Lesson 31
Weak Verbs Defective and Hollow
الأفعال المعتلة
Weak verbs contain wāw (و) or yāʾ (ي) in the root these letters change, shorten, or disappear in certain conjugations. Understanding their patterns is essential for reading Arabic fluently.
Types of Weak Verbs
TypePosition of weak letterPast formPresent form
Assimilated (مِثَال)First root letterوَضَعَيَضَعُ
Assimilated (مِثَال)First root letterوَجَدَيَجِدُ
Hollow (أَجْوَف)Middle root letterقَالَيَقُولُ
Hollow (أَجْوَف)Middle root letterبَاعَيَبِيعُ
Defective (نَاقِص)Final root letterدَعَايَدْعُو
Defective (نَاقِص)Final root letterمَشَىيَمْشِي
Key Conjugation Changes
VerbPast 3m sgPast 1sgNote
Hollow (و)قَالَقُلْتُLong vowel shortens before suffix consonant
Defective (و)دَعَادَعَوْتُFinal ā becomes aw before suffix
Defective (ي)مَشَىمَشَيْتُFinal ā becomes ay before suffix
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ الْحَقَّ دَائِماً
Qāla llāhu taʿālā Yaqūlu l-ḥaqqa dāʾiman
Allah the Exalted said. He always speaks the truth.
وَجَدَ الطَّالِبُ الْكِتَابَ دَعَوْنَا اللَّهَ فِي كُلِّ وَقْت
Wajada ṭ-ṭālibu l-kitāba Daʿawnā llāha fī kulli waqt
The student found the book. We called upon Allah at all times.
- Hollow verbs: middle wāw/yāʾ becomes a long vowel in the past (قَالَ) but shortens before suffix consonants (قُلْتُ).
- Defective verbs: final wāw/yāʾ changes form before suffixes دَعَا → دَعَوْتُ (with w), مَشَى → مَشَيْتُ (with y).
- قَالَ is one of the most common Arabic verbs it introduces quotations throughout the Quran and ḥadīth.
- Assimilated verbs (initial wāw): the wāw usually drops in the present tense وَضَعَ → يَضَعُ, وَجَدَ → يَجِدُ.
- Doubly weak verbs (e.g., وَقَى, وَلِيَ) combine two types of weakness they require special attention and frequent exposure.