Lesson 62
Exclamation Taʿajjub
التعجب
Arabic has two standard formulae for expressing admiration or astonishment. These exclamatory structures are common in poetry, classical prose, and everyday Arabic speech.
Two Exclamation Formulae
FormulaPatternConditionsExample
Formula 1مَا أَفْعَلَهُ!مَا + أَفْعَل + accusative nounمَا أَجْمَلَ هَذِهِ اللُّغَةَ!
Formula 2أَفْعِلْ بِهِ!أَفْعِل + بِ + genitive nounأَجْمِلْ بِاللُّغَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة!
Both same verbمَا أَعْظَمَهُ أَعْظِمْ بِهِTrilateral, active, non-colour verbمَا أَعْظَمَ اللَّهَ!
Workaroundمَا أَشَدَّ + مصدرFor colours/defectives/quadriliteralsمَا أَشَدَّ احْمِرَارَهُ!
Common Exclamatory Verbs
Verb (أَفْعَل)RootMeaningExample
أَعْظَمَع ظ مHow great!مَا أَعْظَمَ الصَّبْرَ!
أَكْرَمَك ر مHow noble!مَا أَكْرَمَ الضَّيْفَ!
أَحْسَنَح س نHow good/beautiful!مَا أَحْسَنَ الصِّدْقَ!
أَجْمَلَج م لHow beautiful!مَا أَجْمَلَ الْقُرْآنَ!
أَسْمَعَ / أَبْصَرَس م ع / ب ص رHow well they hear/see!أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ!
مَا أَعْظَمَ اللَّهَ! مَا أَحْسَنَ هَذَا الْخُلُقَ!
Mā aʿẓama llāha! Mā aḥsana hādhā l-khuluqa!
How great is Allah! How beautiful is this character!
أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا
Asmiʿ bihim wa-abṣir yawma yaʾtūnanā
"How well they will hear and see on the Day they come to Us!" (18:38) Formula 2 used in the Quran
- Formula 1: مَا (how!) + verb on أَفْعَل pattern + the noun being exclaimed about (accusative).
- Formula 2: أَفْعِل pattern (looks like imperative) + بِ + the noun in genitive the بِ is extra (زائدة), the noun is really a fāʿil.
- Both formulae derive from the same أَفْعَل verb مَا أَجْمَلَ / أَجْمِلْ both come from جَمُلَ.
- The Quran uses Formula 2 in 18:38: أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ one of the clearest Quranic taʿajjub expressions.
- For verbs that cannot form أَفْعَل (colours, defectives, quads), use مَا أَشَدَّ / مَا أَكْثَرَ + verbal noun as a workaround.