Editor’s Note & Disclaimer: The core content and linguistic structure of this lesson were originally authored by Chris Hitchcock for the Team Maha website. This post is part of an effort to preserve, organize, and share these invaluable resources for Arabic learners worldwide.

Participles (اسم فاعل واسم مفعول) are used far more extensively in Levantine Arabic (Shami) than in Modern Standard Arabic (FuSHa). While often simplified in learning materials as “continuous verbs,” participles in Shami actually convey completed states, resultative actions, and present perfect nuances that are vital for fluent communication.

In this lesson, we will cover the formation of active and passive participles, the fa3laan pattern, attaching object pronouns, and key practical usages in everyday conversation.

1. Formation of Participles

A. Active Participles (اسم الفاعل)

• Form I Verbs: Formed primarily on the faa3el pattern, identical to FuSHa:
  • كاتب (kaateb → ‘having written / writer’)
  • رايح (raaye7 → ‘going / having gone’)
  • ماشين (maashyiin → ‘walking’)
• Derived Forms (Forms II – X): Replace the FuSHa mu- prefix with a colloquial m(é)- prefix:
  • متعلم (mét3allem → ’educated / having learned')
  • مترجم (mtarjem → ‘having translated / translator’)

B. The fa3laan / fé3laan Active Pattern

In spoken Levantine, many Form I verbs of state or “becoming” take an active participle ending in ـان (-aan):

• تعبان (ta3baan → ’tired’ — from té3eb)
• بردان (bardaan → ‘cold’ — from béred)
• سكران (sékraan → ‘drunk’ — from séker)

(Note: In Syrian speech in particular, this pattern is extended to many active verbs, e.g., عرفان / 3arfaan ‘knowing’, فهمان / fahmaan ‘understanding’, وصلان / waSlaan ‘having arrived’).

C. Passive Participles (اسم المفعول)

• Form I Verbs: Formed on the maf3uul pattern (maktuub → ‘written’).
  • Form I hollow verbs are regularized: مبيوع (mabyuu3 → ‘sold’, unlike FuSHa mubaa3).
  • Form I defective verbs in Syrian/Lebanese take me-: مطفي (méTfi → ‘switched off’).
• Derived Forms (Forms II – X): Formed with m(é)- before the past stem vowel:
  • مكسر (mkassar → ‘broken into pieces’)

2. Attaching Pronouns to Participles

When attaching object pronouns to a feminine singular participle ending in taa marbuuTa, the ending becomes ـتـ (-t-):

• مسويتو (msawwiito → ‘she has done it’)

When the subject is second-person feminine (انتي / inti), an ـيـ (-ii-) is added before the object pronoun:

• مخبيتيه؟ (mkhabbiitii? → ‘have you hidden it?’)

3. Practical Usage of Active Participles

A. Verbs of Motion (Continuous / Future Meaning)

For motion verbs, active participles express continuous current movement or near-future plans:

• وين رايح؟ (ween raaye7? → ‘where are you going?’)
• نازل هون؟ (naazel hoon? → ‘are you getting off here?’)

B. Verbs of Becoming (Resultative State)

For verbs describing a change of state, the active participle describes the resulting state (where English uses a present-tense verb or adjective):

• لابس (laabes → ‘wearing’ — literally ‘having put on clothes’)
• نايم (naayem → ‘sleeping’ — literally ‘having gone to sleep’)
• ساكن (saaken → ’living / residing’ — literally ‘having taken up residence’)

C. Present Perfect Aspect (Completion of Action)

Unlike present tense verbs, active participles frequently express that an action has been completed, with its results relevant in the present:

• سمعت انو فاتح محامي (smé3t énno faate7 mu7aami → ‘I heard he has opened a law practice’)
• كاتبلك كل شي ع الورقة (kaatéblak kéll shi 3al-wara2a → ‘I have written everything down for you on the paper’)
• رايح شي على المانيا؟ (raaye7 shi 3ala almaanya? → ‘have you ever been to Germany?’)

D. Emphatic Future Certainty

Active participles can express absolute future commitment or impossibility:

• من هلق موقع عليه (mén halla2 mwaqqe3 3alee → ‘consider it signed right now’)
• ماني باعتة حدا لعندك (maani baa3te 7ada la-3éndak → ‘I am definitely not sending anyone to your house!’)

What’s Next?

In Part #12, we will cover Compound Tenses (Future, Continuous, Past Habitual).