Verbs of Hoping

Level 5

أفعال الرجاء (Verbs of Hoping) are a specific group of verbs used to say 'hopefully' or 'it is to be hoped that.' The most common is عسى (ʿasā). They function like كان but require a present-tense verb as their predicate.

How It Works

The 'Verbs of Hoping' belong to the larger family of كاد وأخواتها. There are three main verbs in this category:

1. عسى: By far the most common. It means 'perhaps' or 'it is hoped.' In Modern Standard Arabic, it is almost always followed by أن + a present verb.
2. حرى and اخلولق: These are rare, classical, or highly formal literary terms. They carry a sense of 'it is hoped,' 'it is expected,' or 'it is fitting.' Unlike verbs of imminence, they focus purely on the likelihood or hope of an event occurring.

Syntactic Rules:

  • Non-inflecting (Frozen): These are frozen verbs. They only exist in the past tense form and do not have present or imperative forms (e.g., you cannot say يعسى).
  • Agreement: In standard usage, عسى typically remains in the singular masculine form regardless of whether the subject is feminine or plural.
  • The Subject: Must be nominative (ending in -u).
  • The Predicate: Must be a verbal sentence starting with a present tense verb.
  • The use of أن: With عسى, using أن is highly preferred but not strictly mandatory. With حرى and اخلولق, using أن is mandatory.

Advanced Note: If عسى is followed immediately by أن + verb without a noun in between (e.g., عسى أن ينجحَ), it is treated as a 'complete' verb (tāmma), and the entire clause acts as the subject.

Examples (4)

  1. عسى اللهُ أن يأتيَ بالفرجِ.

    Perhaps Allah will bring relief.

    Word by Word: Hoped Allah that He brings with the relief.

    Here, عسى is the verb of hope, اللهُ is the nominative subject, and the phrase starting with أن is the predicate.

  2. عسى السلامُ أن يعمَّ المنطقةَ.

    Hopefully, peace will prevail in the region.

    Word by Word: Hoped the peace that it prevails the region.

    A common Modern Standard Arabic construction using عسى to express a political or social hope.

  3. حرى الطبُّ أن يجدَ علاجاً للمرضِ.

    It is to be hoped that medicine finds a cure for the disease.

    Word by Word: Fitting the medicine that it finds a cure for the disease.

    This uses the more formal verb حرى, which requires the particle أن before the present verb.

  4. عسى أن تكرهوا شيئاً وهو خيرٌ لكم.

    Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you.

    Word by Word: Hoped that you hate a thing and it (is) good for you.

    This is an example of عسى acting as a 'complete' verb because the 'أن' clause follows it directly without an intervening noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a noun as the predicate instead of a verb.

    عسى النصرُ قريبٌ.
    عسى النصرُ أن يكونَ قريباً.

    In standard usage, عسى is followed by أن + a present verb. A bare noun or adjective as its predicate is rare, so use a verbal clause.

  • Putting the subject in the accusative case (confusing it with La'alla).

    عسى اللهَ أن يرحمنا.
    عسى اللهُ أن يرحمنا.

    The particle لعلّ takes an accusative subject, but the verb عسى takes a nominative subject.

  • Omitting 'an' with the verb 'ḥarā'.

    حرى المطرُ يسقطُ.
    حرى المطرُ أن يسقطَ.

    While 'an' is optional (though preferred) with 'ʿasā', it is grammatically mandatory with 'ḥarā' and 'ikhlawlaqa'.

How It Connects

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

Verbs of HopingLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the Verbs of Hoping (أفعال الرجاء), you must first be familiar with how 'Kaana and its sisters' change the case of the subject and predicate. Additionally, since these specific verbs almost always take a subordinate clause as their predicate, you need to understand how the particle 'أن' functions with the present tense (subjunctive mood).

Words in This Pattern

عسىحرىاخلولق