بَنَى (banā) means to build. It is a defective Form I verb from the root ب ن ي (b-n-y): بَنَى (banā) in the past, يَبْنِي (yabnī) in the present and اِبْنِ (ibni) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of banā on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for بَنَى, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Banā at a glance
| Root | ب ن ي (b-n-y), starting with the letter bāʾ |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | defective |
| Past, he | بَنَى (banā) |
| Present, he | يَبْنِي (yabnī) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِبْنِ (ibni) |
| Active participle | بَانٍ (bānin) |
| Passive participle | مَبْنِيّ (mabniyy) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | بَنْي (bany), بِنَاء (bināʾ), بُنْيَان (bunyān), بِنْيَة (binya), بِنَايَة (bināya) |
Past tense of banā
The past tense (al-māḍī) of banā ends in a vowel in the he-form, بَنَى (banā). The weak last letter decides the rest: بَنَيْتُ (banaytu) for I, بَنَتْ (banat) for she, بَنَوْا (banaw) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | بَنَيْتُ | banaytu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | بَنَيْنَا | banaynā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | بَنَيْتَ | banayta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | بَنَيْتِ | banayti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | بَنَيْتُمَا | banaytumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | بَنَيْتُمْ | banaytum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | بَنَيْتُنَّ | banaytunna |
| he · هو huwa | بَنَى | banā |
| she · هي hiya | بَنَتْ | banat |
| they two m. · هما humā | بَنَيَا | banayā |
| they two f. · هما humā | بَنَتَا | banatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | بَنَوْا | banaw |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | بَنَيْنَ | banayna |
Present tense of banā
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of banā ends in a long vowel in the he-form, يَبْنِي (yabnī). Before the plural ending the weak letter disappears: يَبْنُونَ (yabnūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَبْنِي | abnī |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَبْنِي | nabnī |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَبْنِي | tabnī |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَبْنِينَ | tabnīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَبْنِيَانِ | tabniyāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَبْنُونَ | tabnūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَبْنِينَ | tabnīna |
| he · هو huwa | يَبْنِي | yabnī |
| she · هي hiya | تَبْنِي | tabnī |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَبْنِيَانِ | yabniyāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَبْنِيَانِ | tabniyāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَبْنُونَ | yabnūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَبْنِينَ | yabnīna |
Subjunctive and jussive of banā
After لن (lan, will not) the he-form of banā is يَبْنِيَ (yabniya); after لم (lam, did not) its final long vowel shortens: يَبْنِ (yabni).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَبْنِيَ (abniya) | أَبْنِ (abni) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَبْنِيَ (nabniya) | نَبْنِ (nabni) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَبْنِيَ (tabniya) | تَبْنِ (tabni) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَبْنِي (tabnī) | تَبْنِي (tabnī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَبْنِيَا (tabniyā) | تَبْنِيَا (tabniyā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَبْنُوا (tabnū) | تَبْنُوا (tabnū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَبْنِينَ (tabnīna) | تَبْنِينَ (tabnīna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَبْنِيَ (yabniya) | يَبْنِ (yabni) |
| she · هي hiya | تَبْنِيَ (tabniya) | تَبْنِ (tabni) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَبْنِيَا (yabniyā) | يَبْنِيَا (yabniyā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَبْنِيَا (tabniyā) | تَبْنِيَا (tabniyā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَبْنُوا (yabnū) | يَبْنُوا (yabnū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَبْنِينَ (yabnīna) | يَبْنِينَ (yabnīna) |
Imperative of banā
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَبْنِ (tabni) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِبْنِ (ibni) to one man, اِبْنِي (ibnī) to one woman, اِبْنُوا (ibnū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِبْنِ | ibni |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِبْنِي | ibnī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِبْنِيَا | ibniyā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِبْنُوا | ibnū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِبْنِينَ | ibnīna |
Passive of banā
The passive past of banā ends in -iya (بُنِيَ (buniya)) and the passive present in -ā (يُبْنَى (yubnā)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | بُنِيتُ (bunītu) | أُبْنَى (ubnā) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | بُنِينَا (bunīnā) | نُبْنَى (nubnā) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | بُنِيتَ (bunīta) | تُبْنَى (tubnā) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | بُنِيتِ (bunīti) | تُبْنَيْنَ (tubnayna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | بُنِيتُمَا (bunītumā) | تُبْنَيَانِ (tubnayāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | بُنِيتُمْ (bunītum) | تُبْنَوْنَ (tubnawna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | بُنِيتُنَّ (bunītunna) | تُبْنَيْنَ (tubnayna) |
| he · هو huwa | بُنِيَ (buniya) | يُبْنَى (yubnā) |
| she · هي hiya | بُنِيَتْ (buniyat) | تُبْنَى (tubnā) |
| they two m. · هما humā | بُنِيَا (buniyā) | يُبْنَيَانِ (yubnayāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | بُنِيَتَا (buniyatā) | تُبْنَيَانِ (tubnayāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | بُنُوا (bunū) | يُبْنَوْنَ (yubnawna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | بُنِينَ (bunīna) | يُبْنَيْنَ (yubnayna) |
Participles and verbal noun of banā
The active participle ends in -in, the spelling of a noun whose last root letter is weak: بَانٍ (bānin). The passive participle ends in a doubled weak letter: مَبْنِيّ (mabniyy). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists five for banā: بَنْي (bany), بِنَاء (bināʾ), بُنْيَان (bunyān), بِنْيَة (binya), بِنَايَة (bināya). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under b-n-y in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why banā conjugates this way
The last root letter of بَنَى (banā) is ي (y), which makes it a defective verb. At the end of the word it turns into a vowel: -ā in the past (بَنَى (banā), spelled with ى, the dotless ya, because the root letter is y) and -ī in the present (يَبْنِي (yabnī)). Before a consonant ending it comes back as a consonant (بَنَيْتُ (banaytu)), and before the plural -ū it disappears (بَنَوْا (banaw), يَبْنُونَ (yabnūna)). Atā (to come) and daʿā (to call) are defective too, and change in the same places.
Banā in sentences
بنى ياني منزلا.
Yanni built a house.
The verb: بَنَى (banā), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11283254 by Amghar (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
بنت مأوى.
She built a shelter.
The verb: بَنَتْ (banat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11671800 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of banā?
The present tense of بَنَى (banā) is يَبْنِي (yabnī) for he, أَبْنِي (abnī) for I and تَبْنِي (tabnī) for you (one man). The weak last letter turns into a long vowel at the end of the word.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of banā?
بَنْي (bany), بِنَاء (bināʾ), بُنْيَان (bunyān), بِنْيَة (binya), بِنَايَة (bināya), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is بَانٍ (bānin), and the passive participle مَبْنِيّ (mabniyy).
Is banā a regular verb?
It is regular for a defective verb: its last root letter turns into a vowel at the end of the word (بَنَى (banā), يَبْنِي (yabnī)) and returns before a consonant ending (بَنَيْتُ (banaytu)).