201 Arabic Verbs

For anyone familiar with the 501 series of books this 201 book is done very differently. It is NOT comprehensive, rather it tries to be comprehensive in demonstrating the many types of verbs, hollow verbs, weak verbs, and verbs from the several `buildings'. Arabic is a complicated language and it is helpful to have these things demonstrated for the reader and student. However this book does not work as a reference for verbs or words, because it isn't alphabetical, rather it is based on category of verb. It is of limited use therefore in translation, it is rather a verb structure manual. It does have all the active and passive and the participles and the Masdar nicely drawn out and this is helpful for understanding the pattern of Arabic. However beyond this the book does not come in handy the way it should, in general it doesn't have enough verbs. Most linguists assume that one needs 500 verbs in order to know a language. This book includes obscure verbs no one will ever use while simple verbs are missing because they repeat a pattern already demonstrated. For those in Arabic studies this is an essential book, but it needs updating or expanding. Seth J. Frantzman

There isn't another commonly available resource of this type that I know of and I have found it very useful. You don't get very far into Arabic before you learn the joys that are the hollow verb (those with a long vowel in the middle) and the defective verb (those that end with ya or alif maqsura) not to mention the shuffling short vowels between present and past tense. My textbook (Ahlan wa Sahlan) conjugates only a small representative few in the index so I really needed a reference such as this. As you can guess from the title, this book takes 201 verbs and conjugates them in Active and Passive voice (where relevant) giving these forms: 1.) Past 2.) Present 3.) Subjunctive 4.) Jussive As well as providing the imperative, active and passive participles, and the root-very handy for beginners dealing with quadriliteral verbs. Each verb is provided along with a brief definition. No, it's not as thorough as a dictionary but that's what Al-Mawrid is for, right? I liked the selection of verbs (I was very happy to see that the verb for "to see" was included), the index that listed the type of verbs (e.g. verbs with initial hamza, verbs with final waw, etc.) and the printface is legible and of decent size. Compare with the Hans Wehr budget print dictionary and you'll appreciate how nice this is. They also clearly provide all short vowel markers which aren't always in dictionaries. The biggest complaint is, as other users have stated, there is no index of the specific verbs provided as examples. As I've looked them up, I've started just writing them in the index but this is messy. I'd also think some brief explication on how to create passive, subjunctive, etc. would be a good addition but perhaps that is beyond the intended scope. If you have a particular verb type that really confuses you-defective verbs give me fits-then this reference will definitely be helpful.

One common thread unites those who did not like the book...they did not figure out that the paradigms shown (the 201 actual verbs conjugated) are to be used by referencing the index in the back to find the type of verb you want to conjugate and then looking at the paradigm it references. The meaning that the book gives is not important since many verbs have many meanings (often) anyway. Context and your dictionary is always the source of meanings. You can find the correct way to conjugate almost any verb by identifying its type in the back and referencing it's model paradigm. If you know how to do this, this book CAN be helful for beginners. Intermediate and advanced students often have a sense of how conjugations go and after a while don't need a tool to tell them. Those who understand how to use the book, give it good reviews.

Many students of Arabic are intimidated by this book because it was geared towards the intermediate and advanced Arabic student. However there are more pros to this book than cons. If you really are serious about learning Sarf (The science of how Arabic verbs are conjugated) then step up and study away with this book. The book was arranged in perfect order begining with all verbs begining with the Alif all the way to the verbs that begin with Yaa, the book is also arranged with a description of what verb type you are using and how it is conjugated in all its forms. I was very impressed with this book and whenever I teach or need to look up a word and how to conjugate it correctly I still come back to this book time and time again! For the beginners I say do not be intimidated, purchase the book and study! study! study! You will be suprised at how strong you will become in learning how to conjugate the Arabic verbs...I took a notebook and went a step further and created a Wazan type form of the book that conjugated the verbs based on the type for example I have all the Form 1's listed in one section, the Form 2's listed in another like this until I copied the whole book out! I also found it helpful to use with learning the way the Arabic verbs are conjugated in my study and memorization of the Quraan. May Allah make it easy for the students of knowledge in thier studies.

This world is one of action; and to feasibly communicate through the medium of language, one must be able to express the dynamism of action via the use of verbs.This book has a list of 201 extremely useful verbs that the student of Arabic will want to remember, as they can be used on a daily basis. Additionally, these verbs are common in Arabic literature, so learning them will decrease the need for dictionary reference.