دَرْسُ المَبْنِيِّ لِلمَجْهُولِ

The Lesson of the Passive Voice

الفصل الأول | Chapter One

"فُتِحَ البَابُ..." قَالَتِ المَرْأَةُ الغَامِضَةُ.

"The door was opened..." said the mysterious woman.

"مَنْ فَتَحَهُ؟" سَأَلْتُهَا.

"Who opened it?" I asked her.

"لَا أَعْرِفُ. المَبْنِيُّ لِلمَجْهُولِ يُخْفِي الفَاعِلَ."

"I don't know. The passive voice hides the doer."

كَانَتْ فِي الأَرْبَعِينَ، جَسَدُهَا مُمْتَلِئٌ وَوَجْهُهَا مُقَنَّعٌ.

She was in her forties, her body full and her face masked.

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

المَبْنِيُّ لِلمَجْهُولِ (al-mabnī li-l-majhūl) - The Passive Voice

In passive voice:

The doer (فاعل) is unknown or hidden
The object (مفعول به) becomes the subject (نائب فاعل)

Active: فَتَحَ الرَّجُلُ البَابَ (The man opened the door) Passive: فُتِحَ البَابُ (The door was opened)

فُتِحَ: فعل ماضٍ مبني للمجهول
البَابُ: نائب فاعل مرفوع

الفصل الثاني | Chapter Two

"كَيْفَ نَبْنِي الفِعْلَ لِلمَجْهُولِ؟" سَأَلْتُ.

"How do we form the passive voice?" I asked.

"فِي المَاضِي: نَضُمُّ الأَوَّلَ وَنَكْسِرُ مَا قَبْلَ الآخِرِ."

"In the past: we put ḍamma on the first letter and kasra before the last."

"فَتَحَ → فُتِحَ، كَتَبَ → كُتِبَ، سَمِعَ → سُمِعَ..."

"Fataḥa → futiḥa, kataba → kutiba, sami'a → sumi'a..."

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

بناء الماضي للمجهول - Forming Passive Past Tense

Pattern: فَعَلَ → فُعِلَ (fa'ala → fu'ila)

| المعلوم | Active | المجهول | Passive | |---------|--------|---------|---------| | فَتَحَ | he opened | فُتِحَ | was opened | | كَتَبَ | he wrote | كُتِبَ | was written | | سَمِعَ | he heard | سُمِعَ | was heard | | أَكَلَ | he ate | أُكِلَ | was eaten | | قَرَأَ | he read | قُرِئَ | was read |

الفصل الثالث | Chapter Three

دَخَلَتِ الغُرْفَةَ وَأَغْلَقَتِ البَابَ.

She entered the room and closed the door.

"أُغْلِقَ البَابُ..." قُلْتُ.

"The door was closed..." I said.

"أَحْسَنْتَ! وَمَاذَا عَنِ المُضَارِعِ؟"

"Excellent! And what about the present tense?"

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

بناء المضارع للمجهول - Forming Passive Present Tense

Pattern: يَفْعَلُ → يُفْعَلُ (yaf'alu → yuf'alu)

| المعلوم | Active | المجهول | Passive | |---------|--------|---------|---------| | يَفْتَحُ | he opens | يُفْتَحُ | is opened | | يَكْتُبُ | he writes | يُكْتَبُ | is written | | يَسْمَعُ | he hears | يُسْمَعُ | is heard | | يَأْكُلُ | he eats | يُؤْكَلُ | is eaten |

The first letter gets ḍamma, and the letter before last gets fatḥa.

الفصل الرابع | Chapter Four

اِقْتَرَبَتْ مِنِّي. "يُقَالُ إِنَّكَ كَاتِبٌ مَوْهُوبٌ."

She approached me. "It is said that you are a talented writer."

"مَنْ قَالَ؟"

"Who said?"

"لَا يُعْرَفُ. هَذَا هُوَ جَمَالُ المَجْهُولِ."

"It is not known. This is the beauty of the unknown."

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

أفعال شائعة في المجهول - Common Passive Verbs

Some verbs are often used in passive:

يُقَالُ (it is said): يُقَالُ إِنَّ... = It is said that...
يُعْرَفُ (it is known): لَا يُعْرَفُ = It is not known
يُعْتَقَدُ (it is believed): يُعْتَقَدُ أَنَّ... = It is believed that...
يُذْكَرُ (it is mentioned): يُذْكَرُ أَنَّ... = It is mentioned that...

These are impersonal passives where no specific agent is implied.

الفصل الخامس | Chapter Five

"لُمِسَتْ يَدِي..." هَمَسَتْ.

"My hand was touched..." she whispered.

"مَنْ لَمَسَهَا؟"

"Who touched it?"

"أَنْتَ تَعْرِفُ... لَكِنَّنِي أُفَضِّلُ المَجْهُولَ."

"You know... but I prefer the unknown."

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

نائب الفاعل - The Deputy Subject

In passive sentences, the original object becomes نائب فاعل:

Active: لَمَسَ الرَّجُلُ يَدَهَا

الرَّجُلُ: فاعل
يَدَهَا: مفعول به

Passive: لُمِسَتْ يَدُهَا

يَدُهَا: نائب فاعل (مرفوع)
The فاعل is hidden/unknown

Note: The verb agrees with نائب الفاعل in gender.

الفصل السادس | Chapter Six

"قُبِّلْتُ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ..." قَالَتْ.

"I was kissed one night..." she said.

"أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَعْرِفَ مَنْ..."

"I would love to know who..."

"المَجْهُولُ أَجْمَلُ. يُتْرَكُ المَجَالُ لِلخَيَالِ."

"The unknown is more beautiful. Room is left for imagination."

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

المجهول مع الضمائر - Passive with Pronouns

| المعلوم | Active | المجهول | Passive | |---------|--------|---------|---------| | قَبَّلَنِي | he kissed me | قُبِّلْتُ | I was kissed | | رَآهَا | he saw her | رُئِيَتْ | she was seen | | سَمِعَنَا | he heard us | سُمِعْنَا | we were heard |

When the object is a pronoun, it becomes the attached subject marker.

الفصل السابع | Chapter Seven

"سَيُذْكَرُ اسْمِي فِي التَّارِيخِ..." قَالَتْ.

"My name will be remembered in history..." she said.

"وَسَتُنْسَى التَّفَاصِيلُ."

"And the details will be forgotten."

تَعَلَّمْتُ أَنَّ مَا يُخْفَى قَدْ يَكُونُ أَهَمَّ مِمَّا يُكْشَفُ.

I learned that what is hidden may be more important than what is revealed.

Grammar Note | ملاحظة نحوية:

المجهول في المستقبل - Future Passive

Adding سَـ or سَوْفَ to present passive:

سَيُذْكَرُ = will be remembered
سَيُنْسَى = will be forgotten
سَوْفَ يُكْتَبُ = will be written

الأفعال المعتلة في المجهول:

قَالَ → قِيلَ (was said)
بَاعَ → بِيعَ (was sold)
نَامَ → نِيمَ (was slept - rare)

الخاتمة | Conclusion

فِي تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةِ، فُهِمَ الدَّرْسُ.

That night, the lesson was understood.

عُرِفَ أَنَّ الجَمَالَ قَدْ يَكْمُنُ فِي الغُمُوضِ.

It was known that beauty may lie in mystery.

وَبَقِيَ السُّؤَالُ: مَنْ هِيَ؟ لَا يُعْرَفُ حَتَّى الآنَ.

And the question remained: who is she? It is not known until now.

ملخص القواعد | Grammar Summary

المبني للمجهول - The Passive Voice:

الماضي: فَعَلَ → فُعِلَ (ضم الأول، كسر ما قبل الآخر)
المضارع: يَفْعَلُ → يُفْعَلُ (ضم الأول، فتح ما قبل الآخر)
نائب الفاعل: المفعول به يصبح مرفوعًا
الفائدة: إخفاء الفاعل أو عدم أهميته
التوافق: الفعل يتوافق مع نائب الفاعل في الجنس والعدد

تمارين | Exercises

حَوِّلِ الجُمَلَ التَّالِيَةَ إِلَى المَبْنِيِّ لِلمَجْهُولِ: Convert the following sentences to passive voice:

كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الرِّسَالَةَ. → ...
يَقْرَأُ الأُسْتَاذُ الكِتَابَ. → ...
أَكَلَ الوَلَدُ التُّفَّاحَةَ. → ...
سَمِعَ النَّاسُ الخَبَرَ. → ...
يَفْتَحُ الحَارِسُ البَابَ. → ...

انتهى الدرس التاسع عشر End of the Nineteenth Lesson