Measure VI


 Measure VI is related to Measure III meaning. It generally has a reflexive meaning of Measure III. Generally, the meaning of Measure VI is two or more subjects doing whatever the action of Measure III is.

Reflexive of III - two or more subjects doing whatever the action of Measure III. Note that M3 usually has a direct object, where the Subject performs the M3 action with the object. With M6, however, the action is performed between subjects. Look at these example sentences:

كاتَبَ الولد صديقَهُ - The boy corresponded with his friend. (Measure III)
Notice that صَدِيقَهُ is the object of the verb (and is in the accusative).

تكاتب الولد و صديقُهُ - The boy and his friend corresponded. (Measure VI)
Notice that both ولد and صديقُهُ are functioning as the subject (and are both in the nominative case).

Measure VI verbs can accept direct objects, but this object will not be the noun/pronoun that is part of the reciprocal relationship.

تبادل الولد و اصدقاؤه الهدايا - The boy and his friends exchanged the gifts.
In this example الولد and اصدقاؤه are both acting as nouns (nominative case), whereas الهدايا is the direct object (accusative) and is not part of the reciprocal relationship between The boy and his friends

Conjugation

Now let's take a look at how to conjugate the Measure VI verb.

We will use the measure VI verb تَبَادَلَ (to exchange) as an example. All other M6 verbs are conjugated exactly the same way. The most noticeable characteristics of M6 are the stem prefix ت and the alif inserted between the first and second root letter. Note that M3 and M6 are related in form. To form the M6 we take the M3 and prefix it with a ت

Perfect (Past) -تَبَادَلَ Imperfect (Present) - يَتَبَادَلُ


Look at the image below for a visual description (conjugated for singular male):






The chart below has full conjugations for both Perfect and Imperfect for Measure VI. All of the verbs are conjugated in the Indicative.
The Subjunctive and Jussive are not shown.





Imperative

The imperative (الأمر) for Measure VI is regular and very easy to form. The simplest method is to take the third person singular perfect tense * and change the final vowel to a sukuun. This will be your imperative stem.

For example, تَبَادَلَ (to exchange) becomes تَبَادَلْ

You can also follow the traditional method that is outlined in other measures (such as II, III, and IV) and get the same result:

Starting with the past tense form to determine the imperative can only be done with Measure V and VI. The reason is that the imperative stem is actually derived from the present tense. In other measures, such as II, III, and IV; the vowel over the second root letter is different for past and present; a fatha in the past and a kasra in the present. For Measure V and Measure VI, the vowel that is on the second root letter is a fatha for both past and present. So, it is by coincidence that we can start with the past tense when determining the Measure V and Measure VI Imperative and still be correct.

This form of the imperative is used when talking to a single male. We add suffixes to this stem to indicate number and gender of who we are talking to.
Look at the following chart:





Passive



The Passive is uncommon in use for Measure VI. It is shown here for academic purposes. The formation of the measure VI Passive is slightly different than other measures. The voweling over the root letters is identical, but the stem alif turns into a waw. For more information on using the passive, visit the Passive Voice page.

Perfect (Past) -

Imperfect (Present) -


**Note: The following information, which is written using Measure I verbs, applies to Passive verbs in ALL measures. It is a characteristic of the passive voice, not a characteristic of the measure. Therefore, apply it regularly.

When the verb is transitive, the verb is conjugated by gender and number according to the object of the verb.
كُتِبَ المقال - The article was written. مقال is masculine, so the verb is masculine.
كُتِبَتْ الجريدة - The newspaper was written. جريدة is feminine, so the verb is feminine.


Whenever the verb is intransitive (when the object of the verb is also the object of the preposition associated with that verb), then the verb is conjugated in the singular male.
بُحِثَ عن السيارة - The car was searched for.
Since the object ( السيارة ) is the object of a preposition عن, the verb is conjugated in the singular male.

عُزِمَ على القرارات - The decisions were determined/resolved.
Even though القرارات is plural and therefore feminine, it is the object of a preposition and the verb is conjugated in the singular male.

**Note: These may not be perfectly usable examples in Arabic, but they illustrate the point.


Verbal Noun



The Verbal Noun (المصدر) is basically the verb functioning as a noun. Another grammatical term that has the same meaning is gerund. However, this term is not used in Arabic grammar. The verbal noun carries the meaning of performing the action of the verb. In English, words such as eating, dancing, singing, sleeping, running, etc. are basic equivalents to the verbal noun in Arabic.

The Verbal Noun for Measure VI is regular.




Here are some common Measure VI verbal nouns:



Warning: Do not confuse the Verbal Noun with the English progressive tense. You would not use the verbal noun to indicate an ongoing progressive action, such as "I am eating", "I am writing", "I am reading", etc. You might use a verbal noun to say things like "I like reading", "I hate writing", "Eating is fun", etc. In these three examples, the -ing words all function as nouns.



Active & Passive Participle



The Active Participle is the noun which is the "doer" of the verb or the person/thing that performs the action of the verb. Some examples in English are writer, runner, baker, teacher, student, etc. The active participle for measure VI is fairly regular in Arabic.

The Passive Participle is the noun that receives the action of the verb. These words are often equivalent to English words that end with -ed or -en. Some examples are written, studied, eaten, covered, beaten, etc.

تَعَاوَنَ \ يَتَعَاوَنُ (to cooperate)
Active Participle (Doer) - مُتَعَاوِنٌ - cooperator, member of a co-op


تَزَايَدَ \ يَتَزَايَدُ (to increase, intensify)
Passive Participle - مُتَزَايَدٌ - increased, intensified



As you can see, the only difference between the Active and Passive is the vowel on the second root letter.

Note that M6 Passive Participles exist grammatically, they are rarely used. The Active Participle is used instead. The Passive Participle chart below is for grammatical reference only.





Plurals

The plural for active and passive participles that denote a person is formed by suffixing ون for masculine and ات for feminine.

The plural for participles that denote inanimate objects use ات regardless of gender.





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