Arabic Verb Agreement: Masculine, Feminine and Optional Forms

Arabic verb agreement is an essential rule for understanding Arabic grammar and building correct sentences. In Arabic, the verb can be masculine or feminine depending on the subject, its position in the sentence and the type of noun used.

This rule may seem difficult at first because it does not work exactly like English. In Arabic, the verb can carry a masculine or feminine marker. In some cases, the feminine form is obligatory. In other cases, the verb must remain masculine. In certain situations, both masculine and feminine forms may be possible.

This lesson will help you understand the foundations of Arabic verb agreement: when the verb must be feminine, when it must remain masculine and when both forms may be possible.

This topic is important for Arabic beginners, but also for students who want to progress in Modern Standard Arabic, classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic, Arabic reading and Arabic conjugation.

Understanding Arabic verb agreement

In English, the verb does not usually show the gender of the subject. In Arabic, however, the verb can carry a masculine or feminine marker.

Example with a feminine subject:

تَقُومُ المَرْأَةُ العَرَبِيَّةُ بِدَوْرٍ مُهِمٍّ في تَكْوينِ الأُسْرَةِ
The Arab woman plays an important role in forming the family.

In this sentence, the verb تَقُومُ is feminine because the subject المَرْأَةُ is feminine.

Another example:

حَضَرَتْ فَاطِمَةُ
Fatimah came.

The verb حَضَرَتْ is feminine because the subject فَاطِمَةُ is feminine.

Feminine markers in Arabic verbs

The feminine marker depends on the verb tense.

In the past tense, the feminine form is often marked by the ending تْ.

حَضَرَتِ البِنْتُ مُبَكِّرَةً
The girl came early.

أَدَّتِ الأُمُّ مَا عَلَيْهَا لِأُسْرَتِهَا
The mother fulfilled her duty toward her family.

دَرَسَتْ سُعَادُ بِجِدٍّ فَنَجَحَتْ في الِامْتِحَانِ
Souad studied seriously and passed the exam.

In the present tense, the third-person feminine form often begins with the letter ت.

تَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبَةُ بِالقَلَمِ
The female student writes with the pen.

تَدْرُسُ زَيْنَبُ في جَامِعَةِ القَاهِرَةِ
Zaynab studies at Cairo University.

By contrast, the masculine third-person present form often begins with ي.

يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ بِالقَلَمِ
The male student writes with the pen.

When the Arabic verb must be feminine

The Arabic verb must be feminine in several important cases. The two main cases are:

• when a real feminine subject comes directly after the verb;
• when the verb refers to a feminine noun already mentioned.

Case 1: A real feminine subject comes directly after the verb

When the subject is truly feminine and comes directly after the verb, the verb must be feminine.

مَارَسَتْ سُعَادُ الرِّيَاضَةَ شَهْرًا
Souad practiced sport for a month.

In this sentence, the subject سُعَادُ is a feminine name. It comes directly after the verb مَارَسَتْ. The verb must therefore be feminine.

تَدْرُسُ زَيْنَبُ في جَامِعَةِ القَاهِرَةِ
Zaynab studies at Cairo University.

Here, the verb تَدْرُسُ is feminine because its subject زَيْنَبُ is feminine and comes directly after it.

أَكَلَتِ الزَّرَافَةُ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الجَزَرِ
The giraffe ate many carrots.

The subject الزَّرَافَةُ refers here to a feminine animal and comes directly after the verb. The verb أَكَلَتِ is therefore feminine.

Case 2: The feminine subject comes before the verb

When the feminine subject is mentioned before the verb, the verb referring to that subject must be feminine.

فَاطِمَةُ تَعْمَلُ في شَرِكَةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ
Fatimah works in a large company.

In this example, the feminine subject فَاطِمَةُ comes before the verb. The verb تَعْمَلُ remains feminine because it refers directly to Fatimah.

صَدِيقَتِي مَرْيَمُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ؛ فَهِيَ تَقْرَأُ كَثِيرًا، وَتَدْرُسُ كَثِيرًا
My friend Maryam is hardworking; she reads a lot and studies a lot.

The verbs تَقْرَأُ and تَدْرُسُ are feminine because they refer to مَرْيَمُ.

Case 3: The verb refers to a feminine noun already mentioned

The Arabic verb must also be feminine when it contains an implied pronoun referring to a feminine noun already mentioned in the sentence or context.

الأُمُّ هَدِيَّةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ؛ حَمَلَتْ، وَوَضَعَتْ، وَسَهِرَتْ عَلَى رَاحَةِ أَوْلادِهَا
The mother is a gift from Allah; she carried, gave birth and stayed awake for the comfort of her children.

The verbs حَمَلَتْ, وَضَعَتْ and سَهِرَتْ are feminine because they refer to the noun الأُمُّ, which is feminine.

دَخَلَتِ القِطَّةُ المَطْبَخَ، وَأَكَلَتِ الطَّعَامَ، ثُمَّ هَرَبَتْ مِنَ النَّافِذَةِ
The female cat entered the kitchen, ate the food, then escaped through the window.

The verbs دَخَلَتِ, أَكَلَتِ and هَرَبَتْ are all feminine because they refer to the subject القِطَّةُ.

When the Arabic verb remains masculine

The Arabic verb remains masculine when the subject is masculine and no specific rule requires the feminine form.

حَضَرَ الوَلَدُ مُبَكِّرًا
The boy came early.

يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ بِالقَلَمِ
The male student writes with the pen.

أَدَّى الأَبُ مَا عَلَيْهِ لِأُسْرَتِهِ
The father fulfilled his duty toward his family.

In these three examples, the subjects are masculine: الوَلَدُ, الطَّالِبُ and الأَبُ. The verbs therefore remain masculine.

With a regular masculine plural such as مُهَنْدِسُونَ, لَاعِبُونَ or مُسْلِمُونَ, the verb also remains masculine according to the general rule.

When the Arabic verb can be masculine or feminine

In some cases, verb agreement is more flexible. The verb may appear in the masculine or feminine form without the sentence necessarily being incorrect.

The main cases are:

• when the feminine subject is separated from the verb;
• when the subject is figuratively feminine;
• when the subject is a broken plural or a collective noun.

Case 1: The feminine subject is separated from the verb

When the subject is feminine but does not come directly after the verb, it may sometimes be possible to use either the feminine or masculine form.

حَضَرَ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَةُ
Fatimah attended the lesson today.

حَضَرَتِ الدَّرْسَ اليَوْمَ فَاطِمَةُ
Fatimah attended the lesson today.

Here, the feminine subject فَاطِمَةُ is separated from the verb by other sentence elements. This is why both forms may be possible.

تَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إِلَى الحَدِيقَةِ البَنَاتُ
The girls are going to the garden today.

يَذْهَبُ اليَوْمَ إِلَى الحَدِيقَةِ البَنَاتُ
The girls are going to the garden today.

Case 2: The subject is figuratively feminine

In Arabic, some nouns are grammatically feminine without referring to an actual female being. This is called figurative feminine.

For example, the words الشَّمْسُ “the sun”, الطَّائِرَةُ “the airplane”, السَّمَاءُ “the sky” and الْجَامِعَةُ “the university” are considered feminine in Arabic.

الْجَامِعَةُ تُسَاعِدُ الشَّبَابَ فِي تَكْوِينِ مُسْتَقْبَلِ بَلَدِهِمْ
The university helps young people build the future of their country.

Here, the word الْجَامِعَةُ is feminine in Arabic. The verb تُسَاعِدُ therefore takes a feminine form.

تَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْقِ
The sun rises in the east.

يَخْرُجُ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الشَّرْقِ
The sun rises in the east.

In this type of sentence, the verb may sometimes appear in the feminine or masculine form because the subject is figuratively feminine.

هَبَطَتِ الطَّائِرَةُ فِي المَطَارِ
The airplane landed at the airport.

هَبَطَ الطَّائِرَةُ فِي المَطَارِ
The airplane landed at the airport.

السَّمَاءُ مَصْدَرُ الحَيَاةِ لِلأَرْضِ؛ فَإِذَا أَمْطَرَتْ مَلَأَتِ الأَرْضَ خَيْرًا وَحَيَاةً
The sky is a source of life for the earth; when it rains, it fills the earth with goodness and life.

The word السَّمَاءُ is grammatically feminine in Arabic. The verbs referring to it may therefore take the feminine form in this context.

Case 3: The subject is a broken plural or a collective noun

The third case concerns broken plurals in Arabic, called جَمْعُ تَكْسِيرٍ, as well as some collective nouns. These nouns do not always follow the regular masculine or feminine plural pattern.

When the subject is a broken plural or a collective noun, the verb may sometimes be masculine or feminine depending on the construction and grammatical analysis.

لَعِبَتِ الأَوْلَادُ بِالكُرَةِ سَاعَةً
The boys played football for an hour.

لَعِبَ الأَوْلَادُ بِالكُرَةِ سَاعَةً
The boys played football for an hour.

قَالَتِ النَّاسُ هَذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ
The people said: “This is a strange thing.”

قَالَ النَّاسُ هَذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ
The people said: “This is a strange thing.”

Another example with a collective noun:

اِفْتَرَقَ العَرَبُ فَضَعُفَتْ قُوَّتُهُمْ
The Arabs became divided, so their strength weakened.

اِفْتَرَقَتِ العَرَبُ فَضَعُفَتْ قُوَّتُهُمْ
The Arabs became divided, so their strength weakened.

In these examples, both forms may be encountered depending on the grammatical analysis of the subject.

Special case: the regular feminine plural

When the subject is a regular feminine plural such as البَنَاتُ, طَبِيبَاتٌ or مُهَنْدِسَاتٌ, the verb generally takes the feminine form when the subject is directly connected to the verb.

اِشْتَرَكَتْ الْبَنَاتُ مَعَ الأَوْلَادِ فِي الْمُسَابَقَةِ
The girls participated with the boys in the competition.

In this example, the subject الْبَنَاتُ is a regular feminine plural. The verb اِشْتَرَكَتْ is therefore feminine.

Summary table of Arabic verb agreement

Common beginner mistakes

• Using a masculine verb when a real feminine subject comes directly after it.
• Forgetting the ending تْ in the past tense with a feminine subject.
• Confusing real feminine and figurative feminine.
• Thinking that all plurals follow the same agreement rule.
• Not recognizing broken plurals in Arabic.
• Applying English grammar logic mechanically to Arabic sentences.
• Forgetting that the position of the subject can influence verb agreement.
• Using the feminine form with a simple masculine subject without grammatical reason.

How to improve your Arabic grammar

Understanding Arabic verb agreement is essential for reading, analyzing and building correct sentences. But this rule must be practiced regularly through exercises, examples and personalized correction.

If you want to learn Arabic online with a clear method, online Arabic courses allow you to progress with an Arabic teacher. You can work on Arabic reading, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar through a progressive learning path.

Students who want to strengthen their level can study Modern Standard Arabic. Those who want to understand the language of the Quran can study Quranic Arabic.

For beginners, it may also be useful to review the basics with a free online Arabic course, the Arabic alphabet or free Arabic books for beginners.

For families, Al-Dirassa also offers Arabic classes for children adapted to each student’s age and level.

FAQ — Arabic verb agreement

When must the Arabic verb be feminine?

The verb must be feminine when a real feminine subject comes directly after it, or when the verb clearly refers to a feminine noun already mentioned.

When does the Arabic verb remain masculine?

The verb remains masculine when the subject is masculine and no specific rule requires the feminine form.

Can the verb sometimes be masculine or feminine?

Yes. This may happen when the feminine subject is separated from the verb, when the subject is figuratively feminine, or when the subject is a broken plural or collective noun.

What is the feminine marker in the Arabic past tense?

In the past tense, the feminine verb often takes the ending تْ, as in حَضَرَتْ or دَرَسَتْ.

What is the feminine marker in the Arabic present tense?

In the present tense, the third-person feminine verb often begins with ت, as in تَكْتُبُ or تَدْرُسُ.

What is a figurative feminine noun in Arabic?

It is a grammatically feminine noun that does not refer to an actual female being, such as الشَّمْسُ, السَّمَاءُ, الطَّائِرَةُ or الْجَامِعَةُ.

What is a broken plural in Arabic?

A broken plural, called جَمْعُ تَكْسِيرٍ, is a plural that does not follow the regular masculine or feminine plural pattern.

Conclusion

Arabic verb agreement depends on the gender of the subject, its position in the sentence and the type of noun used. In some cases, the verb must be feminine; in others, it must remain masculine; and in certain situations, both forms may be possible.

The verb must be feminine when a real feminine subject comes directly after it or when it clearly refers to a feminine noun already mentioned. It remains masculine with a simple masculine subject. It may sometimes be masculine or feminine with a separated feminine subject, a figurative feminine noun, a broken plural or a collective noun.

This lesson helps you understand the foundations of Arabic verb agreement. To learn Arabic fully, however, you need a structured method, regular practice and correction from a teacher. This is how students make real progress in grammar, reading and Arabic expression.