فَعَلَ (faʿala) means to do. It is a sound Form I verb from the root ف ع ل (f-ʿ-l): فَعَلَ (faʿala) in the past, يَفْعَلُ (yafʿalu) in the present and اِفْعَلْ (ifʿal) 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 faʿala on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for فَعَلَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Faʿala at a glance
| Root | ف ع ل (f-ʿ-l), starting with the letter fāʾ |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Present, he | يَفْعَلُ (yafʿalu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِفْعَلْ (ifʿal) |
| Active participle | فَاعِل (fāʿil) |
| Passive participle | مَفْعُول (mafʿūl) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | فَعْل (faʿl), فِعْل (fiʿl), فَعَال (faʿāl), فَعْلَة (faʿla), فِعْلَة (fiʿla) |
Past tense of faʿala
The past tense (al-māḍī) of faʿala is one stem, faʿal-, plus a suffix that carries the person: فَعَلْتُ (faʿaltu) for I, فَعَلَتْ (faʿalat) for she, فَعَلُوا (faʿalū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | فَعَلْتُ | faʿaltu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | فَعَلْنَا | faʿalnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | فَعَلْتَ | faʿalta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | فَعَلْتِ | faʿalti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | فَعَلْتُمَا | faʿaltumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | فَعَلْتُمْ | faʿaltum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | فَعَلْتُنَّ | faʿaltunna |
| he · هو huwa | فَعَلَ | faʿala |
| she · هي hiya | فَعَلَتْ | faʿalat |
| they two m. · هما humā | فَعَلَا | faʿalā |
| they two f. · هما humā | فَعَلَتَا | faʿalatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | فَعَلُوا | faʿalū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | فَعَلْنَ | faʿalna |
Present tense of faʿala
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of faʿala has a in the stem, -fʿal-, which no rule predicts: أَفْعَلُ (afʿalu) for I, يَفْعَلُ (yafʿalu) for he, يَفْعَلُونَ (yafʿalūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَفْعَلُ | afʿalu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَفْعَلُ | nafʿalu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَفْعَلُ | tafʿalu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَفْعَلِينَ | tafʿalīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَفْعَلَانِ | tafʿalāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَفْعَلُونَ | tafʿalūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَفْعَلْنَ | tafʿalna |
| he · هو huwa | يَفْعَلُ | yafʿalu |
| she · هي hiya | تَفْعَلُ | tafʿalu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَفْعَلَانِ | yafʿalāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَفْعَلَانِ | tafʿalāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَفْعَلُونَ | yafʿalūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَفْعَلْنَ | yafʿalna |
Subjunctive and jussive of faʿala
The subjunctive and the jussive of faʿala change only the ending of the present: يَفْعَلُ (yafʿalu) becomes يَفْعَلَ (yafʿala) after لن (lan, will not) and يَفْعَلْ (yafʿal) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَفْعَلَ (afʿala) | أَفْعَلْ (afʿal) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَفْعَلَ (nafʿala) | نَفْعَلْ (nafʿal) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَفْعَلَ (tafʿala) | تَفْعَلْ (tafʿal) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَفْعَلِي (tafʿalī) | تَفْعَلِي (tafʿalī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَفْعَلَا (tafʿalā) | تَفْعَلَا (tafʿalā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَفْعَلُوا (tafʿalū) | تَفْعَلُوا (tafʿalū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَفْعَلْنَ (tafʿalna) | تَفْعَلْنَ (tafʿalna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَفْعَلَ (yafʿala) | يَفْعَلْ (yafʿal) |
| she · هي hiya | تَفْعَلَ (tafʿala) | تَفْعَلْ (tafʿal) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَفْعَلَا (yafʿalā) | يَفْعَلَا (yafʿalā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَفْعَلَا (tafʿalā) | تَفْعَلَا (tafʿalā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَفْعَلُوا (yafʿalū) | يَفْعَلُوا (yafʿalū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَفْعَلْنَ (yafʿalna) | يَفْعَلْنَ (yafʿalna) |
Imperative of faʿala
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَفْعَلْ (tafʿal) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِفْعَلْ (ifʿal) to one man, اِفْعَلِي (ifʿalī) to one woman, اِفْعَلُوا (ifʿalū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِفْعَلْ | ifʿal |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِفْعَلِي | ifʿalī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِفْعَلَا | ifʿalā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِفْعَلُوا | ifʿalū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِفْعَلْنَ | ifʿalna |
Passive of faʿala
The passive of faʿala keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (فُعِلَ (fuʿila)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُفْعَلُ (yufʿalu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | فُعِلْتُ (fuʿiltu) | أُفْعَلُ (ufʿalu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | فُعِلْنَا (fuʿilnā) | نُفْعَلُ (nufʿalu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | فُعِلْتَ (fuʿilta) | تُفْعَلُ (tufʿalu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | فُعِلْتِ (fuʿilti) | تُفْعَلِينَ (tufʿalīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | فُعِلْتُمَا (fuʿiltumā) | تُفْعَلَانِ (tufʿalāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | فُعِلْتُمْ (fuʿiltum) | تُفْعَلُونَ (tufʿalūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | فُعِلْتُنَّ (fuʿiltunna) | تُفْعَلْنَ (tufʿalna) |
| he · هو huwa | فُعِلَ (fuʿila) | يُفْعَلُ (yufʿalu) |
| she · هي hiya | فُعِلَتْ (fuʿilat) | تُفْعَلُ (tufʿalu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | فُعِلَا (fuʿilā) | يُفْعَلَانِ (yufʿalāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | فُعِلَتَا (fuʿilatā) | تُفْعَلَانِ (tufʿalāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | فُعِلُوا (fuʿilū) | يُفْعَلُونَ (yufʿalūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | فُعِلْنَ (fuʿilna) | يُفْعَلْنَ (yufʿalna) |
Participles and verbal noun of faʿala
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: فَاعِل (fāʿil). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَفْعُول (mafʿūl). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists five for faʿala: فَعْل (faʿl), فِعْل (fiʿl), فَعَال (faʿāl), فَعْلَة (faʿla), فِعْلَة (fiʿla). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under f-ʿ-l in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why faʿala conjugates this way
The root letters of فَعَلَ (faʿala), ف ع ل (f-ʿ-l), 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: a in the past and a in the present, which no rule predicts. Dhahaba (to go) and badaʾa (to begin) share its vowels, a in the past and a in the present.
Faʿala in sentences
ماذا تفعل؟
What are you doing?
The verb: تَفْعَلُ (tafʿalu), present, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 376080 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
لم أفعل شيئا.
I didn't do anything.
The verb: أَفْعَلْ (afʿal), jussive, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11997418 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of faʿala?
The present tense of فَعَلَ (faʿala) is يَفْعَلُ (yafʿalu) for he, أَفْعَلُ (afʿalu) for I and تَفْعَلُ (tafʿalu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, a, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of faʿala?
فَعْل (faʿl), فِعْل (fiʿl), فَعَال (faʿāl), فَعْلَة (faʿla), فِعْلَة (fiʿla), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is فَاعِل (fāʿil), and the passive participle مَفْعُول (mafʿūl).
Is faʿala a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so nothing changes shape; only its stem vowels, a in the past and a in the present, have to be learned with it.