# Imperative



## Anatoli

Hi all, 

I haven't mastered the verb yet and I can't pronounce the commands they use in my Arabic textbook. The verbs in the dictionary are only given in the past and present tense. The commands are used quite often, I'd like to know how to pronounce them.

I know you have to start with the jussive form, remove the prefix, add an alif (a, u, i) but  I don't enough confidence yet.

Could you please write *in Arabic* and *romanise* the following command forms in MSA (I added some extra commands): 

To convert the commands to requests, you only need to add "min faDluka/faDluki"

read! (e.g. read a text, read aloud) 
write! 
speak! (e.g. speak Arabic) 
say! (e.g. say this, say this word) 
translate!
repeat! 
look! 
listen! 
find! 
learn! (e.g. new words, a foreign language) 
study! 
teach! (e.g. teach me Arabic, teach me that trick) 

Also interested in the following, if you don't mind (less important) 
sit down! 
stand up! 
go! (e.g. go there) 
come! (e.g. come here, come to me) 
stop! (e.g stop the car, stop walking, stop doing something) 
work! 

I am interested in MSA first of all. I hope it's not too demanding, only 18 words to translate and romanise


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## elroy

read! (e.g. read a text, read aloud) اقرأ (iqra2)
write! اكتب (uktub)
speak! (e.g. speak Arabic) تكلّم (takallam)
say! (e.g. say this, say this word) قل (qul) [Note: this becomes قولي (quuli) in the feminine and قولوا (quulu) in the masculine plural!]
translate! ترجم (tarjim)
repeat! كرّر (karrir)
look! انظر (unZur)
listen! اسمع (isma3)
find! جد (jid)
learn! (e.g. new words, a foreign language) تعلّم (ta3allam)
study! ادرس (udrus)
teach! (e.g. teach me Arabic, teach me that trick) علّم (3allim)

sit down! اجلس (ijlis)
stand up! قف (qif)
go! (e.g. go there) اذهب (idhhab)
come! (e.g. come here, come to me) تعال (ta3aal)
stop! (e.g stop the car, stop walking, stop doing something) توقف (tawaqqaf)
work! اعمل (i3mal)


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## Anatoli

Great! Thanks, Elias. I might come back with a couple of questions, though


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## elroy

I'll be glad to help.

And let me know if you are interested in any colloquial forms.


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## Abu Rashid

Although what elroy has listed there is correct, I might just make a few notes:


> find! جد (jid)


I think that in Arabic the verb "search" (إبحث - Ib7ath) is more commonly used to command someone to find something.


> stand up! قف (qif)


The verb more commonly used for this would be "rise" (قم - Qum).

I think this is just a matter of which synonyms are more used in different languages for different things.


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## Anatoli

Yes, I am 

علّمني، من فضلك


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## elroy

Abu Rashid said:


> I think that in Arabic the verb "search" (إبحث - Ib7ath) is more commonly used to command someone to find something.


 While I agree that جد is not common, I think it differs from ابحث (no hamza) in the same way that "find" differs from "look for" in English. Besides, ابحث cannot be used to translate something like "Find the answer." I think a more common possibility might be اعثر على.



> The verb more commonly used for this would be "rise" (قم - Qum).


 Again, it depends on the context, as you said. 

Ok, Anatoli, here are the imperative forms in Palestinian Arabic:

read! (e.g. read a text, read aloud) iqra2 or hi2ra 
write! uktob
speak! (e.g. speak Arabic) i7ki إحكي
say! (e.g. say this, say this word) 2uul قول
translate! tarjem
repeat! 3iid عيد
look! tTalla3 اتطلع
listen! isma3
find! laa2i لاقي
learn! (e.g. new words, a foreign language) t3allam
study! udros
teach! (e.g. teach me Arabic, teach me that trick) 3allem

sit down! hu23od اقعد
stand up! wa22ef وقف (or 2uum قوم)
go! (e.g. go there) ruu7 روح
come! (e.g. come here, come to me) ta3aal
stop! (e.g stop the car, stop walking, stop doing something) wa22ef وقف
(Note: "Stop doing something" is usually rendered with بس + subjunctive. "Stop eating" = بس توكل [bas tookol]). 
work! ishtghel اشتغل

The ones I did not write in Arabic are identical in spelling to the corresponding MSA forms. 

For some of these verbs, the feminine and plural forms are not formed by simply adding an ending.  There are other changes that occur, but I won't go into them unless you want me to.


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## Anatoli

Thanks, Elias. How come there's an alif in 



> sit down! hu23od اقعد


? Is is mute?


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## elroy

No, it's pronounced as a "h" because "2u23od" would be too difficult to pronounce.


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## Anatoli

I've got some questions, please:
Why is



> "listen!" - اسمع (isma3)



and not إستمع istami3; and



> stop!  توقف (tawaqqaf)?



and not qif قف?


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## Zaeem

> I've got some questions, please:
> Why is
> 
> 
> Quote:
> "listen!" - اسمع (isma3)
> and not استمع istami3; and
> 
> 
> Quote:
> stop! توقف (tawaqqaf)?
> and not qif قف?


 
I think both forms work.


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## Abu Rashid

I've seen both used in both cases, for both of these words.

قف for instance is used on road (Stop) signs in Arabic countries


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## Anatoli

Thanks you both


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## kifaru

Are the commands also used for dual and plural? I assume that you have to add the suffix when you command something to be done to someone (-hu. -ha, -hum). Is that correct?


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## elroy

استمع (no hamza!) and اسمع are both fine, although one or the other may be preferable depending on the context.

قف corresponds to the intransitive "stop" in English. Your parenthetical insertion suggested that you were interested in the transitive "stop" in English. 

Stop walking. - توقف عن المشي
Stop doing something. - توقف عن عمل شيء ما
(_قف would not be possible in these sentences._)

Stop the car. - أوقف السيارة 
(_Notice that this is yet another form._)

Stop at the corner. - قف (أو توقف) على الزاوية



kifaru said:


> Are the commands also used for dual and plural?


 For masculine plural you add وا to the base form.
For feminine plural you add نَ.
For dual you add ا.


> I assume that you have to add the suffix when you command something to be done to someone (-hu. -ha, -hum). Is that correct?


 Yes.


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## Sidjanga

elroy said:


> No, it's pronounced as a "h" because "2u23od" would be too difficult to pronounce.


Depending on the area (in بيت لحم/بيت ساحور, for example) people also say _*2*__u*q*3od _or _*2*__u*k*3od, _and even_*2*__u*g*3od_, and I'm pretty sure I heard people say _*2*u*2*3od_ there, too.





elroy said:


> ... here are the imperative forms in Palestinian Arabic:
> ...
> look! tTalla3 اتطلع
> ...


But you also use شوف/شوفي/شوفوا, don't you?



elroy said:


> work! ishtghel اشتغل


ليش حطيت خط تحت gh و sh؟


> For some of these verbs, the feminine and plural forms are not formed by simply adding an ending.  There are other changes that occur,...


Like for example?

Also, how do you form the imperative forms of the استفعل verbs, استعمل or استخدم,  for example? (in both PA and MSA, if there's a difference)

Is it just استعمل/استعملي/استعملوا  ?


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## clevermizo

Sidjanga said:


> ليش حطيت خط تحت gh و sh؟



I think he used to do so to show that sh was ش while sh could also mean سهـ. It seems he's dropped this convention as of late . 



> Also, how do you form the imperative forms of the استفعل verbs, استعمل or استخدم,  for example? (in both PA and MSA, if there's a difference)
> 
> Is it just استعمل/استعملي/استعملوا  ?


Yes it's just that.


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## elroy

Sidjanga said:


> But you also use شوف/شوفي/شوفوا, don't you?


 Yes.


> Like for example?


 *o>u +/- vowel shift*:
_uktob - uktubi/ukutbi
udros - udrusi/udursi
hu23od - hu23udi/hu2u3di_
*
e>i +/- vowel shift*:
_tarjem - tarjimi/tarijmi
ishtghel - ishtighli_ [vowel shift mandatory, _ishtghili_* does not occur]

*vowel elision*:
_3allem - 3allmi
wa22ef - wa22fi_

*no change in form*:
_i7ki - i7ki 
laa2i - laa2i_

*other*:
_hi2ra - hi2ri_


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