A verbal sentence (الجملة الفعلية) is a sentence that begins with a verb. It is the second major sentence type in Arabic and is used to describe actions and events. A verbal sentence consists of a verb (الفعل), a subject/doer (الفاعل), and optionally an object (المفعول به).
Structure: فعل + فاعل + مفعول به
The basic word order in a verbal sentence is Verb – Subject – Object (VSO), which is different from English's Subject – Verb – Object (SVO) order:
- كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ — The student wrote the lesson. (كتب = verb, الطالب = subject, الدرس = object.)
- أَكَلَ الوَلَدُ التُّفَّاحَةَ — The boy ate the apple.
- فَتَحَتِ البِنْتُ البَابَ — The girl opened the door.
Key Rules
- The فاعل (subject) is always in the nominative case (مرفوع).
- The مفعول به (object) is always in the accusative case (منصوب).
- The verb does not take a plural form when it precedes the subject. It only agrees in gender: كَتَبَ الطُّلَّابُ (the students wrote) — not كَتَبُوا الطُّلَّابُ.
- Intransitive verbs do not take a مفعول به: ذَهَبَ الرَّجُلُ (the man went).
Verbal vs. Nominal
An interesting aspect of Arabic grammar is that the same meaning can often be expressed as either a nominal or verbal sentence, with subtle differences in emphasis. الطَّالِبُ كَتَبَ الدَّرْسَ (nominal — emphasizes "the student") vs. كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ (verbal — emphasizes the action of writing). Understanding both structures gives you flexibility in expression and comprehension.