Lesson 66
Direct Object Mafʿūl bihi
المفعول به
A deep analysis of the direct object its forms (explicit noun, pronoun, masdar, clause), its position in the sentence, and its interaction with verbs of different types.
Forms of the Mafʿūl bihi
FormStructureNotesExample
Explicit nounVerb + subject + acc. nounMost common formقَرَأَ الطَّالِبُ الْكِتَابَ
Attached pronounVerb + pronoun suffixPronoun carries the object meaningقَرَأَهُ الطَّالِبُ
Pre-posed objectAcc. noun + verb + subjectFronted for emphasis/contrastالْكِتَابَ قَرَأَ الطَّالِبُ
Masdar clause (أَنْ)Verb + أَنْ + subjunctiveMasdar muʾawwal in place of nounيُرِيدُ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ
Relative pronounVerb + مَا / مَنْ + clauseEntire clause functions as objectيَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّون
Double-Object Verbs
VerbMeaningFirst objectExample
أَعْطَىGivePerson (acc.) + thing (acc.)أَعْطَيْتُ الطَّالِبَ كِتَاباً
عَلَّمَTeachPerson (acc.) + knowledge (acc.)عَلَّمَكَ اللَّهُ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ
ظَنَّSuppose/considerNoun (acc.) + predicate (acc.)ظَنَنْتُكَ صَادِقاً
أَرَىShowPerson (acc.) + thing (acc.)أَرَيْتُكَ الْحَقَّ
يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ مَا تُسِرُّونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُون
Yaʿlamu llāhu mā tusirrūna wa-mā tuʿlinūn
"Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal." مَا is a relative pronoun functioning as mafʿūl bihi.
عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
ʿAllama l-insāna mā lam yaʿlam
"He taught man what he did not know." (96:5) عَلَّمَ takes two objects: الْإِنسَانَ (person) and مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ (thing taught, as a relative clause).
- The direct object always takes accusative fatḥa (definite) or tanwīn fatḥ (indefinite).
- Pre-posed object moves to the front for emphasis; the verb's agreement is unaffected.
- Pronoun suffix on the verb قَرَأَهُ (he read it) is the most compact form of the mafʿūl bihi.
- Double-object verbs (أَعْطَى, عَلَّمَ, ظَنَّ) take two accusative nouns both are mafʿūl bihi; the first is typically the person, the second the thing.
- A clause introduced by مَا, مَنْ, or أَنْ + subjunctive can serve as the object called masdar muʾawwal (interpreted masdar).