THE CJKI ARABIC VERB CONJUGATOR

نظام لتصريف الأفعال العربية

1. THE ARABIC VERB SYSTEM

Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is an official language of the United Nations. Because of the increasingly important role it plays in world affairs, the number of Arabic learners worldwide is rapidly increasing. Some educators claim that "there is not much irregularity in the grammar," while others argue that since the system of roots and patterns is logical it is easy to learn. The Arabic verb system does indeed have a logical structure, so that many of the numerous inflected forms can be predicted by those who make the supreme effort required to master the complex rules, subtle subrules, and numerous exceptions.

The fact is that the complexities and irregularities of the Arabic verb system are difficult to master. The number of non-native speakers who have mastered the system is no doubt small, and it is well known that even educated Arabs often do not have a full command of the system.

The major reasons for these difficulties are:

2. THE CJKI ARABIC VERB CONJUGATOR

2.1 Studying Arabic Verbs

Mastering a verb system as complicated as the Arabic one is a burdensome process that requires years of effort. Traditional tools for learning Arabic verbs, like grammar books and printed paradigm tables, make learning a chore so tedious that it often demotivates the learner from ever mastering the system. In fact, paradigm tables present long and boring lists of verbs, often in barely legible print and with poorly designed indexes, making learning laborious and ineffective.

Although recent years have seen a sharp surge in the number of Arabic language learners throughout the world, effective learning aids for mastering the Arabic verb system have not been available. Never before has there been such a compelling need for a new, pedagogically effective tool for mastering the Arabic verb system.

2.2 The Ultimate Arabic Verb Conjugator

The CJK Dictionary Institute (CJKI) is proud to present to the world the ultimate tool to master the complexities of the Arabic verb system: the CJKI Arabic Verb Conjugator, or CAVE for short.

CAVE is a bilingual verb conjugator with a complete set of features that provides instant access to a wealth of clear, accurate and exhaustive information on 182 conjugation paradigms for over 1630 of the most common verbs used in contemporary Arabic. It comes with a user friendly interface as well as with clearly pronounced audio for each of the over 400,000 inflected forms covered by CAVE.

CAVE was developed on the basis of the author's several decades of experience in learning fourteen languages and in compiling several popular learners dictionaries that have become standard reference works, and also draws heavily on extensive experience in developing various linguistic tools such as verb conjugators and transcription systems. The developers have spared no effort to ensure that the process of looking up verb paradigms is not only easy and fast, but also enjoyable and motivating.

2.3 Search Modes and Features

CAVE provides several search modes and various other search features to enable even complete beginners to quickly and effortlessly locate the conjugation paradigm for any verb from any of its inflected forms, from the dictionary form, from the root, or from the English meaning.

  1. A major feature of CAVE is the Full Search Mode. This allows input of any inflected form of the verb, not just the dictionary form. For example, typing yatii (or ya'tii or يأتي) 'he comes' (third person masculine singular of active imperfect) will directly locate the entry for أَتَى ʾáta̱ 'come' and does not require the user to know that أَتَى ʾáta̱ 'come' is the dictionary form for that verb, nor that أ-ت-ي ʾ⋅t⋅y is its root. This is convenient for learners, who often find it very difficult to determine the dictionary form or the root from the inflected form, especially for weak verbs.
  2. The Basic Search Mode accepts the same input as the Full Search Mode, but restricts the search results to basic forms. This reduces screen clutter as it limits the results to a selection of the most important inflected forms.
  3. The Root Search Mode allows input of the root to find the dictionary forms of all the corresponding verbs, e.g. typing Eml or عمل display عَمِلَ ɛámila 'work', عَمَلَ ɛámala 'treat', اِسْتَعْمَلَ ʾistáɛmala 'use', and others. This mode is convenient for advanced users who know the root of the verb since it displays a list of all verbs derived from a specific root.
  4. Incremental search displays a list of candidate matches as the user types the search keyword.
  5. All forms are fully romanized using CARS, a new romanization system developed specifically for learners that is easy to read and that accurately indicates pronunciation.
  6. For the first time ever, words stress and neutralized vowels are indicated, e.g. لَا أَكْتُبُ la̱ ʾáktubu 'I don't write', where á shows the stressed syllable and the macron below the a (as in la̱) indicates a shortened (neutralized) version of long ā, which is how it is actually pronounced.
  7. The flexible Arabic/Roman Input Mode allows the user to input many of the most common romanized spellings of Arabic words. For example, the word إِخْضَرَّ ʾikhḍárra 'be green' can be input in any of the following spellings: ikhDarra, 'ikhDarra, ikhdarra, 'ikhdarra, ixdarra, 'ixdarra, ixDarra and 'ixDarra.
  8. The Arabic/Roman Input Mode also allows the user to input Arabic directly with fully vocalized, partially vocalized or unvocalized Arabic script for quickly zeroing in on the desired form. For example, كَتَبْتَ kátabta 'you wrote' can be input as كَتَبْتَ‎, كَتَبْت‎, كَتَبتَ‎, كَتبت or كتبت.
  9. The English Input Mode allows the user to quickly find any Arabic verb from any of its English meanings, including partial matches. Thus not only will typing return locate such entries as أَعَادَ ʾaɛā́da 'return, give back, repeat, restore', but typing repeat or even back will also find that entry.
  10. The English meanings, which have been carefully selected and fine tuned to the needs of the learner, are clear, concise and listed in order of importance.
  11. A history of all search keywords, both Roman and Arabic, is always available.
  12. Bookmarks can be added, deleted and quickly accessed.

2.4 User Interface

The functionally designed clean user interface has been streamlined to ensure maximum user-friendliness and rapid access.

  1. The Category Selector provides quick access to all verbs of a specific verb category (Form, type or subtype).
  2. Various filters limit the display to subsets like plurals or negatives
  3. A harmonious blend of easy-to-read fonts and colors.
  4. A search engine fine tuned for maximum speed.
  5. Each Arabic word is in a clearly articulated voice.
  6. Full support for Arabic, Roman and English input.
  7. A detailed guide (accessed via the hamburger icon).
  8. A back button is available whenever it is necessary go back to the previous screen.

2.5 Rich Filtering Features

CAVE offers several convenient filtering features that limit the display to a specific subset of inflected forms based on various criteria. This helps avoid screen clutter and gives quick access to the desired forms only. Four filters are available.

  1. The Polarity Button gives access to negative forms, e.g. لَنْ أَكْتُبَ lan ʾáktuba 'I will not write' is the negative of سَأَكْتُبُ saʾáktubu 'I will write' -- useful since different negative particles are used for different tenses.
  2. The Number Button displays various subsets of the 13 personal forms: all forms, singular forms, dual forms, plural forms, common forms or rare forms.
  3. The Language Button toggles between the English meaning and the CARS romanization.

2.6 Effective Learning Aid

CAVE has been designed from the ground up to be a highly effective learning aid that promotes understanding and stimulates a desire to learn. The ease of use, richness of content and functional user interface provided by CAVE give the learner instant access to detailed information on every inflected form of verbs used in contemporary Arabic, including clearly enunciated audio for each form. Just typing an inflected form in Arabic or in any common romanization immediately displays a list of candidate matches.

Memorizing the detailed rules and exceptions for hundreds of verb conjugation patterns is a daunting task. Though it is a good idea to learn the major rules for the most common patterns, the advantage of using CAVE is that it provides the learner with a quick way to access all inflected forms and their meanings without knowing any rules. As the learner is increasingly exposed to Arabic using CAVE as a learning aid, he or she gradually internalizes the rules by osmosis, rather than through a conscious process of rote memorization. Eventually, producing the correct form becomes an automatic, mostly unconscious, process.

CAVE puts at the user’s fingertips a wealth of detailed information on every aspect of Arabic verb conjugation. In fact, Arabic teachers have praised CAVE as a powerful learning tool that is likely to revolutionize Arabic pedagogy for both native and non-native speakers alike.

(See also the CAVE website at www.cjk.org/arabic/cave.)

3. BASIC CONCEPTS

A detailed description of the of the Arabic verb system is beyond the scope of this document. Various books and papers are available on this subject. For an overview, see the Wikipedia article on Arabic verbs. For a more detailed treatment we recommend the book Arabic Verbs and Essential Grammar by John Mace and the excellent A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic by Karin C. Ryding.

Some basic concepts related to Arabic verbs are briefly described below, with links to more detailed descriptions. Other concepts are explained in other sections.

3.1 Roots and Patterns

Roots and patterns constitute the foundation of the Arabic verb system. A root consists of three or four letters called radicals. There are two major classes of roots: triliteral roots, which consist of three radicals, and quadriliteral roots, which consist of four radicals. A root is not a word in its own right but conveys an abstract meaning shared by the verbs, adjectives and nouns derived from it. For example, the root ك-ت-ب k⋅t⋅b denotes the concept of 'writing'.

Patterns are created by inserting vowels between the radicals and adding prefixes or affixes to the roots. For example, the pattern CāCiC (where C is any consonant) serves as a template to create actual words and inflected forms, such as kā́tib 'writer'. Such words are (at least in theory) conceptually related to the concept denoted by the root, as for example in سَيَكْتُبُونَ sayaktubū́na 'they will write', كِتَابَ kitā́ba 'writing' and مَكْتَب máktab 'office'.

3.2 Stem and Stem Vowels

A stem is the base form to which vowels, suffixes and prefixes are added to form inflected forms and derived words. For example, the stem of the active perfect tense كَتَبَ kátaba is كَتَب kátab. Adding the suffix tu, which indicates the first person male singular, results in كَتَبْتُ katábtu 'I wrote'. On the other hand, the stem of the active imperfect for this verb is كْتُب ktub. Adding the prefix يَ ya and vowel u, which indicate the third person male singular, results in يَكْتُبُ yáktubu 'he writes'.

The perfect stem vowel refers to the medial vowel of the active perfect tense, while the imperfect stem vowel refers to the medial vowel of the active imperfect tense. For example, a is the perfect stem vowel of كَتَبَ kátaba and u is the imperfect stem vowel of يَكْتُبُ yáktubu.

Each subtype has its characteristic stem vowels, which are listed in Appendix 2. A knowledge of the stem vowels for the most common subtypes can help in predicting inflected forms without looking them up. Nevertheless, the user normally need not memorize such details since the correct forms can be easily accessed in CAVE. However, for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Arabic conjugation patterns, knowing the imperfect stem vowel of Form I sound verbs is useful since it enables one to predict the imperfect tense from the perfect tense. On the other hand, for unsound verbs it is difficult to apply the stem vowel information since some of the radicals disappear in many of the inflected forms.

3.3 Weak Letters and Weak Verbs

Arabic letters can be classified into three classes:

  1. Sound letters, which refers to any letter other than ا‎, و‎, ي and ء.
  2. Weak letters, which refers to و and ي.
  3. Hamza (the glottal stop), which is considered a consonant in Arabic. In actual use hamza can take one of six forms: أ‎, إ‎, ئ‎, ؤ‎, آ and ء, subject to complex orthographical rules.

Verbs whose roots consist of sound letters only are regular and are referred to as sound verbs. Verbs that have at least one weak letter or a hamza in their root are called unsound verbs. Verbs that have at least one weak letter in their roots, with or without an additional hamza, are called weak verbs.

These are of four types of weak verbs, depending on the position of the weak radicals in the root: assimilated, hollow, defective and doubly weak, each of which is described in Section 13. It should be noted that weak verbs are difficult to conjugate as they undergo various phonological and orthographical changes that differ significantly from sound verbs.

3.4 Inflected Forms

Inflected forms of verbs are formed by filling the root template, or pattern, with vowels, prefixes and suffixes to form a family of semantically interrelated words and forms. For example, three vowels are added to the root ك-ت-ب k⋅t⋅b to form such inflected forms as كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote' and يَكْتُبُونَ yaktubū́na 'they write'. The ability to search for inflectional forms is very convenient for learners and is one of the major features of CAVE.

3.5 Forms and Types

The top category of the Arabic verb system is traditionally referred to as Forms, which are classes of conjugation patterns. These are further subclassified into types and subtypes. All these categories, which are important to understand, are described in Section 11 Verb Categories.

3.6 Dictionary Form

Arabic does not have the exact equivalent of the infinitive form of the verb (though the verbal noun comes close). That is, every form of the verb is actually an inflected form. Traditionally, when referring to an Arabic verb in isolation or listing it in a dictionary, the third person singular masculine of the active perfect tense is used, and is referred to as the dictionary form (also called the citation form or lemma). For example, كَتَبَ kátaba literally means 'he wrote' as an inflected form but when used as a dictionary form it is translated as 'write' or 'to write'.

3.7 Basic Forms

A convenient subset of inflected forms are referred to to as Basic Forms. This consists of the six forms listed below:

The basic forms are extremely useful since they are the inflected forms that the user is most likely to search for. Though only the most basic form is provided (e.g. third person masculine of the perfect active), users with some familiarity of conjugation rules can often derive the other forms, duch as كَتَبْتُ katábtu from كَ/تَبَ kátaba, without referring to the Paradigm Screen.

4. SEARCH SCREEN

4.1 Search Modes

The buttons to the left and right of the search box are used jointly to control the way CAVE interprets the input text. The table below lists the four available combinations, and examples are given here.

ع
FULL
This mode allows input of any inflected form in Roman or Arabic script. This mode is very convenient if for users who don't know the dictionary form, and it is recommended that this mode be used most of the time.
ع
BASIC
This mode allows the same input as the Full mode, but only returns a subset of inflected forms referred to as basic forms. This is very useful since it displays only those forms that the user is most likely to search for and serves as an excellent starting point for studying a specific conjugation pattern or verb.
ع
ROOT
This mode allows input of three or four root letters (radicals) in Roman or unvocalized Arabic script to display all the dictionary forms derived from that root. To avoid ambiguity, use spaces to separate the radicals and, unlike in other input modes, you must use the apostrophe to represent the hamza explicitly. For convenience of the learner, the results are displayed with tiny labels to indicate the Form.
ENG
This mode enables the user to locate an Arabic verb from any of its English meanings (infinitive form), or from the past or present participles of the principal meaning.

4.2 Examples of input and results

Input mode Input string Search result
ع
FULL
katabta,‎ كَتَبْتَ,‎ كَتَبت,‎ كتبتكَتَبْتَ katábta 'write'
yaktubuuna يَكْتُبُونَ yaktubū́na 'they write'
ع
BASIC
kata,‎ كَتَ كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote'
كَتَمَ kátama 'he kept secret'
ع
ROOT
ktb,‎ كتب كَتَبَ kátaba 'write'
' th r,‎ أ ث ر أَثَرَ ʾáthara 'transmit'
أَثَّرَ ʾáththara 'influence'
آثَرَ ʾā́thara 'prefer'
تَأَثَّرَ taʾáththara 'be affected'
ENG
live, exist عَاشَ ɛā́sha 'he lived'
write, written, writing كَتَبَ kátaba 'write'

Note that when typing in the Arabic script, in the FULL and VERB modes fully vocalized, partially vocalized and unvocalized Arabic is accepted but in the ROOT mode only unvocalized Arabic is allowed.

4.3 CARS Romanization

This application introduces a new Arabic romanization system, The CJKI Arabic Romanization System or CARS. This innovative system, designed from the ground up for ease of use by learners, represents Arabic pronunciation unambiguously. All Arabic inflected forms appearing in CAVE are displayed in both Arabic script and in CARS. The new system has several unique features not found elsewhere, especially the indication of word stress and vowel neutralization (shortening of long vowels). Various other features distinguish CARS as an easy-to-use, highly accurate phonemic transcription system.

Here is a quick glimpse of how CARS works:

اَلْحُكُومَةُ اَلْيَابَانِيَّةُ
ʾalḥukū́matu lya̱ba̱níyyatu
the Japanese government

Long vowels, as in kū, are shown by a macron over the vowel. Word stress is indicated by the accent mark, as in níy and kū́ above. For the first time in any system, neutralized (shortened) long vowels are shown by a macron below the vowel (as in above) to remind the reader that they are written, but not pronounced, as long vowels.

For more details, see the author's academic paper on CARS presented at an international conference in the United Emirates. Appendix 1 provides a table explaining CARS symbols.

4.4 Romanized Input

The CARS romanization system, though it is easy to read, is difficult to input because it uses various diacritics, such as the underdot under t to represent ط . The user can of course search by inputting CARS symbols directly, but this is not convenient.

To facilitate input, CAVE accepts some of most common romanization systems. For example حَلَقَ ḥálaqa 'shave' can be input as Halaqa or halaqa, سَاءَ sāʾa 'deteriorate' as saaa or saa'a, and دَخَلَ dákhala 'enter' as dakhala or daxala. Some input examples are always displayed in the Search Screen when starting a new search. A detailed table of input symbols appears in Appendix 1.

4.5 Accessing Basic Forms

Search result items that are also basic forms display a blue badge on the right side of the screen. Besides being a hint that the form is inherently important, this button also opens the Basic Forms screen. Navigation can continue from this screen to a specific Paradigm Screen and other related screens.

5. PARADIGM SCREEN

The Paradigm Screen is the main screen of the application that displays the conjugation paradigm, or inflected forms, for the Arabic verb selected. Any spot on this screen is tappable. Tap around here and there to discover the abundant information provided under the hood on every aspect of the verb selected, including its pronunciation, orthography, root, conjugation patterns, English meanings, and more. The Paradigm Screen consists of the following elements.

5.1 Search Button

Tapping on this displays the main Search Screen.

5.2 Tense Arrows

Tapping on the Tense Arrows displays the previous or the next tense in the Paradigm Screen. To navigate only one or two tenses up or down the tense list, the tense arrows are more convenient than the Tense Selector

5.3 Tense Selector

The Tense Selector displays the tense name for the verb currently displayed in the Paradigm Screen. Tapping on this button displays a list of tenses that allows the user to quickly select and display the conjugation paradigm for the desired tense. The first item of the list gives immediate access to the list of basic forms for the verb.

5.4 Verb Title

The gray bar of the Paradigm Screen is the Verb Title. This consists of the dictionary form of the verb in Arabic followed by the principal meaning when in ENG mode or the CARS romanization when in the Roman mode. Tapping on the blue badge displays the Verb Info Screen.

Tapping on the play button on the left plays the pronunciation of all the inflected forms currently displayed in the Paradigm Screen. Tapping on this button again will stop or resume the audio.

5.5 Category Button

The Category Button displays the current Form and type code separated by a colon. Tapping on this button displays the Verbs List, a list of verbs of the same category as the current verb, which is very convenient for comparing the behavior of verbs that conjugate in a similar manner. For example, if the current category is II:S1, pressing this button will list all verbs of Form II, type S, subtype 1.

5.6 Inflected Forms

The most important information provided by this application is the full conjugation paradigm for each Arabic verb. This consists of a full list of inflected forms for each tense. Tapping anywhere on a line where an inflected form is displayed highlights that line and opens a detailed Form Info Screen. Tapping on a line and holding it down for a second plays the Arabic pronunciation for that form. The following information is provided for each inflected form.

Inflected Forms
PERSON
The first item on the left is the person code. For example "3 S M" stands for "third person singular masculine."
ENGLISH
In the ENG mode, the English personal pronoun and the principal meaning are displayed.
ROMAN
In the Roman mode, the inflected form is displayed in CARS romanization.
ARABIC
The personal pronoun and the inflected form are displayed in fully vocalized Arabic script.

Note that if a particular tense does not exist for a verb, it is marked by This tense does not exist. On the other hand, some tenses can have more than one alternative paradigm. For example, the negative of the active perfect can be formed with لَمْ lam + the active imperfect (e.g. لَمْ أَكْتُبْ lam ʾáktub 'I didn't write'), or with مَا ma̱ + the active perfect (e.g. مَا كَتَبْتُ ma̱ katábtu 'I didn't write'). In such cases when in the Paradigm Screen it is necessary to keep scrolling down to the bottom of the screen to see the second alternative.

The default order of the inflected forms is shown in the leftmost column of the table below. This is based on the Western convention of presenting conjugated forms according to their number, person and gender, in that order. Optionally, the other two orders shown in the table can be selected from the settings menu (accessed via the hamburger icon).

Order of Inflected Forms
WesternTraditional ArabicAhlan wa Sahlan*
1S3SM1S
2SM3DM1P
2SF3PM2SM
3SM3SF2SF
3SF3DF2D
2D3PF2PM
3DM2SM2PF
3DF2D3SM
1P2PM3SF
2PM2SF3DM
2PF2PF3DF
3PM1S3PM
3PF1P3PF

*Used in the textbook "Ahlan wa Sahlan: Functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners" by Mahdi Alosh, Yale University Press.

5.7 Polarity Button

Forming the negative of Arabic verbs is far from trivial, with different negation particles used for different tenses and modes, e.g. لَا la̱ is used in لَا أَكْتُبُ la̱ ʾáktubu 'I don't write', but لَن lan is used in لَن أَكْتُبَ lan ʾáktuba 'I will not write'. The Polarity Button operates as follows:

AFF
displays the affirmative forms
NEG
displays the negative forms

5.8 Number Button

Tapping on the Number Button toggles between the following modes:

ALL
displays all 13 personal forms
SING
displays only the five singular forms
DUAL
displays only the three dual forms
PLUR
displays only the five plural forms
COMM
displays only the 8 most common forms
RARE
displays only the 5 not so common forms

Applying this filter helps avoid screen clutter and makes it easier to quickly find the desired form. Beginners, especially, need not yet learn the dual forms and could benefit from displaying only the common forms in the early stages of study.

5.9 Language Button

A major feature of this application is that it is bilingual. Tapping on the Language Button toggles between the English and Roman modes, as follows:

ROM
displays the CARS romanization of the Arabic form
ENG
displays the principal meaning of the Arabic form

The English mode is very useful because it displays the English meaning for each specific inflected form individually, rather than the English infinitive (which of course appears in the Verb Title bar).

The CARS romanization in the Roman mode shows the precise pronunciation of the Arabic form with more detailed information than can be obtained from the vocalized Arabic, including such features as word stress and vowel neutralization.

5.10 Bookmarks and History

Bookmarks and history can be accessed from the hamburger icon.

6. VERB INFO SCREEN

The Verb Info Screen provides detailed grammatical information and English meanings for each verb in large, easy-to read fonts. It can be accessed by tapping on the Verb Title in the Paradigm Screen.

6.1 Verb Pane

The upper pane of the Verb Info Screen displays the dictionary form (third person singular masculine) of the verb in large Arabic characters followed by the CARS romanization and the English meaning(s). Tapping on the play button plays the Arabic pronunciation.

6.2 Reference Pane

The lower pane of the Verb Info Screen consists of the following elements.

Reference Pane
FORM
The name of the verb's Form is given in the traditional Roman numerals for triliteral verbs (I, II...X) and as QI, QII, QIII and QIV for quadriliteral verbs.
ROOT
The root of the verb in the Arabic and Roman scripts.
TYPE
The name of the verb's type in English.
SUBTYPE
The type code (code for type + subtype) is followed by the subtype name.
I-STEM
The imperfect stem vowel.
P-STEM
The perfect stem vowel.
IMPERFECT
The imperfect form of the verb in the third person singular masculine in the Roman and Arabic scripts.

6.3 Forms button

The Forms button gives access to a list of all verbs that share the same root, grouped by Form. Tap on any item to jump to the Verb Info screen for that verb.

6.4 Category button

The Category Button displays the current Form and type code separated by a colon. Tapping on this button displays the Verbs List, a list of verbs of the same category as the current verb, which is very convenient for comparing the behavior of verbs that conjugate in a similar manner. For example, if the current category is II:S1, pressing this button will list all verbs of Form II, type S, subtype 1.

7. FORM INFO SCREEN

The Form Info Screen provides more information for each inflected form in large, easy-to read fonts. It can be accessed by tapping on any inflected form in the Paradigm Screen. This is the most convenient screen for studying a particular inflected form, but to get a bird's eye view of the entire paradigm it is best to return to the Paradigm Screen.

Form Info Screen Panes
TITLE
Displays the tense name followed by the person description. Tap on the play button to hear verb's pronunciation in a clear voice.
MIDDLE PANE
Displays the selected inflected form in the Arabic and Roman scripts, followed by the principal meaning in an extra large font for easy viewing (see English Meanings for format).
BOTTOM PANE
Displays the dictionary form (third person singular masculine) for the selected inflected form in the Arabic and Roman scripts.

8. CATEGORY SELECTOR SCREEN

The category selector is an easy-to-use, convenient interface for quickly finding verbs of a specific category (Form, type and subtype). This is extremely useful for gaining quick access to all the verbs classified under each category, and for studying the behavior of verbs sharing the same features (i.e., the same subtype). The category selector consists of the following elements.

8.1 Top panel of Category Screen

The Category Selector Screen presents three views of the category information in the top panel of the screen:

The selector on the top cycles can be used to switch mode. Spinning the wheels of the Category Selector at the bottom of the screen will dynamically refresh the content of the top panel.

CATEGORY INFOThe Info button displays grammatical details about the current category in the panes; that is, about the Form, the Type and the Subtype of the selected category. The element names are given in English, Roman and Arabic scripts. The perfect and imperfect forms for the category selected are also given for quick reference.
VERB PATTERN The Pattern button displays the conjugation pattern for the current category; that third person masculine singular of the active perfect (dictionary form). The radicals are shown as dotted circles, and an example is given in Arabic and Roman script.
Please note that if your iOS device has a longer screen, then this panel won't be available, and the pattern will be shown together with the category information described above.
VERB LISTThe Verbs button displays a list of verbs belonging to the current category and whose conjugation paradigms are available in CAVE. When the list is scrolled the Category Selector wheels disappear and reveal the full list: to bring it back tap on the Category Selector icon on the top right, or switch to another view.

8.2 Category Selector

This consists of three spinning wheels for quickly selecting a verb category: that is, the Form, type and subtype. As you spin the wheels the content of the top panel changes dynamically according to the category you selected. Each of the three wheels is described below.

LEFT WHEELDisplays the Form name in the traditional Roman numerals for triliteral verbs (I, II...X) and as QI, QII, QIII and QIV for quadriliteral verbs.
CENTER WHEELDisplays the English name of the verb's type.
RIGHT WHEELDisplays the type code (code for the type + subtype) for the selected Form.

9. PERSON CODES

Arabic has thirteen grammatical persons, as opposed to six in many other languages, requiring a greater effort on the part of learner. In the Paradigm Screen, the first item on the left is the person code for each inflected form, as described below.

Person Codes
SINGULAR
1 Sfirst person singular common
2 S Msecond person singular masculine
2 S Fsecond person singular feminine
3 S Mthird person singular masculine
3 S Fthird person singular feminine
DUAL
2 Dsecond person dual common
3 D Mthird person dual masculine
3 D Fthird person dual feminine
PLURAL
1 Pfirst person plural common
2 P Msecond person plural masculine
2 P Fsecond person plural feminine
3 P Mthird person plural masculine
3 P Fthird person plural feminine

10. ARABIC TENSES

10.1 Overview

Arabic has only two basic tenses: the perfect tense (كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote') and the imperfect tense (يَكْتُبُ yáktubu 'he writes'). The imperfect tense comes in five flavors called moods. The Arabic verb also has two voices. In addition, there are nouns derived from verbs referred to as nominals. These are of three kinds: active participles, passive participles and verbal nouns. These various categories are briefly described below but it is highly recommended that the user refer to a detailed Arabic grammar.

Though tense, mood, voice and nominals are distinct grammatical categories, for convenience in this application they are lumped together under the label "tense." Thus the user interface has such objects as the Tense Selector Button in which "tense" is used in this extended sense.

10.2 Moods

Mood (or mode) refers to certain morphological and syntactic properties of the verb that express the attitude of the speaker to the action expressed by the verb. The imperfect tense is used in all five moods shown in the table below. The perfect tense has only one mood, the indicative mood.

The Five Moods
MoodDescription
IndicativeThis is the basic mood, characteristic of factual statements and questions.
SubjunctiveUsed after certain particles such as أَنْ ʾan to express desire, hope or necessity.
JussiveUsed mostly to form the imperative and with the particle لَمْ lam to negate the active perfect tense.
EnergeticThis archaic mood, not included in this application, is used in classical Arabic to express extra emphasis.
ImperativeUsed to express commands to the second person.

10.3 Voices

In grammar, voice is a category used to indicate the relation of the verb to the performer of the action or to the beneficiary of its action. There are two basic voices: the active voice and the passive voice. (Forms V, VII and VIII are sometimes referred as the mediopassive, but this is not a formal grammatical distinction). The relation between voice, tense and mood is shown in the tables below.

Active Voice
TenseMoodExample
PerfectIndicativeكَتَبَkátabawrote
ImperfectIndicativeيَكْتُبُyáktubuwrites
Subjunctiveيَكْتُبَyáktubawrite
Jussiveيَكْتُبْyáktubwrite
Energetic Iيَكْتُبَنَّyaktubánnawrites
Energetic IIيَكْتُبَنْyáktubanwrites
Imperativeاُكْتُبْʾúktubwrite!
Passive Voice
TenseMoodExample
PerfectIndicativeكُتِبَkútibawas written
ImperfectIndicativeيُكْتَبُyúktabuis written
Subjunctiveيُكْتَبَyúktababe written
Jussiveيُكْتَبْyúktabbe written

10.4 Tenses

Tense refers to the point of time at which the action denoted by the verb occurs. This differs from aspect, which typically indicates completion or duration of the action. Some grammarians argue that Arabic distinguishes between aspects rather than tenses, but for practical purposes what is normally called the perfect tense (كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote') indicates past action, while the imperfect tense (يَكْتُبُ yáktubu 'he writes') refers to an incomplete action in the present or the near future or to an ongoing action.

The perfect and imperfect tenses are called simple tenses because they consist of a single word inflected to indicate tense. There are also various compound tenses, which consist of a particle or an auxiliary verb added to the main verb, such as the future (سَيَكْتُبُ sayákyubu 'he will write'), the continuous perfect (كَانَ يَكْتُبُ kána yáktubu 'he was writing') and the plueperfect (كَانَ كَتَبَ kána kátaba 'he had written').

CAVE covers all the simple tenses, except for the two archaic energetic moods, which are very rare in contemporary Arabic. In addition, it covers one compound tense, the future, which behaves like a simple tense since the forms consists of a single orthographical word. The table below shows the tenses covered by CAVE.

Arabic Tenses
TenseExampleEnglish
Active Participleكَاتِبٌkā́tibunwriting
Passive Participleمَكْتُوبٌmaktū́bunwritten
Verbal Nounكِتَابَةٌkitā́batunwriting
Active Perfect كَتَبkátabawrote
Active Imperfectيَكْتُبُyáktubuwrites
Active Subjunctive يَكْتُبَyáktubawrite
Imperfect Jussiveيَكْتُبْyáktub write
Future سَيَكْتُبُsayáktubuwill write
Imperativeاُكْتُبْʾúktubwrite!
Passive Perfect كُتِبَkútibawas written
Passive Imperfectيُكْتَبُyúktabuis written
Passive Subjunctiveيُكْتَبَyúktababe written
Passive Jussiveيُكْتَبْyúktabbe written

11. VERB CATEGORIES

To master the complexities of the Arabic verb system it is important to properly understand the various categories and subcategories into which Arabic verbs can be classified. From a grammatical point of view, Arabic verbs can be divided into 19 major categories called Forms. Each Form can consist of up to seven minor categories we refer to as types, and each type can consist of up to 12 subcategories we refer to as subtypes. These various categories are described in detail in the sections below.

If we count all the Forms, types and subtype combinations we get a total of 182 categories, and if we take into account the subcategories (not explicitly marked in CAVE) into which the subtypes can be divided we get a total of over 220 categories (excluding the five archaic Forms). The conjugation paradigm for each of these categories is different. Sometimes the differences are very minor, but on the whole they are significant enough to make it necessary for the learner to memorize the details of each category individually.

The sheer quantity of the many types and subtypes presents a daunting challenge to the learner. Fortunately, CAVE makes it easy to instantly access any category and to study the various features that distinguish it. The best way to get a feel for the different features of the various categories is to play around with the Category Selector, which gives quick access to lists of verbs of the same subtype.

For a full list of Forms, types and subtypes with examples see Appendix 2.

12. THE FORMS

The top category of the Arabic verb system is traditionally referred to as the Form (in this sense always capitalized) or أَوْزَان ʾawzā́n in Arabic. To understand this concept, which constitutes the foundation of the Arabic verb system, it is first necessary to understand how roots and patterns work, briefly described in Section 3.1.

The Forms are classes of conjugation patterns, or templates, that define the major inflectional features of the conjugation paradigm. Form I is considered the base form (فِعْل مُجَرَّد fíɛl mujárrad), while the others are considered to be derived forms (أَفْعَل مَزِيدَة ʾafɛā́l mazī́da) (literally "augmented verbs").

The derived forms are not just inflections of Form I -- they are independent verbs in their own right. For example, عَرَفَ ɛárafa 'know', a Form I verb, has a Form II derived verb عَرَّفَ ɛárrafa 'introduce, define', a distinct but etymologically related verb with its own full paradigm of inflected forms.

The nineteen Forms are listed in the table below, using the traditional way of indicating verb templates with the root ف-ع-ل f⋅ɛ⋅l. There are ten triliteral Forms in common use, traditionally labeled by the Roman numerals I to X, and another five Forms that are extremely rare in contemporary Arabic, labeled XI to XV (not covered in CAVE). In addition there are four quadriliteral Forms, identified by QI, QII, QIII and QIV, as shown in the table below.

THE FORMS
EnglishArabicRoman
Form Iفَعَلَfáɛala
Form IIفَعَّلَfáɛɛala
Form IIIفَاعَلَfā́ɛala
Form IVأَفْعَلَʾáfɛala
Form Vتَفَعَّلَtafáɛɛala
Form VIتَفَاعَلَtafā́ɛala
Form VIIاِنْفَعَلَʾinfáɛala
Form VIIIاِفْتَعَلَʾiftáɛala
Form IXاِفْعَلَّʾifɛálla
Form Xاِسْتَفْعَلَʾistáfɛala
Form XIاِفْعَالَّʾifɛā́lla
Form XIIاِفْعَوْعَلَʾifɛáwɛala
Form XIIIاِفْعَوَّلَʾifɛáwwala
Form XIVاِفْعَنْلَلَʾifɛánlala
Form XVاِفْعَنْلَىʾifɛánla̱
Form QIفَعْلَلَfáɛlala
Form QIIتَفَعْلَلَtafáɛlala
Form QIIIاِفْعَنْلَلَʾifɛánlala
Form QIVاِفْعَلَلَّʾifɛalálla

13. VERB TYPES

Each Form of the Arabic verb can be further classified into seven categories referred to as types, listed in the table below.

Verb Types
CodeEnglishArabicExample
SSoundسَالِمsā́limكَتَبَkátaba
ZHamzatedمَهْمُوزmahmū́zأَكَلَʾákala
GGeminateمُضَعَّفmuḍáɛɛafمَرَّmárra
AAssimilatedمِثَالmithā́lوَصَلَwáṣala
HHollowأَجْوَفʾájwafقَالqā́la
DDefectiveنَاقِصnā́qiṣرَجَاrája̱
WDoubly weakلَفِيفlafī́fوَلِيَwáliya

Each type is conjugated according to rules that differ from each other. There are seven types, subclassified into up to 12 subtypes, which are explained in 14. Verb Subtypes. CAVE identifies each type by a code, as shown in the table. A brief description of the seven types is given below. (For a more detailed treatment refer to Arabic Verbs and Essential Grammar by John Macea.)

To understand the features that distinguish one type from another it is necessary to understand the composition of the root letters, called radicals, especially weak letters and sound letters, as well as the verb classes sound verbs, unsound verbs and weak verbs as explained in Section 3.3.

The seven verb types for triliteral verbs are described below.

  1. Sound verbs (فِعْل سَالِم fíɛl sā́lim) only contain radicals that are sound letters. Each radical must be different from the others, so that ق-ر-ر q⋅r⋅r does not qualify but ق-ر-ب q⋅r⋅b does. Sound verbs, such as كَتَبَ kátaba, are considered 100% regular and follow the standard conjugation patterns for that Form.
  2. Hamzated verbs (فِعْل مَهْمُوز fíɛl mahmū́z) are an irregular verb type whose root consists of two sound radicals and a hamza occurring in the initial, medial or final position, such as آكَلَ ʾā́kala 'eat', دَأَبَ dáʾaba 'persist' and بَئِسَ báʾisa 'be miserable' (note the different forms of the hamza).
  3. Geminate verbs (فِعْل مُضَعَّف fíɛl muḍáɛɛaf), also called doubled verbs, are an irregular verb type whose root consists of a sound radical followed by medial and final radicals that are identical, as for example in مَرَّ márra 'pass' (root: م-ر-ر m⋅r⋅r). These verbs behave irregularly in that sometimes the identical radicals are written separately, as in مَرَرْتُ marártu, and sometimes they are merged with a shadda, as in مَرَّ márra.
  4. Assimilated verbs (فِعْل مِثَال fíɛl mithā́l) are a kind of weak verb in which the initial radical is one of the the weak letters و or ي and the other two radicals are sound letters. These verbs are conjugated irregularly in various ways, such as the initial radical being dropped. For example, the و in وَصَلَ wáṣala 'arrive' is omitted in the imperfect form يَصِلُ yásilu, rather than the expected يَوْصِلُ yáwṣilu.
  5. Hollow verbs (فِعْل أَجْوَف fíɛl ʾájwaf) are a kind of weak verb in which the medial radical is one of the weak letters و or ي and the initial and final radicals are sound letters, but sometimes the initial radical can be a hamza. The differences in conjugation patterns between hollow verbs and the regular sound verbs are quite significant. For example, for the root ق-و-ل q⋅w⋅l 'say' one would expect the third person singular masculine to be قَوَلَ qáwala, but in fact the medial و is omitted and the initial vowel is lengthened to give قَالَ qā́la. Hollow verbs undergo various other complex transformations.
  6. Defective verbs (فِعْل نَاقِص fíɛl nā́qiṣ) are a kind of weak verb in which the final radical is one of the weak letters و or ي and the other two radicals are sound letters. Defective verbs are irregular in various ways, especially in the way the last vowel changes in the imperfect tense. For example, the imperfect for بَدَا báda̱ 'appear' is يَبْدُو yábdu̱, but for بَقِيَ báqiya 'remain' it is يَبْقَى yábqa̱.
  7. Doubly weak verbs (فِعْل لَفِيف fíɛl lafī́f) are a kind of weak verb that has two weak radicals or one weak radical and one hamza; that is, two radicals that consist of either و or ي or ء (in any of its forms) and one radical that is a sound letter. These verbs are highly irregular and difficult to conjugate. Unfortunately for the learner, some of these verbs are very commonly used, such as جَاءَ jā́ʾa 'come' and رَأَى ráʾa̱ 'see'.

14. VERB SUBTYPES

Each Arabic verb type can be further classified into up to 12 subcategories referred to as subtypes. It is at the subtype level where the conjugation pattern for each inflected form is actually determined. A difference in subtype means that the conjugation patterns differ somewhere, though sometimes the differences are minor or affect only a small number of forms. These differences are determined by such factors as the root composition (which radicals compose the root), a difference in stem vowels, and the position of weak letters.

For example, the Form I verbs كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote' and فَتَحَ fátaḥa 'he opened' both consist of sound letters and both have exactly the same pattern in the active perfect (CaCaCa). But since the imperfect stem vowel of these verbs is u for the former and a for the latter, they belong to a different subtype, i.e., S1 and S3 respectively. As a result, the active imperfect forms conjugate differently, i.e., يَكْتُبُ yáktubu 'he writes' (middle vowel u) but يَفْتَحُ yáftaḥu 'he opens' (middle vowel a) respectively.

Each type + subtype combination is identified by a type code. This is a two letter code that identifies the type by a letter followed by a number or letter that identifies the subtype. For example, in the type code S2 the "S" stands for "sound verb" and the "3" for subtype 3. A full list of types and their letter codes is given in the Verb Types table.

A full list of the 182 types + subtype combinations, along with their type codes and examples, is given in Appendix 2. The subtypes can be further divided into minor subdivisions, resulting in a total of 220 subcategories. These represent very minor differences in form, all of which are of course shown in the conjugation paradigms of CAVE but for simplicity they are not assigned their own type code.

15. ENGLISH MEANINGS

A distinctive features of CAVE is that it is a bilingual conjugator; that is, carefully selected concise English meanings (translational equivalents) are given for each Arabic form. It is important to note that though English meanings are given, CAVE is not an Arabic-English dictionary so that the treatment of English meanings is necessarily limited to the most important ones while such grammatical details as verb transitivity and which prepositions follow Arabic verbal phrases are omitted.

The following points need to be noted about English meanings.

  1. In the Verb Info Screen every inflected form is followed by the English meaning(s) listed in order of importance.
  2. In the Paradigm Screen, only the principal English meaning, which is the most important English equivalent, is displayed. This has been carefully selected to ensure that it clearly represents the most commonly used meaning.
  3. Some inflected forms, such as the passive of some transitive verbs ("he was made to be happy"), make little or no sense, while others are difficult or impossible to translate. Rather than supply a forced English meaning, CAVE replaces the meaning by a dash in the Paradigm Screen and by "difficult to translate -- tap here for details" in the Form Info Screen.
  4. Parentheses mean that the English meaning may be grammatically correct but may or may not make sense, such as in "I (was written)" for كُتِبْتُ kutíbtu), or it may be a forced meaning that makes no sense at all, such as as in "I (was struggled)" for كُوفِحْتُ kūfíḥtu, the passive voice of an intransitive verb.

16. NOMINALS

16.1 Overview

In this application, the term nominals refers to three categories of nouns derived from verbs: active participles, passive participles and verbal nouns.

Participles are essentially adjectives derived from verbs, whereas verbal nouns are essentially nouns that can also be used as verbs. The grammar rules governing the behavior of nominals are different from those for verbs. For example, participles are inflected for gender, number and case, but not for person, while the plural of participles used as nouns may be different from their plural as adjectives. As for verbal nouns, they are inflected just like any other noun, but in addition can take pronoun affixes with verbal force. Though the basic functions of nominals are described below, they have other functions not mentioned here. It is recommended that the user refer to an Arabic grammar for more details.

Since CAVE is a verb conjugator, it naturally focuses on the forms and meanings of verb forms while coverage for nominals is more limited. For both participles and verbal nouns, it provides the singular masculine form in the nominative case, but not any other inflected forms such as plurals and feminine forms. For participles, it provides their meanings as adjective and verbs but not as nouns. Since the principal function of verbal nouns is as nouns, CAVE provides their meanings both as nouns and as verbs.

Participles and verbal nouns are displayed in the Nominals section of the Paradigm Screen. Nominals for Form II and beyond are mostly regular while there are many irregular forms for Form I. For some verbs, both the regular and irregular forms are used. In such cases they are displayed in order of importance.

16.2 Active Participle

The active participle (اِسْم اَلفَاعِل ʾism ʾalfā́ɛil) can function as an adjective, as a noun, or as a verb. As a verb it denotes the process of the action and corresponds mainly to the present progressive or present tense in English, as for example كَاتِبٌ kā́tibun 'I am writing' or 'I write'. It can also denote action in the recent past, like the present perfect in English ('I have written'), or action in the near future ('I am going to write'). As an adjective, it is used like the present participle adjective in English to modify a noun, as in رَجُلٌ نَائِمٌ rájulun nā́ʾimun 'a sleeping man'. As a noun it denotes the doer of the action described by the verb and loses its verbal force, as in كَاتِبٌ kā́tibun 'writer, author'.

CAVE gives the meaning of the active participle used an adjective or as a verb, but not as a noun (keep in mind that CAVE is a verb conjugator, not a dictionary). It is always translated by the English progressive form, as in كَاتِبٌ kā́tibun 'writing', though it could have other meanings.

16.3 Passive Participle

The passive participle (اِسْم اَلمَفعُول ʾism ʾalmafū́l) is used mainly as an adjective or as a noun. Typically it is used as an adjective modifying a noun and denotes the result of the action described by the verb, as for example in مَكْتُوبٌ maktū́bun 'written'. This is similar to the past participle in English, as in اَلسَّرِقَةُ ٱلْمُنَظَّمَةُ ʾassriqatu lmunaẓẓamatu 'organized theft'. As a noun, the passive particle loses its verbal force and behaves just like an ordinary noun, as in مَكْتُوبٌ maktū́bun 'letter'.

CAVE gives the meaning of the passive participle used as an adjective, but not as a noun (keep in mind that CAVE is a verb conjugator, not a dictionary). It is always translated as the English past participle, as in مَكْتُوبٌ maktū́bun 'written', though it could have other meanings.

16.4 Formation of Participles

The formation of participles for sound verbs is mostly regular for all Forms and relatively easy to learn based on rules, as shown in the table below. However, there are some exceptions for sound verbs of Form I, as for example the active participle of فَرِٓحَ fáriḥa 'be happy' is فَرْحٌ fárḥun, not the expected فَارِحٌ fā́riḥun. The formation of participles of many unsound verbs, not shown in the table below, follows a different set of rules.

Participles for Sound Verbs
FormActive ParticiplePassive Participle
Iفَاعِلٌfā́ɛilunمَفْعُولٌmafɛū́lun
IIمُفَعِّلٌmufáɛɛilunمُفَعَّلٌmufáɛɛalun
IIIمُفَاعِلٌmufā́ɛilunمُفَاعَلٌmufā́ɛalun
IVمُفْعِلٌmúfɛilunمُفْعَلٌmúfɛalun
Vمُتَفَعِّلٌmutafáɛɛilunمُتَفَعَّلٌmutafáɛɛalun
VIمُتَفَاعِلٌmutafā́ɛilunمُتَفَاعَلٌmutafā́ɛalun
VIIمُنْفَعِلٌmunfáɛilunمُنْفَعَلٌmunfáɛalun
VIIIمُفْتَعِلٌmuftáɛilunمُفْتَعَلٌmuftáɛalun
IXمُفْعَلٌّmufɛállunnone
Xمُسْتَفْعِلٌmustáfɛilunمُسْتَفْعَلٌmustáfɛalun
QIمُفَعْلِلٌmufáɛlilunمُفَعْلَلٌmufáɛlalun
QIIمُتَفَعْلِلٌmutafáɛlilunمُتَفَعْلَلٌmutafáɛlalun
QIIInonenone
QIVمُفْعَلِلٌّmufɛalíllunnone

16.5 Verbal Noun

Verbal nouns (مَصْدَر maṣdar) are basically used in two ways: as a gerund and as a normal noun. As a gerund, they refer to the action denoted by the verb, as in سُؤَالٌ suā́lun 'asking' (the act of asking), which is derived from the verb سَأَلَ sáʾala 'ask, inquire, request'. As a normal noun, they denote a concrete or abstract meaning, as in سُؤَالٌ suā́lun 'question', with no verbal force.

The meaning of verbal nouns often consists of two parts, as shown below.

سُؤَالٌ suā́lun asking; question, inquiry

The part before the semicolon is the gerund, which means that it can be translated to English as a gerund ("asking"), as an infinitive ("to ask") or as a bare infinitive ("ask"), as for example in the sentence أَسْتَطِيعُ ٱلسُّؤَالَ ʾastaṭíɛu ssuʾā́la 'I can ask'. The part after the semicolon is the meaning of the verbal noun as a normal noun, which behaves exactly like any other noun. If there is no semicolon, as in

سِبَاحَةٌ sibā́ḥatun swimming
حَيْنٌ ḥáynun approaching

either the verbal noun in question is only used as a gerund or its meaning as a normal noun is not yet available in the current version.

Note that sometimes a grayed out RARE appears to the left of the verbal noun, which means that it is rarely used. Occasionally, the grayed out words not available replace the English meaning if it is not available in the current version.

Some verbs have multiple verbal nouns. For example سَأَلَ sáala has two verbal nouns:

verbal-noun

In such cases, it is only the first verbal noun that is used as gerund; the others are only used as normal nouns

16.6 Formation of Verbal Nouns

The formation of verbal nouns for Form I is highly irregular and there are more than forty patterns. Basically the only way to learn these is to memorize them individually for each verb. But for the other Forms it is quite straightforward to form the verbal noun based on rules, as shown in the table below (but note that Form II and Form III occasionally have multiple forms).

Formation of Verbal Nouns
FormVerbal NounRoman
Ivariablevariable
IIتَفْعِيلٌ
تَفْعَالٌ
تَفْعِلَةٌ
tafɛī́lun
tafɛā́lun
tafɛílatun
IIIمُفَاعَلَةٌ
فِعَالٌ
mufāɛálatun
fiɛā́lun
IVإِفْعَالٌʾifɛā́lun
Vتَفَعُّلٌtafáɛɛulun
VIتَفَاعُلٌtafā́ɛulun
VIIاِنْفِعَالٌʾinfiɛā́lun
VIIIاِفْتِعَالٌʾiftiɛā́lun
IXاِفْعِلَالٌʾifɛilā́lun
Xاِسْتِفْعَالٌʾistifɛā́lun
QIفِعْلَلَةٌfiɛlálatun
QIIتَفَعْلُلٌtafáɛlulun
QIIIاِفْعِنْلَالٌʾifɛinlā́lun
QIVاِفْعِلَّالٌʾifɛillā́lun

17. TESTING

A new feature in CAVE 2.0 is the ability to test you knowledge of Arabic inflected forms.

CAVE lets you check your knowledge of a verb's paradigm via configurable tests. You start a session by tapping on the

Q
button, and CAVE will generate a randomized sequence of questions covering only the persons visible in the paradigm screen for the tense selected. You can take advantage of the filtering mechanism to build a custom testing session.

For each question you are presented with the description of a conjugated form and a list of options from which you need to select the one that matches the description. After picking an answer and receiving visual feedback on its correctness, you will be able to move to the next question by tapping on the Next question button on the bottom of the screen.

CAVE will keep track of your correct answers and show you a brief summary at the end of the session. You can discard the session and quit any time by tapping the Quit button.

Appendix 1
Romanized Input and CARS

1. CARS Romanization

CAVE introduces a new Arabic romanization system, The CJKI Arabic Romanization System or CARS, designed from the ground up for ease of use by learners. The Romanization table below shows how Arabic consonants and vowels are represented in CARS, and how to input these from the keyboard. A brief description of CARS appears in Section 4.3, while a detailed description is given in an academic paper. A table of CARS display and input symbols is found below.

It is important to keep in mind that CARS is a phonemic system that accurately represents pronunciation, rather than a transliteration system, whose goal is to represent characters directly. That is, when using Roman script you must type Arabic words based on how they are pronounced, not based on how they are spelled in Arabic.

For example, مَخَافَة makhā́fa is input as makhaafa. The aa represents the long vowel ā, not the fatḥa and ʾalif directly. The ṭā' marbū́ṭa (ة) is omitted entirely since it is not pronounced. If you do want input Arabic exactly as it is spelled, you can of course type Arabic directly, rather than romanized Arabic (see Arabic/Roman Input Mode).

2. Input Guidelines

  1. Consonants are input according to the table shown in the Romanization Table.
  2. Long vowels in CARS are represented by the macron (ā ī ū), which is input by doubling the vowel (aa ii uu), as in saafartu to input سَافَرْتُ sāfártu . Long vowels can also be input directly by pressing a key such as a and holding it briefly to display the diacritics menu (time consuming and not recommended).
  3. The acute accent (á í ú) represents a stressed syllable, as in أَنَا ʾána̱. Accents are displayed automatically and there is of course no need to input them.
  4. A macron under a letter (a̱ i̱ u̱ ḇ ḏ etc.) represents neutralization; that is, the shortening of long vowels, or the undoubling of double consonants in actual pronunciation, as in أَنَا ʾána̱ and هَجّ haj̱. There is no need to make any special effort to input neutralized letters -- they are input just like long vowels or double consonants and are displayed automatically as neutralized as necessary.
  5. The underdot modifies certain consonants to represent others, especially the emphatics: i.e., ص ṣ, ض ḍ, ط ṭ, ظ and ح . It is input by using the corresponding letters in capitals, that is S, D, T, Z, H. For convenience of input it is also possible to use lowercase letters, which may sometimes cause more candidates to be displayed since s, d, t, z and h also represent س‎, د‎, ت‎, ز and ه. Nevertheless, for input speed it is recommended to use lowercase letters. For example, صَبَرَ ṣábara 'he endured' can be input either as sabara or as Sabara.
  6. Hamza in its various written forms ( أإؤئء) can be input by an apostrophe, or it can be omitted. Thus أَ can be input as 'a or a, إِ as 'i or i, and أُ as 'u or u. In CARS these are displayed as ʾa, ʾi and ʾu, respectively. For example, to search for أَخَذَ ʾákhadha 'take' you can type 'akhadha. For input speed it is recommended to omit the apostrophe, so that أَخَذَ is input as akhadha or axadha.
  7. Madda (آ) is input by typing aa. For example, آكُلُ ʾā́kulu 'eat' is input by typing aakulu.The system automatically distinguishes long ā from madda.
  8. The Greek letter epsilon (ɛ) represents the letter ع ɛayin. This can be input by typing e, E or c. For example, to search for عَرَفَ ɛarafa 'know' type earafa (recommended), Earafa, or carafa.
  9. When inputting romanized Arabic, the letters ا álif (without hamza) and ة ṭā' marbū́ṭa cannot be input directly. They are generated automatically according to context. For example, to input كَاتِبٌ kā́tibun you type kaatibun and the ا is supplied by the system.
  10. To type shadda, the symbol for doubling consonants, simply type the letter twice. For example, to search for حَدَّثَ ḥaddatha 'tell', type haddatha or Haddatha.
  11. The breve symbol (˘) is used in CARS to disjoin the letters t, s, d and k from a following h to show that they are distinct letters when not separated by a vowel; that is, t˘h, s˘h, d˘h and k˘h represent ته‎, سه‎, ده and كه, as opposed to th, sh, dh and kh, which represent ث thā', س sīn, ذ dhāl, and خ khā'. For example, أَدْهَشَتْ 'she astonished' is displayed as ʾad˘hashat. The display of the breve is automatic and of course there is no need to input it.

3. Romanization Table

The table below shows how to input Arabic consonants (INPUT column) and how they are displayed (CARS column). The input of vowels and of letters marked by an asterisk in the table below is explained at Input Guidelines.

Romanization Table
ArabicNameINPUTCARS
اálif**
بbā'bb
تtā'tt
ثthā'thth
جjīmjj
حḥā'h, H
خkhā'kh, xkh
دdāldd
ذdhāldhdh
رrā'rr
زzāyzz
سsīnss
شshīnshsh
صṣāds, S
ضḍādd, D
طṭā't, T
ظẓā'z, Z
عɛayine, E, cɛ
غghayngh, ggh
فfā'ff
قqāfqq
كkāfkk
لlāmll
مmīmmm
نnūnnn
هhā'hh
وwāwww
يyā'yy
ءhamza*ʾ
ةṭā' marbū́ṭa**
آmaddaaa, 'aaʾā
ّshadda**

Appendix 2 Table of Subtypes

The table below brings together all the Forms, types and subtypes of the Arabic verb system. The table consists of the following four columns.

  1. The FTS columns gives the Form, type and subtype. The Form is given in Roman numerals followed by a hyphen. The part after the colon is type code (type + subtype symbols).
  2. The second column gives the subtype name for the each subtype. This is an arbitrary designation, rather than a formal term, to describe the main feature of the subtype in question.
  3. The SV column gives the two stem vowels for each model verb (shown in the EX column). The part before the colon is the perfect stem vowel while the part after the colon is imperfect stem vowel. The three Arabic short vowels are represented by a, i and u while the long vowels are represented by A (álif), Y (álif maqsū́ra), y (yāʾ) and w (waw).

    For example, for Form I subtype S1 "a:u" means that the perfect and imperfect stem vowels are a and u respectively, as can be seen in the middle vowels of the perfect كَتَبَ kátaba 'he wrote' and the imperfect يَكْتُبُ yáktubu 'he writes'. For Form I sound verbs this is useful for predicting the perfect from the imperfect and vice versa.

    For unsound verbs, as for example Form I subtype WA, the "A/u:w/u" means that the perfect stem vowel can be either a long ā as in قَالَ qā́la 'he said' or a short u as in قُلْتُ qúltu 'I said', while the imperfect stem vowel can be either a long ū as in يَقُولُ yaqū́lu 'he says' or a short u as in يَقُلْنَ yaqúlna 'they say'. The user can basically ignore the stem vowel information for unsound verbs as it is difficult to apply in practice. Just use CAVE and see the results in the conjugation paradigm.

  4. The EX column gives an example of an Arabic verb for the subtype in question.

Forms, Types and Subtypes
FORM I
FTSSOUNDSVEX
I:S1fatḥa ḍammaa:uكَتَبَ
I:S2fatḥa kasraa:iعَرَفَ
I:S3fatḥa fatḥaa:aفَتَحَ
I:S4kasra fatḥai:aشَرِبَ
I:S5ḍamma ḍammau:uكَبُرَ
I:S7fatḥa ḍamma kasrai:u/iعَكَفَ
I:S8fatḥa fatḥa ḍammaa:a/uصَلَحَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
I:Z1hamza initial Ia:uأَكَلَ
I:Z2hamza initial IIa:uأَمَلَ
I:Z3hamza initial IIIa:iأَسَرَ
I:Z4hamza initial IVi:aأَنِفَ
I:Z5hamza medial Ia:aلَأَمَ
I:Z6hamza medial IIa:aسَأَلَ
I:Z7hamza medial IIIu:uبَؤُسَ
I:Z8hamza medial IVi:aبَئِسَ
I:Z9hamza final Ia:aقَرَأَ
I:ZAhamza final IIu:uبَطُؤَ
I:ZBhamza final IIIi:aبَرِئَ
I:ZChamza medial Vi:aيَئِسَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
I:G1fatḥa ḍammaa:uمَرَّ
I:G2fatḥa fatḥa Ia/i:aظَلَّ
I:G3fatḥa kasra Ia:iقَلَّ
I:G4fatḥa fatḥa IIa/i:aوَدَّ
I:G5fatḥa kasra IIa:iأَنَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
I:A1waw fatḥa kasraa:iوَصَلَ
I:A2waw fatḥa fatḥaa:aوَقَعَ
I:A3waw kasra kasrai:iوَرِثَ
I:A4waw kasra fatḥai:aوَجِعَ
I:A5waw ḍamma ḍammau:uوَسُعَ
I:A6yāʾ kasra fatḥai:aيَقِظَ
I:A7waw kasra fatḥai:aوَسِعَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
I:H1medial waw IA/u:w/uقَالَ
I:H2medial waw IIA/u:w/uآبَ
I:H3medial waw IIIA/i:A/aنَامَ
I:H4medial yāʾ IA/i:y/iبَاعَ
I:H5medial yāʾ II-:-لَيْسَ
I:H6medial yāʾ IIIA/i:A/aهَابَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
I:D1waw defectiveA/a:w/uرَجَا
I:D2yāʾ defective Iy/i:Y/aنَسِيَ
I:D3yāʾ defective IIY/a:y/iرَمَى
I:D4yāʾ defective IIIY/a:Y/aسَعَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
I:W1assimilated & defective Iy/i:y/iوَلِيَ
I:W2assimilated & defective IIY/a:y/iوَقَى
I:W3hollow & defective IY/a:y/iنَوَى
I:W4hollow & defective IIy/i:Y/aسَوِيَ
I:W5hollow & defective IIIy/i:A/aحَيِيَ
I:W6hollow & hamzated IA/i:y/iجَاءَ
I:W7hollow & hamzated IIA/i:A/aشَاءَ
I:W8hollow & hamzated IIIA/u:w/uسَاءَ
I:W9hamzated & defective IY/a:Y/aرَأَى
I:WAhamzated & defective IIY/a:y/iأَتَى
I:WBhamzated & defective IIIY/a:Y/aأَبَى
FORM II
FTSSOUNDSVEX
II:S1fatḥa kasraa:iعَلَّمَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
II:Z1hamza initiala:iأَكَّدَ
II:Z2hamza mediala:iرَأَّسَ
II:Z3hamza finala:iهَنَّأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
II:G1fatḥa kasraa:iقَرَّرَ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
II:A1wā fatḥa kasraa:iوَصَّلَ
II:A2yāʾ fatḥa kasraa:iيَسَّرَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
II:H1medial wawa:iمَوَّلَ
II:H2medial yāʾa:iمَيَّلَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
II:D1waw defectivea:iرَبَّى
II:D2yāʾ defectivea:iسَمَّى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
II:W1hollow & defective Ia:iسَوَّى
II:W2hamzated & defectivea:iأَدَّى
II:W3hamzated & hollowa:iأَيَّدَ
II:W4hollow & hamzated Ia:iبَوَّأَ
II:W5assimilated & defectivea:iوَلَّى
II:W6hollow & defective IIa:iحَيَّا
II:W7hollow & hamzated IIa:iهَيَّأَ
FORM III
FTSSOUNDSVEX
III:S1fatḥa kasraa:iنَاسَبَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
III:Z1hamza initiala:iآخَذَ
III:Z2hamza mediala:iسَاءَلَ
III:Z3hamza finala:iكَافَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
III:G1fatḥa kasraa:iحَاجَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
III:A1waw fatḥa kasraa:iوَافَقَ
III:A2yāʾ fatḥa kasraa:iيَاسَرَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
III:H1medial wawa:iحَاوَلَ
III:H2medial yāʾa:iبَايَعَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
III:D1waw defectivea:iنَادَى
III:D2yāʾ defectivea:iحَامَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
III:W1hollow & defectivea:iسَاوَى
III:W2hamzated & defectivea:iآتَى
FORM IV
FTSSOUNDSVEX
IV:S1fatḥa kasraa:iأَخْبَرَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
IV:Z1hamza initiala:iآجَرَ
IV:Z2hamza mediala:iأَكْأَبَ
IV:Z3hamza finala:iأَنْشَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
IV:G1fatḥa kasraa:iأَحَبَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
IV:A1waw fatḥa kasraa:iأَوْجَبَ
IV:A2yāʾ fatḥa kasraa:iأَيْقَظَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
IV:H1medial wawA/a:y/iأَقَامَ
IV:H2medial yāʾA/a:y/iأَذَاعَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
IV:D1waw defectivea:iأَعْطَى
IV:D2yāʾ defectivea:iأَخْفَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
IV:W1assimilated & defectivea:iأَوْلَى
IV:W2hollow & hamzatedA/a:y/iأَضَاءَ
IV:W3hamzated & defective Ia:iأَرَى
IV:W4hamzated & defective IIa:iآتَى
IV:W5hollow & defectivea:iأَحْيَى
FORM V
FTSSOUNDSVEX
V:S1fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَدَخَّلَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
V:Z1hamza initiala:aتَأَخَّرَ
V:Z2hamza mediala:aتَرَأَّسَ
V:Z3hamza finala:aتَنَبَّأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
V:G1fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَرَدَّدَ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
V:A1waw fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَوَسَّعَ
V:A2yāʾ fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَيَقَّظَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
V:H1medial wawa:aتَصَوَّرَ
V:H2medial yāʾa:aتَغَيَّرَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
V:D1waw defectivea:aتَغَدَّى
V:D2yāʾ defectivea:aتَلَقَّى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
V:W1assimilated & defectivea:aتَوَلَّى
FORM VI
FTSSOUNDSVEX
VI:S1fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَظَاهَرَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
VI:Z1hamza initiala:aتَآلَفَ
VI:Z2hamza mediala:aتَفَاءَلَ
VI:Z3hamza finala:aتَبَاطَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
VI:G1fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَضَادَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
VI:A1waw fatḥa fatḥaa:aتَوَاجَهَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
VI:H1medial wawa:aتَجَاوَزَ
VI:H2medial yāʾa:aتَزَايَدَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
VI:D1waw defectivea:aتَعَافَى
VI:D2yāʾ defectivea:aتَلَاقَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
VI:W1assimilated & defectivea:aتَوَالَى
VI:W2hollow & defectivea:aتَسَاوَى
FORM VII
FTSSOUNDSVEX
VII:S1fatḥa kasraa:iاِنْقَلَبَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
VII:Z1hamza finala:iاِنْكَفَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
VII:G1fatḥa kasraa:iاِنْحَلَّ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
VII:H1medial wawA/a:A/aاِنْحَازَ
VII:H2medial yāʾA/a:A/aاِنْبَاعَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
VII:D1yāʾ defectivea:iاِنْقَضَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
VII:W1hollow & defectivea:iاِنْزَوَى
FORM VIII
FTSSOUNDSVEX
VIII:S1initial normala:iاِعْتَبَرَ
VIII:S2initial tāʾa:iاِتَّبَعَ
VIII:S3initial dala:iاِدَّحَرَ
VIII:S4fatḥa kasra Ia:iاِزْدَحَمَ
VIII:S5fatḥa kasra IIa:iاِصْطَنَعَ
VIII:S6fatḥa kasra IIIa:iاِضْطَرَبَ
VIII:S7fatḥa kasra IVa:iاِطَّلَعَ
VIII:S8fatḥa kasra Va:iاِظَّلَمَ
VIII:S9fatḥa kasra VIa:iاِدَّخَرَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
VIII:Z1hamza initial Ia:iاِئْتَمَرَ
VIII:Z2hamza initial IIa:iاِتَّخَذَ
VIII:Z3hamza mediala:iاِلْتَأَمَ
VIII:Z4hamza finala:iاِبْتَدَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
VIII:G1normal initiala:iاِمْتَدَّ
VIII:G2emphatic initiala:iاِضْطَرَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
VIII:A1waw fatḥa kasraa:iاِتَّفَقَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
VIII:H1medial waw IA/a:A/aاِحْتَاجَ
VIII:H2medial waw IIa:iاِزْدَوَجَ
VIII:H3medial yāʾ IA/a:A/aاِمْتَازَ
VIII:H4medial yāʾ IIA/a:A/aاِزْدَادَ
VIII:H5medial yāʾ IIIA/a:A/aاِصْطَادَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
VIII:D1waw defectivea:iاِشْتَكَى
VIII:D2yāʾ defective Ia:iاِشْتَرَى
VIII:D3yāʾ defective IIa:iاِدَّعَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
VIII:W1assimilated & defectivea:iاِتَّقَى
VIII:W2hollow & defectivea:iاِحْتَوَى
VIII:W3hollow & hamzatedA/a:A/aاِسْتَاءَ
FORM IX
FTSSOUNDSVEX
IX:S1fatḥa fatḥaa:aاِحْمَرَّ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
IX:H1medial wawa:aاِسْوَدَّ
IX:H2medial yāʾa:aاِبْيَضَّ
FORM X
FTSSOUNDSVEX
X:S1fatḥa kasraa:iاِسْتَقْبَلَ
FTSHAMZATEDSVEX
X:Z1hamza initiala:iاِسْتَأْنَفَ
X:Z2hamza mediala:iاِسْتَرْأَفَ
X:Z3hamza finala:iاِسْتَقْرَأَ
FTSGEMINATESVEX
X:G1fatḥa kasraa:iاِسْتَحَقَّ
FTSASSIMILATEDSVEX
X:A1waw fatḥa kasraa:iاِسْتَوْرَدَ
X:A2yāʾ fatḥa kasraa:iاِسْتَيْقَظَ
FTSHOLLOWSVEX
X:H1medial waw IA/a:y/iاِسْتَرَاحَ
X:H2medial waw IIa:iاِسْتَجْوَبَ
X:H3medial yāʾ IA/a:y/iاِسْتَفَادَ
FTSDEFECTIVESVEX
X:D1waw defectivea:iاِسْتَغْشَى
X:D2yāʾ defectivea:iاِسْتَثْنَى
FTSDOUBLY WEAKSVEX
X:W1assimilated & defectivea:iاِسْتَوْفَى
X:W2hollow & hamzatedA/a:y/iاِسْتَضَاءَ
X:W3hollow & defectivea:iاِسْتَحْيَا
QUADRILITERAL FORMS
FTSSUBTYPESVEX
QI:S1regulara:iتَرْجَمَ
QI:Z1hamzateda:iطَمْأَنَ
QII:S1regulara:aتَزَلْزَلَ
QIII:S1regulara:iاِبْرَنْشَقَ
QIV:S1regulara:iاِضْمَحَلَّ
QIV:Z1hamzateda:iاِشْمَأَزَّ