Form I Defective Verbs: ا or و or ي or ى?

ناقِص

root: ن-ق-ص / active participle of form I / definition: defective, incomplete

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Defective verbs are those with either ي or و as their final root letter. For defective verbs, this final root letter appears as one of four letters when conjugated: ا or و or ي or ى. So, how can we tell what form the final root letter takes in these verbs?

Largely, this is down to whether the verb’s root ends in و or ي:

For roots ending in و…

…the verb will end in ا (alif) in the past tense and و in the present tense.

Examples:

root: ب-د-و

verb: بَدا / يَبدو (to appear)

root: ص-ح-و

verb: صَحا / يَصحو (to wake up)

Note that, in some past tense conjugations for this type of verb, the original و makes a comeback. Like when we have صَحَوتُ (I woke up) or دَعَوتُم (you (pl.) invited).

For roots ending in ي…

…the verb will take one of two forms: it can either end in ى in the past tense and ي in the present tense or it’s the other way around, ending in ي in the past tense and ى in the present tense.

root: م-ش-ي

verb: مَشى / يَمشي (to walk)

root: ب-ن-ي

verb: بَنى / يَبني (to build)

With these verbs too, the original ي returns in certain past tense conjugations. Take مَشَينا (we walked), for example.

root: ب-ق-ي

verb: بَقِيَ / يَبقى (to remain)

root: ن-س-ي

verb: نَسِيَ / يَنسى (to forget)

And don’t forget that in certain conjugations for defective verbs, the root و or ي disappears altogether. Such as when we have بَدَتْ (it (f.) appeared) and يَنسَونَ (they forget).

Reverso Context is always a great tool to check conjugations you’re unsure of!

Interested in finding out more about defective roots? You might like to read about Active Participles of Defective Roots.

!مع السلامة

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