Commands to a Woman

Level 1

To tell a woman to do something in Arabic, you use the feminine imperative. It is characterized by a final 'ī' sound (ـي) and the removal of the present tense 't-' prefix.

How It Works

To give a command to a woman in Arabic, you follow a simple process based on the present tense:

1. Start with the Present Tense: Take the form for 'you' (feminine), such as تكتبين (you write).
2. Remove the Prefix and Suffix: Drop the initial تـ and the final ن. This leaves you with the stem كتبي. This rule of dropping the nun is a standard part of forming commands.
3. Add the Supporting Alif: For many basic Form I verbs, the first letter of the stem now has no vowel. To make it pronounceable, we add a supporting alif at the beginning. The vowel on this alif depends on the vowel of the second root letter (the middle letter of the root):

  • If the middle root letter has a u sound, the alif takes a u: اُكْتُبِي (Write!).
  • If the middle root letter has an a or i sound, the alif takes an i: اِجْلِسِي (Sit!).

For hollow verbs (verbs with a long vowel in the middle), the process is even simpler as you just keep the long vowel: قولي (Say!). To be polite, you can add من فضلكِ when addressing a woman.

The Final ي Is the Subject: In اُكْتُبِي, ياء المخاطبة is an attached subject pronoun meaning “you, one woman.” The imperative is built on deletion of the mood nun; the subject ي remains. Compare تكتبين → اكتبي, not اكتبين. This lesson concerns feminine singular; a command to several women uses ن النسوة, as in اُكْتُبْنَ.

Beginning and Connecting: Pronounce the supporting vowel when beginning speech or resuming after a pause: اِجْلِسِي. In continuous speech after another word, hamzat al-waṣl is silent: وَاجْلِسِي is wajlisī. In يا فاطمةُ، اجلسي, a pause after the name allows ijlisī; without a pause the initial i is not pronounced separately. Form IV uses a retained hamzat al-qaṭʿ instead, as in أَرْسِلِي, so the basic Form I recipe is not universal.

Examples (4)

  1. اِقْرَئِي الكِتَابَ يَا مَرْيَمُ.

    Read the book, Maryam.

    Word by Word: Read (fem.) the book oh Maryam.

    The verb 'read' (iqra'ī) uses a kasra on the initial alif because the stem vowel is a fatha.

  2. يَا فَاطِمَةُ، اِجْلِسِي هُنَا مِنْ فَضْلِكِ.

    Fatima, sit here please.

    Word by Word: Oh Fatima, sit (fem.) here from your grace.

    Note the use of 'min fadliki' to make the command polite when addressing a female.

  3. قُولِي الحَقَّ دَائِمًا.

    Always tell the truth.

    Word by Word: Say (fem.) the truth always.

    In hollow verbs like 'say' (qāla), the long vowel 'ū' is retained in the feminine imperative.

  4. اُدْخُلِي الغُرْفَةَ.

    Enter the room.

    Word by Word: Enter (fem.) the room.

    The initial alif takes a damma (u) because the middle vowel of the verb 'enter' is a damma.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine imperative for a woman.

    يَا لَيْلَى، اِجْلِسْ هُنَا.
    يَا لَيْلَى، اِجْلِسِي هُنَا.

    You must add the 'ī' suffix (ـي) when addressing a female; the masculine form 'ijlis' is incorrect here.

  • Keeping the final 'nun' from the present tense.

    اُكْتُبِينَ الدَّرْسَ.
    اُكْتُبِي الدَّرْسَ.

    The imperative is a 'shortened' form; the final 'n' from the present tense 'taktubīna' must be dropped.

  • Using the wrong vowel on the initial alif.

    اِكْتُبِي
    اُكْتُبِي

    If the middle vowel of the verb is a damma (u), the starting alif must also be a damma (u), not a kasra (i).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Commands to a WomanLevel 1

Learn This First

To form commands for a woman, you first need to understand the basic imperative (command) structure. You also need to be familiar with grammatical gender to distinguish between male and female subjects, and recognize the long vowel 'Ya' which serves as the feminine marker in this conjugation.