as مُهَنْدِسُونَ, لَاعِبُونَ andمُسْلِمُونَ, the verb must be obligatory masculine.
   • However, in other than the above-mentioned cases, the verb must be obligatorymasculine.
     
     
     Revision – مُرَاجَعَةٌ

     معناها meaning	الكلمة Word	معناها meaning	الكلمة Word
     Spring	فَصْلُ الرَّبِيعِ	Need	يَحْتاجُ
     Winter	فَصْلُ الشِّتَاءِ	Make fun with	يداعب
     Autumn	فَصْلُ الخَرِيفِ	Take care of	يَهْتَمُّ بـ / يَعْتَنِي بـ
     Summer	فَصْلِ الصَّيْفِ	Know	تَعْرِفُ
     Flowers bloom	تَتَفَتَّحُ الزُّهُور	Participate	يَشْتَرِكُ
     Cold air	الجَوُّ بارِدٌ	(sun) set	غابت
     (sun) rise	تَرْتَفِعُ	Visit (her)	زُرْتُها
     Temperature	الحَرَارَة	Gave (her)	أعْطَيْتُها
     Fall (v)	تتَساقَطُ	(she) came back	جاءت
     Rains	الأَمْطَارُ	(she) was	كانت
     Partner of life	شَرِيكة الحياة	(be) happy	فَرِحَ
     Demonstrations	المظاهرات	Love (her)	يُحِبّوُنها
     Repair	أَصْلَحَ	(she) loves (them)	تُحِبُّهُم
     Sweep	كَنَسَ	Competition reward	جَائِزَةِ المُسَابَقَة ِ
     Machine	المَاكِينَة	Engineer	المُهَنْدِسُ
     Plane	الطَّائرَةُ	Land (v)	هَبَطَتِ
     East	الشَّرْقُ	Sun	الشَّمْسُ
     Stay up (late) at night	تَسْهَرُ	Garden	الحَدِيقةُ
     Fill	مَلأتْ	Become pregnant	حَمَلَتْ
     Carry	تَحْمِلُ	Give birth	وَضَعَتْ
     Rain	أَمْطَرَتْ	Carrots	الجَزَر
     Protect	تَحْمِي	Airport	المَطَار
     Giraffe	الزَّرافَةُ