عَلِمَ (ʿalima) means to know, to be aware. It is a sound Form I verb from the root ع ل م (ʿ-l-m): عَلِمَ (ʿalima) in the past, يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu) in the present and اِعْلَمْ (iʿlam) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons and its impersonal passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of ʿalima on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for عَلِمَ, which is also the source of its verbal noun.
ʿAlima at a glance
| Root | ع ل م (ʿ-l-m), starting with the letter ʿayn; the root ʿ-l-m in the Quran |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | عَلِمَ (ʿalima) |
| Present, he | يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِعْلَمْ (iʿlam) |
| Active participle | عَالِم (ʿālim) |
| Passive participle | مَعْلُوم (maʿlūm) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | عِلْم (ʿilm) |
Past tense of ʿalima
The past tense (al-māḍī) of ʿalima is one stem, ʿalim-, plus a suffix that carries the person: عَلِمْتُ (ʿalimtu) for I, عَلِمَتْ (ʿalimat) for she, عَلِمُوا (ʿalimū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | عَلِمْتُ | ʿalimtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | عَلِمْنَا | ʿalimnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | عَلِمْتَ | ʿalimta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | عَلِمْتِ | ʿalimti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | عَلِمْتُمَا | ʿalimtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | عَلِمْتُمْ | ʿalimtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | عَلِمْتُنَّ | ʿalimtunna |
| he · هو huwa | عَلِمَ | ʿalima |
| she · هي hiya | عَلِمَتْ | ʿalimat |
| they two m. · هما humā | عَلِمَا | ʿalimā |
| they two f. · هما humā | عَلِمَتَا | ʿalimatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | عَلِمُوا | ʿalimū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | عَلِمْنَ | ʿalimna |
Present tense of ʿalima
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of ʿalima has a in the stem, -ʿlam-, which no rule predicts: أَعْلَمُ (aʿlamu) for I, يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu) for he, يَعْلَمُونَ (yaʿlamūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَعْلَمُ | aʿlamu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَعْلَمُ | naʿlamu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعْلَمُ | taʿlamu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعْلَمِينَ | taʿlamīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعْلَمَانِ | taʿlamāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعْلَمُونَ | taʿlamūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعْلَمْنَ | taʿlamna |
| he · هو huwa | يَعْلَمُ | yaʿlamu |
| she · هي hiya | تَعْلَمُ | taʿlamu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَعْلَمَانِ | yaʿlamāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَعْلَمَانِ | taʿlamāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَعْلَمُونَ | yaʿlamūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَعْلَمْنَ | yaʿlamna |
Subjunctive and jussive of ʿalima
The subjunctive and the jussive of ʿalima change only the ending of the present: يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu) becomes يَعْلَمَ (yaʿlama) after لن (lan, will not) and يَعْلَمْ (yaʿlam) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَعْلَمَ (aʿlama) | أَعْلَمْ (aʿlam) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَعْلَمَ (naʿlama) | نَعْلَمْ (naʿlam) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعْلَمَ (taʿlama) | تَعْلَمْ (taʿlam) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعْلَمِي (taʿlamī) | تَعْلَمِي (taʿlamī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعْلَمَا (taʿlamā) | تَعْلَمَا (taʿlamā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعْلَمُوا (taʿlamū) | تَعْلَمُوا (taʿlamū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعْلَمْنَ (taʿlamna) | تَعْلَمْنَ (taʿlamna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَعْلَمَ (yaʿlama) | يَعْلَمْ (yaʿlam) |
| she · هي hiya | تَعْلَمَ (taʿlama) | تَعْلَمْ (taʿlam) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَعْلَمَا (yaʿlamā) | يَعْلَمَا (yaʿlamā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَعْلَمَا (taʿlamā) | تَعْلَمَا (taʿlamā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَعْلَمُوا (yaʿlamū) | يَعْلَمُوا (yaʿlamū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَعْلَمْنَ (yaʿlamna) | يَعْلَمْنَ (yaʿlamna) |
Imperative of ʿalima
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَعْلَمْ (taʿlam) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِعْلَمْ (iʿlam) to one man, اِعْلَمِي (iʿlamī) to one woman, اِعْلَمُوا (iʿlamū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِعْلَمْ | iʿlam |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِعْلَمِي | iʿlamī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِعْلَمَا | iʿlamā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِعْلَمُوا | iʿlamū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِعْلَمْنَ | iʿlamna |
Passive of ʿalima
The passive of ʿalima keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (عُلِمَ (ʿulima)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُعْلَمُ (yuʿlamu)). Wiktionary lists the passive of ʿalima as impersonal: only the he-form is used, without a subject of its own.
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| he · هو huwa | عُلِمَ (ʿulima) | يُعْلَمُ (yuʿlamu) |
Participles and verbal noun of ʿalima
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: عَالِم (ʿālim). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَعْلُوم (maʿlūm). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, so عِلْم (ʿilm) has to be learned with the verb, or looked up under ʿ-l-m in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why ʿalima conjugates this way
The root letters of عَلِمَ (ʿalima), ع ل م (ʿ-l-m), are all strong consonants, with no w, y or hamza and no letter repeated, so nothing in its conjugation changes shape. What has to be learned is the pair of stem vowels: i in the past and a in the present, which no rule predicts. ʿAmila (to work) and samiʿa (to hear) share its vowels, i in the past and a in the present.
Other verbs from the same root on this site: ʿallama (to teach), taʿallama (to learn).
ʿAlima in sentences
كان يعلم.
He knew.
The verb: يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11505022 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
نعلم هذا.
We know that.
The verb: نَعْلَمُ (naʿlamu), present, we. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11858272 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of ʿalima?
The present tense of عَلِمَ (ʿalima) is يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu) for he, أَعْلَمُ (aʿlamu) for I and تَعْلَمُ (taʿlamu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, a, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of ʿalima?
عِلْم (ʿilm), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is عَالِم (ʿālim), and the passive participle مَعْلُوم (maʿlūm).
Is ʿalima a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so nothing changes shape; only its stem vowels, i in the past and a in the present, have to be learned with it.