- After we have learned types of feminine nouns in detail, we will know when a verb must be obligatory feminine. Consider the following example:
|
Picture |
English Translation |
Arabic Example |
No. |
|
|
Suad has exercised sports for a month |
1 |
|
|
|
Zaynab studies at Cairo University |
2 |
|
|
|
Fatima works in a big company |
3 |
|
|
|
Suad studied hard and passed the exam |
4 |
|
|
|
The giraffe ate a lot of carrots |
5 |
|
|
|
The cat entered the kitchen, ate food and then it escaped from the window |
دَخَلَتِ القِطَّةُ المَطْبَخَ، وأكَلَتِ الطَّعَامَ ثُمَّ هَرَبَتْ مِنَ النَّافِذَةِ |
6 |
- Through these examples, it becomes apparent that a verb is obligatory feminine when:
- The verb doer is a real feminine that begets or lays eggs, whether women, animals or birds, including proper nouns (names) - examples include Suad, Zaynab, Fatima, giraffe and cat. All these nouns are real feminine nouns. However, there is a condition that should be met in order that the verb is an obligatory feminine – that is, the verb and its doer must be directly connected, i.e. the noun comes directly after the verb.
- The verb doer is a connected pronoun (ضَمِيرٌ مُتَّصِلٌ) referring to a feminine noun mentioned before the verb. Consider the following examples:
|
Picture |
English |
Arabic |
|
|
The Mother is a gift from God; she becomes pregnant, gives birth and cares for her children |
الْأُمُّ هَدِيَّةٌمِنَ اللَّهِ؛ حَمَلَتْ، وَوَضَعَتْ، وَسَهِرَتْ عَلَى رَاحَةِ أَوْلادِها |
|
|
My friend Mariam is diligent; she reads and studies much |
صَدِيقَتِي مَرْيَمُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ؛ فَهِيَ تَقْرَأُ كَثِيرًا، وتَدْرُسُ كَثِيرًا |
|
|
The police exert efforts to keep security of people and protect their property and souls (lives). |
تَسْهَرُ الشُّرْطَةُ عَلَى أَمْنِ الْمُوَاطِنِينَ؛ فَتَحْمِي أَمْوَالَهُمْ، وَأَرْوَاحَهُمْ |
|
|
The sky is a source of life for the land; if it rains it fills the land with goodness and life, and if not land becomes waste |
|
|
|
Planes are a wonderful invention, because they carry heavy things and transport passengers to remote countries |
- We notice in the previous examples that all verbs are feminine. The verbs are:
|
Type |
Verb |
Sentence No. |
|
Past |
1 |
|
|
Past |
1 |
|
|
Past |
1 |
|
|
Present |
2 |
|
|
Present |
2 |
|
|
Present |
3 |
|
|
Present |
3 |
|
|
Past |
4 |
|
|
Past |
4 |
|
|
Past |
4 |
|
|
Present |
5 |
|
|
Present |
5 |
- The verb doer of these verbs is a latent pronoun i.e. it means "she" or “it” and refers to the following feminine nouns (look at the examples above after looking at the table below):
|
Verbs relating to feminine noun |
Feminine noun |
|
Mother الأمُّ |
|
|
Mariam مَرْيَم |
|
|
Police الشُّرْطَةُ |
|
|
Sky السماء |
|
|
Planes الطَّائرات |
- To summarize, there are two cases in which the verb should be obligatory feminine:
- If the verb doer is a feminine noun (that which begets or lays eggs, including women, animals and birds), provided that it comes directly following the verb (consider previous examples).
- The verb doer is a latent pronoun referring to a feminine noun mentioned before the verb (consider previous examples).