Lesson 68 – الدَّرْسُ الثَّامِنُ والسِّتُّونَ

The causal object - الْمَفْعُول لأَجْلِهِ

The causal object – الْمَـفْـعُـول لأَجْـلِـهِ

  • We are still in lesson sixty eight of our free Arabic language course. This Arabic course with images and audios will help you learn Arabic.
  • The Arabic causal object is an original noun (مَصْدَر) derived from a verb of affectivity, explaining the reason why the action of the previous verb has been done.
  • In the light of this definition we can recognize the difference between the Arabic causal objects and the other two kinds of object as follows:

1-   The causal object has to be an original noun, unlike the direct object which can appear in many types as follows (for revision purpose):

Type of direct object

Direct object

Example

English

Arabic

Explicit noun

الطَّعامَ

The boy ate the food

أَكَلَ الْوَلَدُ الطَّعَامَ

/akala al waladu aŧ ŧaξāma/

Explicit verbal noun

قِرَاءَةَ

I prefer reading stories

أُفَضِّلُ قِرَاءَةَ القِصَصِ

/ufađđilu qirâ’ata al qiŝaŝi/

Implicit noun

أَنْ أُشَاهِدَ

I like to watch the TV

أُحِبُّ أَنْ أُشَاهِدَ التَّلْفازَ

/uħibbu an ushāhida at tilfāza/

Attached pronoun

ـي

The teacher asked me a question

سَأَلَنِي الأسْتَاذُ سُؤالاً

/sa’alanī al ustādhu su’ālan/

Detached pronoun

إيَّاكَ

It is you, we worship, and it is you we ask for help

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإياكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

/iyyāka naξbudu wa iyyāka nastaξīnu/

  • In the above mentioned table we notice that the direct object can be in various types, while the causal object can only be an original noun as follows:

Type of causal object

Causal object

Example

English

Arabic

Original noun

حُبًا

I read the story out of love for its writer

قَرَأتُ القِصَّةَ حُبًّا لِمُؤَلِّفِها

/qara’tu al qiŝŝata hubban limu’allifihā/

طَاعَةً

I pray to obey ma God

أُصِلِّي طَاعَةً لِرَبِّي

/uŝallī ŧâξatan lirabbī/

بِرًّا

I help my mother for filial obedience

أُسَاعِدُ أُمِّي بِرًّا بِها

/usāξidu ummī birran bihā/

  • The causal object has to be an original noun derived from a verb of affectivity, i.e. it means; a desire, a wish, a request, a dislike, a fear etc., while the absolute object is an original noun that is derived from the same root of the preceding verb to confirm its meaning or to show its nature or number as follows (for revision purpose):

The type of the absolute object

The absolute object

Example

English

Arabic

Confirmative

شَرْحًا

The teacher explained the lesson thoroughly

شَرَحَ الأسْتَاذُ الدَّرْسَ شَرْحًا

/sharaħa al ustādhu ad darsa sharħan/

Showing the number of the action

رَمْيَتَيْنِ

I threw the ball twice

رَمَيْتُ الكُرَةَ رَمْيَتَيْنِ

/ramaytu al kurata ramyatayni/

Showing the nature of the action

قِرَاءَةَ المُجْتَهِدِ

I read the lesson (as) the  reading of the hardworking

قَرَأْتُ الدَّرْسَ قِرَاءَةَ المُجْتَهِدِ

/qara’tu ad darsa qirâ’ata al muĵtahid/

  • In the above mentioned table you may notice that the absolute object is an original noun derived from the root of the preceding verb to confirm its meaning or to show its nature or number, while the causal object is an original noun derived from a verb of affectivity, to show the reason of the preceding verb as follows:

The type of the causal object

The causal object

Example

English

Arabic

Showing the reason

طَلَبًا

I travelled asking for freedom

سافَرْتُ طَلَبًا لِلْحُرِّيَّةِ

/sāfartu ŧalaban lil ħurriyyati/

قَصْدًا

I ask the scientists seeking for knowledge

أَسْألُ الَعلماءَ قَصْدًا للمَعْرِفَةِ

/as’alu al ξulamā’a qaŝdan lilmaξrifati/

استجمامًا

I stayed at home for relaxation

جَلَسْتُ فِي البيتَ استجمامًا

/ĵalastu fī al bayti istiĵmāman/

 

2-   The essential function of the causal object is to explain the reason why the action of the preceding verb has been done. None of the other objects indicates the reason. The direct object indicates the object which undergoes the action of the preceding verb, while the absolute object confirms the action of the preceding verb or shows its nature or number.

  • The following table shows the three types of object (the direct, the absolute, and the causal object with the verb (زُرْتُ) meaning I visited:

Meaning of the object

Type of the object

Object

Example

English

Arabic

The object which undergoes the action

Direct object

مِصْرَ

I visited Egypt

زُرْتُ مِصْرَ

/zurtu miŝra/

Showing the nature of the verb

Absolute object

زِيارَةً

I went to Egypt in a long visit

زُرْتُ مِصْرَ زِيارَةً طَوِيلَةً

/zurtu miŝra ziaratan ŧawīlatan/

Showing the reason

Causal object

رَغْبَةً

I visited Egypt to study

زُرْتُ مِصْرَ رَغْبَةً في الدِّرَاسَةِ

/zurtu miŝra raghbatan fī ad dirâsati/