Verb Forms IV and V in Arabic

In Brief

Arabic Form IV usually has the pattern أَفْعَلَ and often makes a basic verb causative or transitive: خَرَجَ “to go out” becomes أَخْرَجَ “to take out.” Form V has the pattern تَفَعَّلَ and is often the reflexive or inward counterpart of Form II: عَلَّمَ “to teach” becomes تَعَلَّمَ “to learn.” These are useful meaning clues, not formulas that predict every dictionary definition.

Overview

Many Arabic verbs belong to a derived form: a recurring pattern added to a three-consonant root. A root carries a broad field of meaning, while the pattern helps shape that meaning. For example, the root خ-ر-ج is associated with going or coming out. Form I خَرَجَ means “to go out,” while Form IV أَخْرَجَ commonly means “to cause to go out,” and therefore “to take out” or “remove.”

Forms IV and V are normally introduced around A2, after Forms II and III. Form IV is especially important because many common verbs use it, including أَرْسَلَ “to send,” أَعْلَنَ “to announce,” and أَدْخَلَ “to bring in.” Form V is easy to connect with Form II: عَلَّمَ means “to teach,” whereas تَعَلَّمَ means “to learn.” In plain terms, the action of Form II is often received by, directed back toward, or developed in the subject of Form V.

English often expresses the same relationship with a different verb or a phrase: “go out” versus “take out,” “teach” versus “learn,” or “improve something” versus “improve.” Arabic can express such relationships through a systematic change to the verb pattern. However, each derived verb is still a vocabulary item. The pattern points you toward a likely meaning; context and a dictionary confirm it.

How It Works

Roots, patterns, and the two core templates

Traditional grammar labels the three root positions with ف, ع, and ل. These are placeholders, like C1, C2, and C3 for the first, second, and third root consonants.

Feature	Form IV	Form V
Arabic name	الوزن الرابع	الوزن الخامس
Past-tense dictionary pattern	أَفْعَلَ	تَفَعَّلَ
Present-tense pattern	يُفْعِلُ	يَتَفَعَّلُ
Verbal noun pattern	إِفْعَال	تَفَعُّل
Common meaning tendency	causing, making transitive	reflexive, middle, or result of Form II
Example	أَخْرَجَ / يُخْرِجُ	تَعَلَّمَ / يَتَعَلَّمُ

A verbal noun is a noun naming the action or process, similar to “learning” in “Learning takes time.” Thus تَعَلُّم means “learning,” and إِخْرَاج can mean “taking out,” “production,” or “direction,” depending on context.

Form IV: أَفْعَلَ

Form IV adds an initial أَ- to the basic three-consonant frame in the past tense. Its present stem has يُـ...ـِـ: يُفْعِلُ. The initial أ is called همزة القطع, a hamza that is pronounced even when another word comes before it.

The beginner rule is:

If Form I describes a state or an action without an object, Form IV often means “cause someone or something to do that action.”

Compare:

• خَرَجَ الطِّفْلُ. — The child went out.
• أَخْرَجَ الأَبُ الطِّفْلَ. — The father took the child out.
• دَخَلَ الضَّيْفُ. — The guest entered.
• أَدْخَلَ المُضِيفُ الضَّيْفَ. — The host brought the guest in.

This change often makes the verb transitive, meaning that it takes a direct object—the person or thing directly affected by the action. In أَخْرَجَ الأَبُ الطِّفْلَ, الطِّفْلَ is the direct object.

Not every Form IV verb has a common, transparent Form I partner. Some meanings have become specialized over time: أَرْسَلَ means “to send,” أَعْلَنَ means “to announce,” and أَسْلَمَ can mean “to submit” or, in religious context, “to embrace Islam.” Learn these as complete verbs rather than forcing a literal causative translation.

Form V: تَفَعَّلَ

Form V adds تَـ to the beginning of the Form II-shaped stem and keeps the doubled middle root consonant: تَفَعَّلَ. The doubling is shown by a shadda (ـّ). It is real in pronunciation even when short-vowel marks and the shadda are omitted in ordinary writing.

The most useful A2 relationship is:

• Form II: someone directs or causes the action toward another person or thing.
• Form V: the subject undergoes, develops, or performs that action for itself.

Compare:

• عَلَّمَتِ المُدَرِّسَةُ الطَّالِبَ. — The teacher taught the student.
• تَعَلَّمَ الطَّالِبُ. — The student learned.
• حَسَّنَ المُهَنْدِسُ النِّظَامَ. — The engineer improved the system.
• تَحَسَّنَ النِّظَامُ. — The system improved.

This is often called a reflexive or middle meaning. Reflexive means that the action turns back toward the subject; middle means that the subject experiences a change without the sentence focusing on an outside agent. English does not always use “myself,” “yourself,” and so on in these cases. For example, تَحَسَّنَ is naturally “improved” or “got better,” not “improved itself.”

Form V can also describe deliberate effort or gradual development: تَدَرَّبَ “to train/practise,” تَعَوَّدَ “to become accustomed,” and تَذَكَّرَ “to remember.” Again, the pattern gives a family resemblance, not one translation that works everywhere.

Recognizing the forms in connected text

In unvocalized Arabic, Form IV past tense often begins with أ, while Form V past tense often begins with ت and has a doubled second root consonant. In the present tense, person prefixes come before the stem:

• Form IV: يُخْرِجُ، تُخْرِجُ، أُخْرِجُ، نُخْرِجُ
• Form V: يَتَعَلَّمُ، تَتَعَلَّمُ، أَتَعَلَّمُ، نَتَعَلَّمُ

Do not identify a form from its first letter alone. أَكَلَ “to eat” and أَخَذَ “to take” begin with أ but are Form I verbs. Check the whole pattern, the present tense, and the dictionary entry.

Full model conjugations

The following tables show the past and present indicative of one regular model from each form. The subject is the person or thing doing or experiencing the action. Arabic marks more distinctions than English, including masculine, feminine, and dual “you two/they two” forms.

Form IV model: أَخْرَجَ “to take out”

Subject	Past	Present
هُوَ (he)	أَخْرَجَ	يُخْرِجُ
هُمَا (they two, masculine/mixed)	أَخْرَجَا	يُخْرِجَانِ
هُمْ (they, masculine/mixed)	أَخْرَجُوا	يُخْرِجُونَ
هِيَ (she)	أَخْرَجَتْ	تُخْرِجُ
هُمَا (they two, feminine)	أَخْرَجَتَا	تُخْرِجَانِ
هُنَّ (they, feminine)	أَخْرَجْنَ	يُخْرِجْنَ
أَنْتَ (you, masculine singular)	أَخْرَجْتَ	تُخْرِجُ
أَنْتُمَا (you two)	أَخْرَجْتُمَا	تُخْرِجَانِ
أَنْتُمْ (you, masculine/mixed plural)	أَخْرَجْتُمْ	تُخْرِجُونَ
أَنْتِ (you, feminine singular)	أَخْرَجْتِ	تُخْرِجِينَ
أَنْتُنَّ (you, feminine plural)	أَخْرَجْتُنَّ	تُخْرِجْنَ
أَنَا (I)	أَخْرَجْتُ	أُخْرِجُ
نَحْنُ (we)	أَخْرَجْنَا	نُخْرِجُ

Notice the vowel in the present prefix: يُخْرِجُ, not يَخْرَجُ. Also notice that unvocalized أخرج can represent past أَخْرَجَ “he took out” or present أُخْرِجُ “I take out.” The sentence supplies the answer.

Form V model: تَعَلَّمَ “to learn”

Subject	Past	Present
هُوَ (he)	تَعَلَّمَ	يَتَعَلَّمُ
هُمَا (they two, masculine/mixed)	تَعَلَّمَا	يَتَعَلَّمَانِ
هُمْ (they, masculine/mixed)	تَعَلَّمُوا	يَتَعَلَّمُونَ
هِيَ (she)	تَعَلَّمَتْ	تَتَعَلَّمُ
هُمَا (they two, feminine)	تَعَلَّمَتَا	تَتَعَلَّمَانِ
هُنَّ (they, feminine)	تَعَلَّمْنَ	يَتَعَلَّمْنَ
أَنْتَ (you, masculine singular)	تَعَلَّمْتَ	تَتَعَلَّمُ
أَنْتُمَا (you two)	تَعَلَّمْتُمَا	تَتَعَلَّمَانِ
أَنْتُمْ (you, masculine/mixed plural)	تَعَلَّمْتُمْ	تَتَعَلَّمُونَ
أَنْتِ (you, feminine singular)	تَعَلَّمْتِ	تَتَعَلَّمِينَ
أَنْتُنَّ (you, feminine plural)	تَعَلَّمْتُنَّ	تَتَعَلَّمْنَ
أَنَا (I)	تَعَلَّمْتُ	أَتَعَلَّمُ
نَحْنُ (we)	تَعَلَّمْنَا	نَتَعَلَّمُ

The two initial ت sounds in forms such as تَتَعَلَّمُ both belong there: the first is the present-tense person prefix, and the second is part of the Form V stem.

Examples in Context

Arabic	English	Note
خَرَجَ سامي مِنَ الغُرْفَةِ.	Sami went out of the room.	Form I provides the base contrast.
أَخْرَجَ سامي الكِتابَ مِنَ الحَقيبَةِ.	Sami took the book out of the bag.	Form IV makes the action transitive.
أَدْخَلَتِ المُعَلِّمَةُ الطُّلّابَ إِلى المَتْحَفِ.	The teacher took the students into the museum.	Form IV from the idea of entering.
أَرْسَلْنا رِسالَةً إِلى الشَّرِكَةِ.	We sent a message to the company.	A common lexicalized Form IV verb.
سَيُعْلِنُ المُديرُ النَّتائِجَ غَدًا.	The director will announce the results tomorrow.	The future particle سـ precedes the present form.
أَوْقَفَ الشُّرْطِيُّ السَّيّارَةَ.	The police officer stopped the car.	The officer caused it to stop.
عَلَّمَتْني أُخْتي كَيْفَ أَطْبُخُ.	My sister taught me how to cook.	Form II: teaching is directed toward someone.
تَعَلَّمْتُ العَرَبِيَّةَ في الجامِعَةِ.	I learned Arabic at university.	Form V: learning happens in the subject.
هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ العَرَبِيَّةَ؟	Do you speak Arabic?	Form V تَكَلَّمَ; context identifies “you.”
تَحَسَّنَ الطَّقْسُ بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ.	The weather improved in the afternoon.	A middle/result meaning.
يَتَدَرَّبُ الفَريقُ كُلَّ صَباحٍ.	The team trains every morning.	Form V can suggest deliberate practice.
تَذَكَّرْتُ اسْمَ المَطْعَمِ أَخيرًا.	I finally remembered the restaurant’s name.	A common Form V verb whose meaning should be learned directly.

Common Mistakes

Treating every initial أ as Form IV

• Wrong analysis: أَكَلَ must be Form IV because it begins with أ.
• Right analysis: أَكَلَ / يَأْكُلُ “to eat” is Form I; أَخْرَجَ / يُخْرِجُ is Form IV.
• Why: The whole past-present pattern matters. The first letter alone is not enough.

Using the Form V verb when someone teaches another person

• Wrong: تَعَلَّمَتِ المُعَلِّمَةُ الطَّالِبَ. for “The teacher taught the student.”
• Right: عَلَّمَتِ المُعَلِّمَةُ الطَّالِبَ.
• Why: عَلَّمَ (Form II) takes the learner as its object. تَعَلَّمَ (Form V) means that the subject learns: تَعَلَّمَ الطَّالِبُ.

Dropping the second ت in the Form V present

• Wrong: أَتَلَمُ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
• Right: أَتَعَلَّمُ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
• Why: Form V already begins with ت, and the first-person present adds أ before it. The doubled middle consonant must also be pronounced.

Guessing an exact meaning from the pattern

• Wrong assumption: أَسْلَمَ must simply mean “made safe” because its root is connected with safety.
• Right approach: Learn أَسْلَمَ in context: it can mean “submitted/surrendered” and, in a religious context, “embraced Islam.”
• Why: Derived patterns organize vocabulary, but history and usage give individual verbs their established meanings.

Mixing past and present after a time expression

• Wrong: هُوَ يَتَعَلَّمُ العَرَبِيَّةَ أَمْسِ.
• Right: هُوَ تَعَلَّمَ العَرَبِيَّةَ أَمْسِ. — “He learned Arabic yesterday.”
• Why: The derived form and the tense are separate choices. Form V does not itself mean present or past.

Forgetting the present-prefix vowel in Form IV

• Wrong: يَخْرِجُ الكِتابَ مِنَ الحَقيبَةِ when the intended verb is “he takes the book out.”
• Right: يُخْرِجُ الكِتابَ مِنَ الحَقيبَةِ.
• Why: يَخْرُجُ is Form I, “he goes out”; يُخْرِجُ is Form IV, “he takes out.” Short vowels carry the contrast in careful pronunciation.

Usage Notes

Modern Standard Arabic normally appears without most short-vowel marks. You will therefore see أخرج and تعلم, not necessarily أَخْرَجَ and تَعَلَّمَ. Learn each new verb with its spoken pattern, especially the Form V doubled consonant. Reading a word aloud incorrectly can hide the form even when you recognize its letters.

Form IV is productive, but its frequency varies by verb and register. Some Form IV verbs are everyday essentials, while others are more common in formal news or writing. أَعْلَنَ “announce,” أَكّدَ “confirm” (Form II), and related derived verbs often appear in news reports because formal Arabic favors precise transitive verbs.

Spoken dialects use many of the same derived stems, but pronunciation and sometimes meaning differ from Modern Standard Arabic. For example, initial vowels may be reduced or changed. At this stage, build a reliable Modern Standard Arabic pattern first; then learn the dialect form as a connected but separate pronunciation and usage item.

English speakers should resist adding “self” mechanically to Form V translations. تَعَلَّمَ is “learned,” تَكَلَّمَ is “spoke,” and تَحَسَّنَ is “improved/got better.” The Arabic morphology contains a reflexive or middle relationship even when natural English uses a simple verb.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of the following at A2, but these forms belong to larger word families that will become increasingly useful.

Each form can produce related nouns and participles. A participle is a verb-based word that can describe a doer, a state, or something affected by an action. The regular patterns are:

Function	Form IV	Form V
Verbal noun	إِفْعَال: إِخْرَاج “taking out; production”	تَفَعُّل: تَعَلُّم “learning”
Active participle	مُفْعِل: مُخْرِج “one who takes out; director”	مُتَفَعِّل: مُتَعَلِّم “learner”
Passive participle	مُفْعَل: مُخْرَج “output; something produced”	مُتَفَعَّل: context-dependent and less common for many verbs
Command, masculine singular	أَفْعِلْ: أَخْرِجْ “take out!”	تَفَعَّلْ: تَعَلَّمْ “learn!”

These patterns are regular for sound roots, but weak roots—roots containing و or ي—and roots containing hamza can undergo spelling or vowel changes. For example, the everyday Form IV verb أَقَامَ “to establish; stay” comes from the root ق-و-م, but the و is not visible in the past-tense surface form. Treat the templates in this article as the clear core system, then study weak verbs as their own topic.

Meaning relationships can also run in more than one direction. Form V may show a result of Form II, as in كَسَّرَ “to smash something into pieces” versus تَكَسَّرَ “to be shattered/break into pieces.” It may show behavior adopted by the subject, gradual change, or effort. Sometimes the historical link is no longer obvious to a learner. Advanced reading therefore requires two skills at once: recognizing the morphological family and respecting the verb’s actual dictionary meaning.

Finally, grammatical voice and derived form are not the same thing. A Form V verb may have a middle-like meaning, but that does not make every Form V sentence a grammatical passive. Similarly, Form IV can itself be put into the passive: أُخْرِجَ الرَّجُلُ مِنَ الغُرْفَةِ means “The man was taken out of the room.” Here الرَّجُلُ undergoes the action, and the person who removed him is not stated.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-word families. Put Form I, the related derived form, and an English meaning on one card: خَرَجَ → أَخْرَجَ → “go out → take out” and عَلَّمَ → تَعَلَّمَ → “teach → learn.” Say each pair aloud so the prefix and doubled consonant become audible.
2. Record both past and present. Never learn only أَخْرَجَ; learn أَخْرَجَ / يُخْرِجُ. For Form V, learn تَعَلَّمَ / يَتَعَلَّمُ. This makes forms easier to recognize in unvocalized text and prevents present-prefix mistakes.
3. Sort real examples by meaning. While reading, collect Form IV verbs under “causing/transitive” or “lexical meaning,” and Form V verbs under “reflexive/result,” “gradual change/effort,” or “lexical meaning.” The categories train useful expectations without turning them into rigid rules.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb Forms II and III — Form V is easiest to understand as a common counterpart of Form II.
• Next steps: Verb Forms VI–X — continues the derived-form system with reciprocal, passive-like, reflexive, color, and seeking meanings.