Form 4 in Arabic
In Form 4, an أَ is prefixed to the Form 1 past tense stem, giving the pattern: أَفْعَلَ – يُفْعِلُ.
This form is often causative of Form 1.
If Form 1 is intransitive, then Form 4 becomes transitive; and if Form 1 is transitive, then Form 4 becomes doubly transitive.
It can also sometimes carry a meaning similar to Form 2.
Here is a comparison between Form 1 and Form 4:
Let’s look at some examples of Form 4 verbs:
The pattern for the verbal noun is: إِفْعَال
The active participle pattern is: مُفْعِل
The passive participle pattern is: مُفْعَل
As you can see, only a minor change distinguishes the active participle from the passive participle.
Here are some examples:
