Giving a Command

Level 1

The Arabic imperative (فِعْل الأَمْر) is derived from the second-person present jussive. It is used for commands ('Write!'), requests ('Please open'), and advice ('Listen').

How It Works

The direct imperative (fi‘l al-amr) in Modern Standard Arabic is used to give commands to someone you are addressing (the second person). For Level 1, we focus on the basic process for common verbs like Form I:

1. The Base: Start with the present tense (e.g., تكتب).
2. Apply Endings: Use the endings of the jussive mood. For a masculine singular command, this means putting a sukun on the last letter (تكتبْ). For the feminine singular, you drop the final nun (تكتبي).
3. Remove the Prefix: Drop the second-person prefix تـ (ta-). This leaves you with the stem (—كتبْ) or (—كتبي).
4. The Helping Vowel: If the stem now starts with a sukun (which is unpronounceable), add an alif with a helping vowel (Hamzat al-Wasl). This vowel is determined by the stem vowel of the verb in the present tense. Note that this vowel is pronounced when starting an utterance or resuming after a pause and is elided in connected speech (e.g., واكتبْ).

  • Use a Damma (اُ) if the middle root letter has a damma in the present tense: اكتبْ (Write!).
  • Use a Kasra (اِ) if the middle root letter has a fatha or kasra in the present tense: اجلسْ (Sit!) or افتحْ (Open!).

Special Cases:

  • Form IV verbs always use a fixed hamza with a fatha (أَ), like أرسلْ (Send!).
  • In hollow verbs, the middle vowel is dropped only when the ending is a sukun, such as قلْ (Say!) vs قولي (Say! to a woman).
  • For defective verbs (ending in a vowel), the final weak letter is dropped in the masculine singular command, while a short vowel remains, such as ارمِ (Throw!) from رمى.
  • For assimilated verbs whose initial و drops in the present tense, the imperative also lacks that و, so the stem does not start with a sukun and no helping vowel is needed, such as قفْ (Stand!) from وقف.
  • Common irregulars include كلْ (Eat!) and خذْ (Take!).

Doubled Verbs: A masculine singular command such as رُدَّ (return it!) keeps the doubled consonant and ends in a fatha. The uncontracted form اُرْدُدْ is also correct. The final fatha in رُدَّ is therefore not a mistake, and the sukun template does not describe every surface imperative. With a feminine singular addressee, use رُدِّي.

Examples (5)

  1. اُكْتُبْ!

    Write!

    Word by Word: Write!

    The verb 'uktub' is the imperative of 'kataba'. The helping vowel is a damma because the present tense 'taktubu' has a damma on the middle letter. Note that before a following hamzat al-wasl, a helping kasra replaces the final sukun in connected speech: اُكْتُبِ اسْمَكَ (write your name). Here اسم begins with hamzat al-wasl without a definite article.

  2. اِفْتَحْ!

    Open!

    Word by Word: Open!

    The verb 'iftah' uses a kasra helping vowel because the present tense 'taftahu' has a fatha on the middle letter. If followed by a definite noun, it becomes 'iftahi l-baba'.

  3. اِجْلِسُوا وَاسْتَمِعُوا جَيِّداً.

    Sit down and listen well (plural).

    Word by Word: Sit (plural) and listen (plural) well.

    This shows the plural imperative form. Note that the helping vowel on 'wa-stami‘ū' is not pronounced because it follows another word.

  4. أَرْسِلِ الرِّسَالَةَ الآنَ.

    Send the letter now.

    Word by Word: Send the letter now.

    This is a Form IV verb, which uses a fixed 'a' sound (Hamzat al-Qat‘) at the beginning.

  5. كُلْ وَخُذْ هَذَا.

    Eat and take this.

    Word by Word: Eat and take this.

    This example shows common irregular verbs like 'kul' (eat) and 'khudh' (take), which drop their initial hamza in the command form.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'la' + imperative for negative commands.

    لا اُكْتُبْ
    لا تَكْتُبْ

    To tell someone NOT to do something, you must use la al-nāhiya followed by the present jussive, not the imperative form.

  • Writing a hamza sign (ء) on the helping alif.

    أُكتب
    اُكتب

    In MSA, the helping vowel is a Hamzat al-Wasl, which is written as a plain alif without the hamza mark (except in Form IV).

  • Using a kasra for every helping vowel.

    اِكْتُبْ
    اُكْتُبْ

    The helping vowel must be a damma if the present tense stem vowel is a damma (e.g., taktUbu).

How It Connects

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

Giving a CommandLevel 1

Learn This First

To form a command (الأمر) in Arabic, you must first be familiar with the present tense (المضارع) and its prefixes, as the command is built by modifying these forms. Additionally, a solid grasp of short vowel marks is essential to correctly pronounce the helping vowel added to the beginning and the ending of the verb.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 2 more in the full list.