اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa) means to be able to. It is a hollow Form X verb from the root ط و ع (ṭ-w-ʿ): اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa) in the past, يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu) in the present and اِسْتَطِعْ (istaṭiʿ) 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 istaṭāʿa on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for اِسْتَطَاعَ, down to the regular Form X verbal noun اِسْتِطَاعَة (istiṭāʿa).
Istaṭāʿa at a glance
| Root | ط و ع (ṭ-w-ʿ), starting with the letter ṭāʾ |
| Form | Form X, pattern اِسْتَفْعَلَ (istafʿala) |
| Verb type | hollow |
| Past, he | اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa) |
| Present, he | يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِسْتَطِعْ (istaṭiʿ) |
| Active participle | مُسْتَطِيع (mustaṭīʿ) |
| Passive participle | مُسْتَطَاع (mustaṭāʿ) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | اِسْتِطَاعَة (istiṭāʿa) |
Past tense of istaṭāʿa
The past tense (al-māḍī) of istaṭāʿa has two stems: istaṭāʿ- before an ending that starts with a vowel (اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa), اِسْتَطَاعَتْ (istaṭāʿat)) and istaṭaʿ- before an ending that starts with a consonant (اِسْتَطَعْتُ (istaṭaʿtu), اِسْتَطَعْنَ (istaṭaʿna)).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اِسْتَطَعْتُ | istaṭaʿtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اِسْتَطَعْنَا | istaṭaʿnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِسْتَطَعْتَ | istaṭaʿta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِسْتَطَعْتِ | istaṭaʿti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِسْتَطَعْتُمَا | istaṭaʿtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِسْتَطَعْتُمْ | istaṭaʿtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِسْتَطَعْتُنَّ | istaṭaʿtunna |
| he · هو huwa | اِسْتَطَاعَ | istaṭāʿa |
| she · هي hiya | اِسْتَطَاعَتْ | istaṭāʿat |
| they two m. · هما humā | اِسْتَطَاعَا | istaṭāʿā |
| they two f. · هما humā | اِسْتَطَاعَتَا | istaṭāʿatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اِسْتَطَاعُوا | istaṭāʿū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اِسْتَطَعْنَ | istaṭaʿna |
Present tense of istaṭāʿa
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of istaṭāʿa has a long vowel in the stem, -staṭīʿ-, which turns short before the -na of the feminine plural: يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu) but يَسْتَطِعْنَ (yastaṭiʿna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْتَطِيعُ | astaṭīʿu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْتَطِيعُ | nastaṭīʿu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْتَطِيعُ | tastaṭīʿu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْتَطِيعِينَ | tastaṭīʿīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْتَطِيعَانِ | tastaṭīʿāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْتَطِيعُونَ | tastaṭīʿūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْتَطِعْنَ | tastaṭiʿna |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْتَطِيعُ | yastaṭīʿu |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْتَطِيعُ | tastaṭīʿu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْتَطِيعَانِ | yastaṭīʿāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْتَطِيعَانِ | tastaṭīʿāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْتَطِيعُونَ | yastaṭīʿūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْتَطِعْنَ | yastaṭiʿna |
Subjunctive and jussive of istaṭāʿa
In the jussive the long vowel of the stem shortens wherever no ending follows: after لم (lam, did not) the he-form is يَسْتَطِعْ (yastaṭiʿ), while the subjunctive after لن (lan, will not) keeps it, يَسْتَطِيعَ (yastaṭīʿa).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْتَطِيعَ (astaṭīʿa) | أَسْتَطِعْ (astaṭiʿ) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْتَطِيعَ (nastaṭīʿa) | نَسْتَطِعْ (nastaṭiʿ) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْتَطِيعَ (tastaṭīʿa) | تَسْتَطِعْ (tastaṭiʿ) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْتَطِيعِي (tastaṭīʿī) | تَسْتَطِيعِي (tastaṭīʿī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْتَطِيعَا (tastaṭīʿā) | تَسْتَطِيعَا (tastaṭīʿā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْتَطِيعُوا (tastaṭīʿū) | تَسْتَطِيعُوا (tastaṭīʿū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْتَطِعْنَ (tastaṭiʿna) | تَسْتَطِعْنَ (tastaṭiʿna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْتَطِيعَ (yastaṭīʿa) | يَسْتَطِعْ (yastaṭiʿ) |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْتَطِيعَ (tastaṭīʿa) | تَسْتَطِعْ (tastaṭiʿ) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْتَطِيعَا (yastaṭīʿā) | يَسْتَطِيعَا (yastaṭīʿā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْتَطِيعَا (tastaṭīʿā) | تَسْتَطِيعَا (tastaṭīʿā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْتَطِيعُوا (yastaṭīʿū) | يَسْتَطِيعُوا (yastaṭīʿū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْتَطِعْنَ (yastaṭiʿna) | يَسْتَطِعْنَ (yastaṭiʿna) |
Imperative of istaṭāʿa
The command of Form X drops the prefix of the jussive تَسْتَطِعْ (tastaṭiʿ) and puts a connecting alif in front: اِسْتَطِعْ (istaṭiʿ) to one man, اِسْتَطِيعِي (istaṭīʿī) to one woman, اِسْتَطِيعُوا (istaṭīʿū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِسْتَطِعْ | istaṭiʿ |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِسْتَطِيعِي | istaṭīʿī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِسْتَطِيعَا | istaṭīʿā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِسْتَطِيعُوا | istaṭīʿū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِسْتَطِعْنَ | istaṭiʿna |
Passive of istaṭāʿa
In the passive the weak middle letter of istaṭāʿa turns into ī in the past (اُسْتُطِيعَ (ustuṭīʿa)) and ā in the present (يُسْتَطَاعُ (yustaṭāʿu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اُسْتُطِعْتُ (ustuṭiʿtu) | أُسْتَطَاعُ (ustaṭāʿu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اُسْتُطِعْنَا (ustuṭiʿnā) | نُسْتَطَاعُ (nustaṭāʿu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اُسْتُطِعْتَ (ustuṭiʿta) | تُسْتَطَاعُ (tustaṭāʿu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اُسْتُطِعْتِ (ustuṭiʿti) | تُسْتَطَاعِينَ (tustaṭāʿīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اُسْتُطِعْتُمَا (ustuṭiʿtumā) | تُسْتَطَاعَانِ (tustaṭāʿāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اُسْتُطِعْتُمْ (ustuṭiʿtum) | تُسْتَطَاعُونَ (tustaṭāʿūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اُسْتُطِعْتُنَّ (ustuṭiʿtunna) | تُسْتَطَعْنَ (tustaṭaʿna) |
| he · هو huwa | اُسْتُطِيعَ (ustuṭīʿa) | يُسْتَطَاعُ (yustaṭāʿu) |
| she · هي hiya | اُسْتُطِيعَتْ (ustuṭīʿat) | تُسْتَطَاعُ (tustaṭāʿu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | اُسْتُطِيعَا (ustuṭīʿā) | يُسْتَطَاعَانِ (yustaṭāʿāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | اُسْتُطِيعَتَا (ustuṭīʿatā) | تُسْتَطَاعَانِ (tustaṭāʿāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اُسْتُطِيعُوا (ustuṭīʿū) | يُسْتَطَاعُونَ (yustaṭāʿūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اُسْتُطِعْنَ (ustuṭiʿna) | يُسْتَطَعْنَ (yustaṭaʿna) |
Participles and verbal noun of istaṭāʿa
A Form X active participle is the present stem with mu- in place of the prefix: يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu) gives مُسْتَطِيع (mustaṭīʿ). The passive participle has ā where the active participle has ī: مُسْتَطَاع (mustaṭāʿ). The verbal noun (maṣdar) is اِسْتِطَاعَة (istiṭāʿa): the Form X pattern istifʿāl, with the weak letter gone and -a added at the end. The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why istaṭāʿa conjugates this way
The middle root letter of اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa) is و (w), a weak letter, which is why grammars call it a hollow verb. That letter never appears as a consonant in Form X. Where the syllable stays open it becomes a long vowel (اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa), يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu)); where a consonant ending closes it, the vowel is short (اِسْتَطَعْتُ (istaṭaʿtu), يَسْتَطِعْ (yastaṭiʿ)). So istaṭāʿa has two past stems, istaṭāʿ- and istaṭaʿ-.
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 يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu). Istakhdama (to use) and istamarra (to continue) are built on the same Form X pattern.
Istaṭāʿa in sentences
لا يستطيع القفز.
He can't jump.
The verb: يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11654503 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
استطعت الدخول.
I managed to get in.
The verb: اِسْتَطَعْتُ (istaṭaʿtu), past, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 608047 by Samer (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of istaṭāʿa?
The present tense of اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa) is يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu) for he, أَسْتَطِيعُ (astaṭīʿu) for I and تَسْتَطِيعُ (tastaṭīʿu) for you (one man). The long vowel in the stem shortens before the feminine plural -na, as in يَسْتَطِعْنَ (yastaṭiʿna).
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of istaṭāʿa?
اِسْتِطَاعَة (istiṭāʿa), on the Form X pattern istifʿāl. The active participle is مُسْتَطِيع (mustaṭīʿ), and the passive participle مُسْتَطَاع (mustaṭāʿ).
Is istaṭāʿa a regular verb?
It is regular for a hollow verb: its middle root letter becomes a long vowel (اِسْتَطَاعَ (istaṭāʿa), يَسْتَطِيعُ (yastaṭīʿu)) or a short one before a consonant ending (اِسْتَطَعْتُ (istaṭaʿtu)).