Measure III defective verbs are just as regular as Measure II. However, there are always exceptions in Arabic. This page only discusses aspects of measure III specific to defective verbs. If you are unfamiliar with the morphology of measure III verbs, you can review Measure III.
The following table shows a list of some common measure III defective verbs.
*Remember: All measure III defective verbs will follow this pattern regardless of what short vowels occur in measure I.
As you study Arabic further, you will notice that there are only a handful of measure III defective verbs in common usage. The words used here are shown as examples in order to demonstrate the correct morphology. Many of them are not in common usage today. The most important thing is to understand how the morphology works so that if you ever do encounter a word that is derived from a measure III defective verb you will recognize it and know how to work with it.
The following chart shows full conjugations for measure III defective verbs:
There are a few things to make note of:
If you are already familiar with how to form the subjunctive, then measure III defective verbs will not be a problem. The same rules apply to defective verbs as they do to sound verbs. Here are the basic rules:
The following chart shows the subjunctive conjugation for measure III defective verbs.
The Jussive for defective verbs is rather simple to form, but it does tend to confuse new students when they encounter one of these verbs because the long vowel is missing. Once you understand when a verb is conjugated in the jussive, it is easier to pick up on them.
There are two basic considerations:
It is important to know how to conjugate in the jussive because it is used with لَمْ (negating in the past) as well as the negative imperative. Read more about the Jussive.
The following table shows the conjugations for the jussive:
If you understand how to conjugate in the Jussive, then the imperative will not be difficult for you. In fact, it will be rather simple. You can follow the same method to determine the imperative as you did for the Measure I Imperative.
The following table shows the imperatives for نَادَى \ يُنَادِي (to call out, summon)
Fortunately, the verbal noun for measure III defective verbs is regular. It follows the same pattern as other Measure III Verbal Nouns - مُفَاعَلة
For defective verbal nouns in measure III, the defective vowel (third root letter) is converted to an alif ا. This holds true for all measure III verbal nouns.
The active participle is regular for all measure III verbs, including defective verbs. It still follows the pattern مُفَاعِلٌ
Read more about Measure III Active Participles if you are unfamiliar with this pattern.
The active participle in M3 follows the exact same rules as the defective M1 and M2 rules:
The following chart shows some examples:
The passive participle for measure III defective is straightforward, but there are some special considerations. As we know, the Measure III Passive Participle follows the pattern مُفَاعَلٌ
The defective vowel is treated exactly the same as it is for the measure II passive participle.
Look at these examples.
*These words are not listed in the Hans Wehr dictionary. You have to determine their meaning intuitively. As you progress to more advanced Arabic, you will encounter many words that you will not find in a dictionary. You will have to draw on your knowledge of morphology and the measure system to determine a suitable meaning.
