Last updated: 1 year ago
The fact that Arabic has – strictly speaking – only two tenses doesn't make it easier. However, the mood of the verb can tell you more about the probability of a situation.
In this blog post, we will have a look at sentences that have a verb in the so called مَجْزُوم-mood. It all depends on the initial word of a conditional sentence if the verb after it has to be مَجْزُوم. Words that put a verb into the مَجْزُوم-mood are called: أَدَوات جازِمة
Notice that مَجْزُوم basically means that the verb ends in a سُكُون – which also means that you have to watch out for weak letters as they might be elided.
إِنْ | if; used for time or place |
If you put an effort in your work, you'll succeed in your life. | إِنْ تَجْتَهِدْ فِي عَمَلِكَ تَنْجَحْ فِي حَياتِكَ |
مَتى | when |
If/when you come to Egypt, you will find beautiful weather. | مَتى تأتِ إِلَى مِصْرَ تَجِدْ جَوَّها جَمِيلاً |
Notice that the weak letter in أتى/ يَأتي is elided.
Whoever travels a lot will see different people. | مَنْ يُسافِرْ كَثيرًا يَرَ شُعُوبًا مُخْتَلِفةً |
مَنْ | who; for persons |
ما | who; whoever; which – for animals, trees; non-human things |
The weak letter in رَأَى/ يَرَى is elided. A remark: رَأَى is one of the very few pretty irregular verbs. You cannot conjugate it by using the common rules. The same is true for its IV-form أَفْعَلَ, which looks like أَرَى in its basic form (past tense).
مَهْما | what; which; whatever |
What you do for the good of the people will make you happy. | مَهْما تُقَدِّمُوا مِن خَيْرٍ لِلنَّاسِ تُصْبِحُواسَعْداءَ |
أيْنَما | what; which; whatever |
Wherever you travel you will find friends. | أيْنَما تُسافِرْ تَجِدْ أصْدِقاءَ |
كَيْفَما | how? |
The way you treat friends the way they will treat you. | كَيْفَما تُعامِلْ زُمَلاءَكَ يُعامِلُوكَ |
أَيُّ | every; whoever. For people; places; time |
Notice that there has to be a noun (اِسْم) after أَيُّ and never a verb; you have to treat it like a إِضافة
Every worker who works diligently will find the fruits of his work. | أَيُّ عامِلٍ يَعْمَلْ بِجِدٍّ يَلْقَ ثَمَرَةَ عَمَلِهِ |
Notice that the weak letter in لَقِيَ/ يَلْقَى is elided.
You will find more information about the specialties and meanings of the مَجْزُوم-mood in the book Arabic for Nerds.
Are there if-clauses in which you don't use the مَجْزُوم-mood? Yes, there are! We will check them out in another blog entry.
More articles about Arabic grammar:
- What does Dunya mean?
- Does the negation with ما or لم convey the same meaning?
- Arabic letters without dots – Does it work?
- الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ: Why is the prayer better than sleep?
- What is a masdar mu'awwal in Arabic?
Picture credit: Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay