Passive Present Tense: The u-

In English, we need a lot of extra words like "is," "am," or "are" plus a past participle to make a passive sentence. In Arabic, we just change the vowels. It is like a quick wardrobe change for the verb. You take your standard present tense verb and swap the internal sounds. The most iconic part of this change is the first vowel. You will hear a very distinct "u" sound at the beginning. That "u" is your grammar traffic light. It tells you immediately that the subject is not the one doing the work; they are the one receiving it. If you hear yaktubu, someone is writing. If you hear yuktabu, something is being written. It is a tiny change with a huge impact on meaning. Native speakers use this to keep sentences tight and focused. It is efficient, elegant, and honestly, a bit of a life-saver when you forget who actually did the thing you're talking about.

1. 1Creating the passive present is a simple three-step process. Let's use the verb yaktubu (he writes) as our guinea pig.
2. 2Start with your active present tense verb. For example, yaktubu (يَكْتُبُ).
3. 3Change the vowel on the first letter (the prefix) to a Damma. This gives you that "u" sound. So, ya- becomes yu-. Now we have yuk-.
4. 4Change the vowel on the second-to-last root letter to a Fatha. This gives you an "a" sound. In yaktubu, the second-to-last root letter is the t. We change the original Damma on the t to a Fatha. Now we have yuktabu (يُكْتَبُ).
5. 5That is it! You just transformed "he writes" into "it is being written." The pattern usually looks like yu-f'alu. Even if the active verb had different vowels in the middle, the passive present almost always follows this u...a pattern. It is one of the most consistent rules in the language. Yes, even native speakers find this pattern refreshing because it doesn't have many exceptions.

Knowing when to use the passive is just as important as knowing how to build it. You use it when the doer is obvious. For example, if you say "The call to prayer is heard," everyone knows who is calling, so you don't need to say it. You also use it when the doer is a total mystery. If your bike is stolen, you'd say yusraqu (it is being stolen). You don't know who is doing it, and that is the whole problem! Another great time is in formal settings. In a job interview, you might say "This project is managed by..." to sound professional. News reports love this tense. "The bridge is being built" or "The meeting is being held." It makes the information feel objective and serious. You will also see it in recipes: "The salt is added" or "The water is boiled." It focuses on the food, which is what we all care about anyway!

Arabic actually prefers the active voice much more than English does. If you know who did the action, just use the active voice. It sounds more natural and energetic. Avoid using the passive if you want to sound direct or personal. For example, don't say "The coffee is drunk by me." Just say "I drink the coffee." It's faster and less clunky. Also, Arabic doesn't really like the phrase "by [someone]" in a passive sentence. While you can technically say min qibal, it often feels like a direct translation from English. If the person doing the action is important enough to mention, just flip the whole sentence back to the active voice. Think of the passive as a tool for when the person is truly irrelevant or unknown. If you use it too much, you might sound like a robot or a very boring textbook.

The biggest trap is forgetting that second-to-last vowel. Many people remember the "u" at the start but keep the old vowel in the middle. If you say yuktubu instead of yuktabu, you are stuck halfway between active and passive, and your listener will be very confused! Another mistake is gender agreement. The verb still has to match the thing receiving the action. If you are talking about a letter (risala), which is feminine, the verb must be tuktabu (starting with a t), not yuktabu. Lastly, don't forget the case of the noun that follows. The noun that was the object now becomes the "deputy subject" (na'ib fa'il). This means it takes a Damma at the end. It's like the object got a promotion to subject status! It's a small change, but it's the difference between sounding like a beginner and a pro.

Don't confuse the passive present with the passive past! The passive past also starts with a "u," but it ends with an "i" sound (like kutiba - it was written). The present passive is all about that u...a combination. Also, be careful with verbs that already start with a "u" in the active voice. Verbs in Form II (like yudarrisu - he teaches) already have a Damma on the prefix. In these cases, you only have to change the middle vowel to a Fatha to make it passive: yudarrisu (active) becomes yudarrasu (is being taught). It’s like a secret handshake; you have to look closely at that middle vowel to see if the verb is active or passive.