اِسْتَخْدَمَ (istakhdama) means to use. It is a sound Form X verb from the root خ د م (kh-d-m): اِسْتَخْدَمَ (istakhdama) in the past, يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu) in the present and اِسْتَخْدِمْ (istakhdim) 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 istakhdama on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for اِسْتَخْدَمَ, down to the regular Form X verbal noun اِسْتِخْدَام (istikhdām).
Istakhdama at a glance
| Root | خ د م (kh-d-m), starting with the letter khāʾ |
| Form | Form X, pattern اِسْتَفْعَلَ (istafʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | اِسْتَخْدَمَ (istakhdama) |
| Present, he | يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِسْتَخْدِمْ (istakhdim) |
| Active participle | مُسْتَخْدِم (mustakhdim) |
| Passive participle | مُسْتَخْدَم (mustakhdam) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | اِسْتِخْدَام (istikhdām) |
Past tense of istakhdama
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form X stem istakhdam- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: اِسْتَخْدَمْتُ (istakhdamtu), اِسْتَخْدَمَتْ (istakhdamat), اِسْتَخْدَمُوا (istakhdamū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اِسْتَخْدَمْتُ | istakhdamtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اِسْتَخْدَمْنَا | istakhdamnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِسْتَخْدَمْتَ | istakhdamta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِسْتَخْدَمْتِ | istakhdamti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِسْتَخْدَمْتُمَا | istakhdamtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِسْتَخْدَمْتُمْ | istakhdamtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِسْتَخْدَمْتُنَّ | istakhdamtunna |
| he · هو huwa | اِسْتَخْدَمَ | istakhdama |
| she · هي hiya | اِسْتَخْدَمَتْ | istakhdamat |
| they two m. · هما humā | اِسْتَخْدَمَا | istakhdamā |
| they two f. · هما humā | اِسْتَخْدَمَتَا | istakhdamatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اِسْتَخْدَمُوا | istakhdamū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اِسْتَخْدَمْنَ | istakhdamna |
Present tense of istakhdama
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form X takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-), as in أَسْتَخْدِمُ (astakhdimu) and يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يَسْتَخْدِمُونَ (yastakhdimūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْتَخْدِمُ | astakhdimu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْتَخْدِمُ | nastakhdimu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْتَخْدِمُ | tastakhdimu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْتَخْدِمِينَ | tastakhdimīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْتَخْدِمَانِ | tastakhdimāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْتَخْدِمُونَ | tastakhdimūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْتَخْدِمْنَ | tastakhdimna |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْتَخْدِمُ | yastakhdimu |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْتَخْدِمُ | tastakhdimu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْتَخْدِمَانِ | yastakhdimāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْتَخْدِمَانِ | tastakhdimāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْتَخْدِمُونَ | yastakhdimūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْتَخْدِمْنَ | yastakhdimna |
Subjunctive and jussive of istakhdama
After أن (an, that) the he-form of istakhdama takes the subjunctive, يَسْتَخْدِمَ (yastakhdima); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تَسْتَخْدِمْ (tastakhdim).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْتَخْدِمَ (astakhdima) | أَسْتَخْدِمْ (astakhdim) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْتَخْدِمَ (nastakhdima) | نَسْتَخْدِمْ (nastakhdim) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْتَخْدِمَ (tastakhdima) | تَسْتَخْدِمْ (tastakhdim) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْتَخْدِمِي (tastakhdimī) | تَسْتَخْدِمِي (tastakhdimī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْتَخْدِمَا (tastakhdimā) | تَسْتَخْدِمَا (tastakhdimā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْتَخْدِمُوا (tastakhdimū) | تَسْتَخْدِمُوا (tastakhdimū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْتَخْدِمْنَ (tastakhdimna) | تَسْتَخْدِمْنَ (tastakhdimna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْتَخْدِمَ (yastakhdima) | يَسْتَخْدِمْ (yastakhdim) |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْتَخْدِمَ (tastakhdima) | تَسْتَخْدِمْ (tastakhdim) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْتَخْدِمَا (yastakhdimā) | يَسْتَخْدِمَا (yastakhdimā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْتَخْدِمَا (tastakhdimā) | تَسْتَخْدِمَا (tastakhdimā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْتَخْدِمُوا (yastakhdimū) | يَسْتَخْدِمُوا (yastakhdimū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْتَخْدِمْنَ (yastakhdimna) | يَسْتَخْدِمْنَ (yastakhdimna) |
Imperative of istakhdama
The command of Form X drops the prefix of the jussive تَسْتَخْدِمْ (tastakhdim) and puts a connecting alif in front: اِسْتَخْدِمْ (istakhdim) to one man, اِسْتَخْدِمِي (istakhdimī) to one woman, اِسْتَخْدِمُوا (istakhdimū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِسْتَخْدِمْ | istakhdim |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِسْتَخْدِمِي | istakhdimī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِسْتَخْدِمَا | istakhdimā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِسْتَخْدِمُوا | istakhdimū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِسْتَخْدِمْنَ | istakhdimna |
Passive of istakhdama
A Form X passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (اُسْتُخْدِمَ (ustukhdima)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُسْتَخْدَمُ (yustakhdamu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اُسْتُخْدِمْتُ (ustukhdimtu) | أُسْتَخْدَمُ (ustakhdamu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اُسْتُخْدِمْنَا (ustukhdimnā) | نُسْتَخْدَمُ (nustakhdamu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اُسْتُخْدِمْتَ (ustukhdimta) | تُسْتَخْدَمُ (tustakhdamu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اُسْتُخْدِمْتِ (ustukhdimti) | تُسْتَخْدَمِينَ (tustakhdamīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اُسْتُخْدِمْتُمَا (ustukhdimtumā) | تُسْتَخْدَمَانِ (tustakhdamāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اُسْتُخْدِمْتُمْ (ustukhdimtum) | تُسْتَخْدَمُونَ (tustakhdamūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اُسْتُخْدِمْتُنَّ (ustukhdimtunna) | تُسْتَخْدَمْنَ (tustakhdamna) |
| he · هو huwa | اُسْتُخْدِمَ (ustukhdima) | يُسْتَخْدَمُ (yustakhdamu) |
| she · هي hiya | اُسْتُخْدِمَتْ (ustukhdimat) | تُسْتَخْدَمُ (tustakhdamu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | اُسْتُخْدِمَا (ustukhdimā) | يُسْتَخْدَمَانِ (yustakhdamāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | اُسْتُخْدِمَتَا (ustukhdimatā) | تُسْتَخْدَمَانِ (tustakhdamāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اُسْتُخْدِمُوا (ustukhdimū) | يُسْتَخْدَمُونَ (yustakhdamūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اُسْتُخْدِمْنَ (ustukhdimna) | يُسْتَخْدَمْنَ (yustakhdamna) |
Participles and verbal noun of istakhdama
A Form X active participle is the present stem with mu- in place of the prefix: يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu) gives مُسْتَخْدِم (mustakhdim). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُسْتَخْدَم (mustakhdam). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form X pattern istifʿāl: اِسْتِخْدَام (istikhdām). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why istakhdama conjugates this way
Form X puts ista- in front of the root (istafʿala) and often means to seek, ask for or consider something. It starts with a connecting alif, and its present is يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu). Istamarra (to continue) and istaṭāʿa (to be able to) are built on the same Form X pattern.
Istakhdama in sentences
هل تستخدم غوغل؟
Do you use Google?
The verb: تَسْتَخْدِمُ (tastakhdimu), present, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 11985227 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
استخدم قدميك.
Use your feet.
The verb: اِسْتَخْدِمْ (istakhdim), imperative, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 8677059 by Ahmed_Waleed (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of istakhdama?
The present tense of اِسْتَخْدَمَ (istakhdama) is يَسْتَخْدِمُ (yastakhdimu) for he, أَسْتَخْدِمُ (astakhdimu) for I and تَسْتَخْدِمُ (tastakhdimu) for you (one man). Form X takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-) in every person.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of istakhdama?
اِسْتِخْدَام (istikhdām), on the Form X pattern istifʿāl. The active participle is مُسْتَخْدِم (mustakhdim), and the passive participle مُسْتَخْدَم (mustakhdam).
Is istakhdama a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form X pattern istafʿala with no changes.