ما أفعله

How Wonderful It Is

Level 4

The ما أفعله (Ma Af'alahu) style is the standard way in Modern Standard Arabic to exclaim 'How [adjective]!' or 'What a [adjective]!'. It is used to express strong emotion or surprise regarding a specific quality.

How It Works

The أسلوب التعجب (Exclamatory Style) consists of two main patterns. The ما أفعله pattern is a nominal sentence where ما acts as the subject, while the أفعل به pattern is grammatically a verbal sentence. While the strict case endings are formal, these structures are widely used across Modern Standard Arabic to express surprise or admiration.

1. The Structure of ما أفعله:

  • ما: The exclamatory particle (grammatically a noun meaning 'something').
  • فعل التعجب: The verb of wonder. In the ما أفعله pattern, it always ends in a fatha (e.g., أجملَ) and contains a mandatory hidden pronoun (mustatir) that refers back to ما.
  • المتعجب منه: The noun or pronoun being admired. It must be in the accusative case (Mansub).

2. The Alternative Pattern: أفعل به
Arabic also uses the pattern أفعل به (e.g., أجملْ بالسماءِ - How beautiful is the sky!). In this formal style, the verb takes a command-like shape ending in sukun. The noun following the preposition بـ is grammatically the subject (Fa'il); it is genitive in form (Majrur lafzan) due to the preposition, but nominative in position (Marfu’ mahallan).

3. Morphological Conditions:
To use these patterns directly, the verb must meet seven conditions: it must be triliteral (three letters), gradable (can vary in intensity), Tam (complete, not a sister of كان), Mutasarrif (conjugatable), Mabni lil-ma'lum (active voice), Muthbat (positive/not negated), and not indicating a color or physical defect (which use the Af'al adjective pattern). For verbs failing these, a helper verb like ما أشدَّ (How intense...) is used. Note that passive and negated verbs require the Masdar Mu'awwal (أن + present verb) structure when used with a helper verb.

4. Distinction from Comparatives:
While it looks like the comparative/superlative, the exclamatory verb in the first pattern is fixed with a fatha (أجملَ), whereas the comparative usually ends in a damma (أجملُ) and is followed by 'than' (من).

Examples (4)

  1. ما أجملَ السماءَ في الليل!

    How beautiful the sky is at night!

    Word by Word: What a-great-thing beautified the-sky in the-night!

    Note the fatha on both the verb 'ajmala' and the object 'al-sama'a'.

  2. ما أبعدَ النجومَ عن الأرض!

    How far the stars are from the earth!

    Word by Word: What a-great-thing distanced the-stars from the-earth!

    This uses the root b-'-d (distance) to express wonder at how far away something is.

  3. ما أقبحَ الكذبَ!

    How ugly lying is!

    Word by Word: What a-great-thing made-ugly the-lying!

    The exclamatory style can be used for negative qualities (ugliness) as well as positive ones.

  4. ما أسرعَ الوقتَ!

    How fast time is!

    Word by Word: What a-great-thing speeded the-time!

    A common expression used when time passes quickly.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative case (Damma) for the object of exclamation.

    ما أجملُ البحرُ!
    ما أجملَ البحرَ!

    The object of wonder must be in the accusative case (Mansub) with a fatha, not the nominative.

  • Using the question form where you mean an exclamation.

    Different Meaningما أجملُ شيءٍ؟
    ما أجملَ هذا الشيءَ!

    ما أجملُ شيءٍ؟ is correct, but it asks "What is the most beautiful thing?". With a fatḥa on the verb (ما أجملَ), you exclaim "How beautiful!".

How It Connects

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

ما أفعلهLevel 4How Wonderful It Is

Learn This First

To learn the 'ما أفعله' exclamation style, you need to understand how Arabic words are molded into specific patterns (weights). You must also be familiar with the accusative case (Mansub), as the object of your amazement must carry the fatha ending. Familiarity with the superlative form (af'al) is also helpful as it shares the same visual structure.

Words in This Pattern

ما