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 | The boy ate the food | /akala al waladu aŧ ŧaξāma/ | |
| Explicit verbal noun | I prefer reading stories | /ufađđilu qirâ’ata al qiŝaŝi/ | |
| Implicit noun | I like to watch the TV | أُحِبُّ أَنْ أُشَاهِدَ التَّلْفازَ /uħibbu an ushāhida at tilfāza/ | |
| Attached pronoun | The teacher asked me a question | /sa’alanī al ustādhu su’ālan/ | |
| Detached pronoun | 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 | I read the story out of love for its writer | قَرَأتُ القِصَّةَ حُبًّا لِمُؤَلِّفِها /qara’tu al qiŝŝata hubban limu’allifihā/ | |
| I pray to obey ma God | /uŝallī ŧâξatan lirabbī/ | ||
| I help my mother for filial obedience | /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 | The teacher explained the lesson thoroughly | شَرَحَ الأسْتَاذُ الدَّرْسَ شَرْحًا /sharaħa al ustādhu ad darsa sharħan/ | |
| Showing the number of the action | I threw the ball twice | رَمَيْتُ الكُرَةَ رَمْيَتَيْنِ /ramaytu al kurata ramyatayni/ | |
| Showing the nature of the action | 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 | I travelled asking for freedom | سافَرْتُ طَلَبًا لِلْحُرِّيَّةِ /sāfartu ŧalaban lil ħurriyyati/ | |
| I ask the scientists seeking for knowledge | أَسْألُ الَعلماءَ قَصْدًا للمَعْرِفَةِ /as’alu al ξulamā’a qaŝdan lilmaξrifati/ | ||
| I stayed at home for relaxation | /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 | I visited Egypt | /zurtu miŝra/ | |
| Showing the nature of the verb | Absolute object | I went to Egypt in a long visit | زُرْتُ مِصْرَ زِيارَةً طَوِيلَةً /zurtu miŝra ziaratan ŧawīlatan/ | |
| Showing the reason | Causal object | I visited Egypt to study | زُرْتُ مِصْرَ رَغْبَةً في الدِّرَاسَةِ /zurtu miŝra raghbatan fī ad dirâsati/
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