Arabic Nominal and Verbal Sentences

In this Arabic grammar lesson, we will study the difference between the nominal sentence and the verbal sentence in Arabic. This concept is essential for learning Arabic, understanding sentence structure and progressing in Arabic reading.

In Arabic, a sentence can begin with a noun or with a verb. Depending on the first word of the sentence, we mainly distinguish two types of sentences:

• الجُمْلَةُ الاسْمِيَّةُ: the nominal sentence;
• الجُمْلَةُ الفِعْلِيَّةُ: the verbal sentence.

The nominal sentence often identifies, describes or gives information. The verbal sentence often expresses an action. Understanding this difference helps students recognize grammatical functions, cases, agreements and word order in Arabic sentences.

What is a sentence in Arabic?

A sentence in Arabic is a group of words that gives a complete meaning. It can inform, describe a situation, express an action or report an event.

To understand Arabic grammar properly, students must know how to recognize the type of sentence being used. The rules are not exactly the same depending on whether the sentence begins with a noun or with a verb.

The two types of sentences in Arabic

This distinction is fundamental. It helps students know whether they should look for a مُبْتَدَأ and a خَبَر, or for a فِعْل, a فَاعِل and sometimes a مَفْعُولٌ بِهِ.

The nominal sentence in Arabic

The nominal sentence in Arabic is called الجُمْلَةُ الاسْمِيَّةُ. It usually begins with a noun, a pronoun, a proper noun or a demonstrative pronoun.

It is often composed of two main elements:

• المُبْتَدَأُ: the starting subject, called mubtada;
• الخَبَرُ: the information given about that subject, called khabar.

Simple example:

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولٌ
Muhammad is a messenger.

In this sentence, مُحَمَّدٌ is the مُبْتَدَأ, and رَسُولٌ is the خَبَر.

The mubtada: المُبْتَدَأُ

The المُبْتَدَأُ is the word or group of words being spoken about. It is generally in the nominative case, called مَرْفُوعٌ.

It can be:

• a proper noun;
• a noun defined by ال;
• a personal pronoun;
• a demonstrative pronoun;
• a nominal group.

Examples:

• أَحْمَدُ طَالِبٌ: Ahmad is a student;
• هُوَ طَالِبٌ جَيِّدٌ: he is a good student;
• هَذَا كِتَابٌ: this is a book;
• الكَلْبُ جَالِسٌ: the dog is sitting;
• اَلْقُرْآنُ كِتَابٌ: the Quran is a book.

The khabar: الخَبَرُ

The الخَبَرُ gives information about the المُبْتَدَأُ. It completes the meaning of the nominal sentence.

The khabar can take several forms:

• a noun or adjective;
• a prepositional phrase;
• a verbal sentence;
• another nominal sentence;
• a construction connected to the subject.

Examples:

• أَحْمَدُ طَالِبٌ: Ahmad is a student;
• أَحْمَدُ فِي الفَصْلِ: Ahmad is in the classroom;
• مُحَمَّدٌ خَرَجَ مِنَ الجَامِعَةِ: Muhammad left the university;
• رَشِيدٌ أُمُّهُ صَالِحَةٌ: Rashid, his mother is righteous.

Agreement between mubtada and khabar

In a simple nominal sentence, the khabar generally agrees with the mubtada in gender and number.

Examples:

• الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ: the male student is hardworking;
• الطَّالِبَةُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ: the female student is hardworking;
• الطُّلَّابُ مُجْتَهِدُونَ: the male students are hardworking;
• الطَّالِبَاتُ مُجْتَهِدَاتٌ: the female students are hardworking.

When a broken plural refers to non-human things, the khabar may often appear in the feminine singular.

فَتِلْكَ بُيُوتُهُمْ خَاوِيَةً
So those are their houses, deserted because of their wrongdoing. (27:52)

Quranic examples of nominal sentences

وَاللَّـهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (2:224)

وَأَنتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
While you were wrongdoers. (2:92)

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّـهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ
Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. (49:13)

أَنتَ مَوْلَانَا
You are our Protector. (2:286)

قَالَ أَنَا يُوسُفُ وَهَذَا أَخِي
He said: “I am Joseph, and this is my brother.” (12:90)

وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
And those are the successful. (2:5)

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. (1:2)

وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ
And your God is one God. (2:163)

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
Those who are humble in their prayer. (23:2)

The verbal sentence in Arabic

The verbal sentence in Arabic is called الجُمْلَةُ الفِعْلِيَّةُ. It usually begins with a verb.

It is often composed of three elements:

• الفِعْلُ: the verb;
• الفَاعِلُ: the subject doing the action;
• المَفْعُولُ بِهِ: the object, when the sentence contains one.

The usual order is therefore:

فِعْلٌ + فَاعِلٌ + مَفْعُولٌ بِهِ
Verb + subject + object

Example of a verbal sentence

وَقَتَلَ دَاوُودُ جَالُوتَ
And David killed Goliath. (2:251)

The verb in the verbal sentence

The verb indicates an action or event. It can be in the past, present or future. In early lessons, students often encounter the past tense, called فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ.

Examples:

• ذَهَبَ: he went;
• خَرَجَ: he left;
• أَكَلَ: he ate;
• قَرَأَ: he read.

The subject in the verbal sentence: الفَاعِلُ

The subject of the verbal sentence is called الفَاعِلُ. It indicates who performs the action. It is generally in the nominative case.

Examples:

• ذَهَبَ أَحْمَدُ إِلَى الجَامِعَةِ: Ahmad went to the university;
• خَرَجَ المُدَرِّسُ مِنْ فَصْلٍ: the teacher left a classroom;
• ذَهَبَ الرَّجُلُ إِلَى البَيْتِ: the man went to the house.

In these sentences, أَحْمَدُ, المُدَرِّسُ and الرَّجُلُ are the subjects of the verbs.

The object: المَفْعُولُ بِهِ

The direct object is called المَفْعُولُ بِهِ. It receives the action of the verb. When present, it is often in the accusative case.

Examples:

• أَكَلَ أَحْمَدُ تُفَّاحًا: Ahmad ate apples;
• قَرَأَ مُحَمَّدٌ الكِتَابَ: Muhammad read the book;
• دَخَلَ الطَّالِبُ الفَصْلَ: the student entered the classroom.

Nouns after a preposition

When a noun follows a preposition, it becomes genitive, called حَالَةُ الْجَرِّ. It is then marked with a kasrah or tanwīn kasrah depending on the context.

قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّـهِ وَحْدَهُ
They said: “We believe in Allah alone.” (40:84)

ذَهَبَ اللَّـهُ بِنُورِهِمْ
Allah took away their light. (2:17)

Pronouns integrated into the Arabic verb

In Arabic, subject pronouns can be integrated directly into the verb. It is therefore not always necessary to mention a separate pronoun as the subject.

Example:

خَلَقْتُ
I created.

In this form, the hidden pronoun is “I”. The verb already carries the information about the subject.

وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ فَأَنجَيْنَاكُمْ
And remember when We parted the sea for you, then saved you. (2:50)

In فَرَقْنَا, the integrated pronoun is “We”. The verb therefore contains the subject information.

The place of the object pronoun in the verbal sentence

When the object is a pronoun, it is usually attached to the verb or placed in a construction connected to the verb.

لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا
They will not speak except for one whom the Most Merciful permits, and who says what is correct. (78:38)

In this example, لَهُ contains an object pronoun. The preposition لِ is followed by the pronoun هُ, meaning “him”.

The feminine singular verb with non-human plurals

In Arabic, when the subject is a broken plural referring to non-human things, the verb may be used in the feminine singular.

أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
Those are the ones whose deeds became worthless in this world and the Hereafter. (3:22)

In this sentence, أَعْمَالُهُمْ means “their deeds”. It is a non-human plural. The verb حَبِطَتْ is therefore used in the feminine singular.

Agreement between the verb and the subject in the verbal sentence

When the subject is explicitly mentioned after the verb, the initial verb generally remains singular, even if the subject is dual or plural. However, if a second verb follows and refers to the same subject, it may agree with that subject.

وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
And it will have responded to its Lord, as it must. (84:2)

عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّا أَحْضَرَتْ
Every soul will know what it has brought. (81:14)

رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا
He raised its ceiling and proportioned it. (79:28)

These examples show that verbal agreement in Arabic depends on the position of the subject, its nature and the type of sentence. In the classical verbal sentence, the verb placed before the subject often remains singular.

Difference between nominal and verbal sentences

The main difference between a nominal sentence and a verbal sentence is the first element of the sentence.

Practical examples

Here are some additional examples to distinguish the two sentence types clearly:

How to quickly recognize the type of sentence

To quickly recognize the type of sentence, look at the first word:

• if the sentence begins with a noun, a pronoun or a demonstrative, it is generally a nominal sentence;
• if the sentence begins with a verb, it is generally a verbal sentence.

Then, look for the main elements:

• in the nominal sentence: المُبْتَدَأُ and الخَبَرُ;
• in the verbal sentence: الفِعْلُ, الفَاعِلُ and sometimes المَفْعُولُ بِهِ.

Common mistakes to avoid

• thinking that all Arabic sentences follow English word order;
• confusing the مُبْتَدَأ with the فَاعِل;
• forgetting that a nominal sentence can contain a verb in its khabar;
• thinking that every sentence containing a verb is automatically a verbal sentence, even when it begins with a noun;
• not recognizing the object المَفْعُولُ بِهِ;
• forgetting that the subject of the verbal sentence is generally nominative;
• forgetting that the object is often accusative;
• ignoring pronouns integrated into the verb.

Why is this rule important?

Understanding nominal and verbal sentences helps students analyze Arabic sentences, recognize grammatical functions and progress in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic.

This rule is also useful for understanding:

• grammatical cases;
• prepositions;
• annexation;
• Arabic conjugation;
• agreement;
• pronouns;
• vocalized texts;
• some Quranic verses.

Learn Arabic grammar with a teacher

The difference between nominal and verbal sentences is an essential foundation for learning Arabic online and understanding Arabic text structure.

To progress with a clear method, you can follow our online Arabic courses, review the basics of the Arabic alphabet or download our free books to learn Arabic.

If your goal is to better understand religious texts, you can also strengthen your foundations with our Quranic Arabic courses.

FAQ — Nominal and verbal sentences in Arabic

What is a nominal sentence in Arabic?

A nominal sentence, called الجُمْلَةُ الاسْمِيَّةُ, usually begins with a noun, pronoun or demonstrative. It is often composed of a مُبْتَدَأ and a خَبَر.

What is a verbal sentence in Arabic?

A verbal sentence, called الجُمْلَةُ الفِعْلِيَّةُ, usually begins with a verb. It is often composed of a verb, a subject and sometimes an object.

What is the difference between المُبْتَدَأ and الفَاعِل?

The المُبْتَدَأ is the starting subject of a nominal sentence. The الفَاعِل is the subject performing the action in a verbal sentence.

Can a nominal sentence contain a verb?

Yes. A nominal sentence can contain a verb in its khabar. For example, مُحَمَّدٌ خَرَجَ مِنَ الجَامِعَةِ begins with a noun, so it is a nominal sentence, even though it later contains a verb.

Is the subject of a verbal sentence always after the verb?

In the classical order of the verbal sentence, the subject generally comes after the verb. However, Arabic allows different structures depending on context.

How can I quickly recognize a verbal sentence?

Look at the first word. If the sentence begins with a verb, it is generally a verbal sentence.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we studied nominal and verbal sentences in Arabic. We saw that the nominal sentence usually begins with a noun, pronoun or demonstrative, while the verbal sentence usually begins with a verb.

The nominal sentence is often based on the مُبْتَدَأ and the خَبَر. The verbal sentence is based on the فِعْل, the فَاعِل and sometimes the مَفْعُولٌ بِهِ.

This concept is essential for understanding Arabic grammar, reading texts accurately and building correct sentences. With a progressive method, regular exercises and correction from a teacher, Arabic sentence structure becomes clearer and easier to use.