مَاتَ (māta) means to die. It is a hollow Form I verb from the root م و ت (m-w-t): مَاتَ (māta) in the past, يَمُوتُ (yamūtu) in the present and مُتْ (mut) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, vowelled, with its participle and verbal noun; it has no passive.
Every form of māta on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for مَاتَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns and active participles.
Māta at a glance
| Root | م و ت (m-w-t), starting with the letter mīm |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | hollow |
| Past, he | مَاتَ (māta) |
| Present, he | يَمُوتُ (yamūtu) |
| Command, you (one man) | مُتْ (mut) |
| Active participle | مَائِت (māʾit) or مَيْت (mayt) or مَيِّت (mayyit) |
| Passive participle | none |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | مَوْت (mawt), مَمَات (mamāt) |
Past tense of māta
The past tense (al-māḍī) of māta has two stems: māt- before an ending that starts with a vowel (مَاتَ (māta), مَاتَتْ (mātat)) and mut- before an ending that starts with a consonant (مُتُّ (muttu), مُتْنَ (mutna)).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | مُتُّ | muttu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | مُتْنَا | mutnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | مُتَّ | mutta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | مُتِّ | mutti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | مُتُّمَا | muttumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | مُتُّمْ | muttum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | مُتُّنَّ | muttunna |
| he · هو huwa | مَاتَ | māta |
| she · هي hiya | مَاتَتْ | mātat |
| they two m. · هما humā | مَاتَا | mātā |
| they two f. · هما humā | مَاتَتَا | mātatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | مَاتُوا | mātū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | مُتْنَ | mutna |
Present tense of māta
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of māta has a long vowel in the stem, -mūt-, which turns short before the -na of the feminine plural: يَمُوتُ (yamūtu) but يَمُتْنَ (yamutna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَمُوتُ | amūtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَمُوتُ | namūtu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَمُوتُ | tamūtu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَمُوتِينَ | tamūtīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَمُوتَانِ | tamūtāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَمُوتُونَ | tamūtūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَمُتْنَ | tamutna |
| he · هو huwa | يَمُوتُ | yamūtu |
| she · هي hiya | تَمُوتُ | tamūtu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَمُوتَانِ | yamūtāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَمُوتَانِ | tamūtāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَمُوتُونَ | yamūtūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَمُتْنَ | yamutna |
Subjunctive and jussive of māta
In the jussive the long vowel of the stem shortens wherever no ending follows: after لم (lam, did not) the he-form is يَمُتْ (yamut), while the subjunctive after لن (lan, will not) keeps it, يَمُوتَ (yamūta).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَمُوتَ (amūta) | أَمُتْ (amut) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَمُوتَ (namūta) | نَمُتْ (namut) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَمُوتَ (tamūta) | تَمُتْ (tamut) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَمُوتِي (tamūtī) | تَمُوتِي (tamūtī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَمُوتَا (tamūtā) | تَمُوتَا (tamūtā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَمُوتُوا (tamūtū) | تَمُوتُوا (tamūtū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَمُتْنَ (tamutna) | تَمُتْنَ (tamutna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَمُوتَ (yamūta) | يَمُتْ (yamut) |
| she · هي hiya | تَمُوتَ (tamūta) | تَمُتْ (tamut) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَمُوتَا (yamūtā) | يَمُوتَا (yamūtā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَمُوتَا (tamūtā) | تَمُوتَا (tamūtā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَمُوتُوا (yamūtū) | يَمُوتُوا (yamūtū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَمُتْنَ (yamutna) | يَمُتْنَ (yamutna) |
Imperative of māta
Take the prefix off the jussive تَمُتْ (tamut) and the command is مُتْ (mut): no alif is needed, because the first root letter now has a vowel. The long vowel comes back when an ending follows: مُوتِي (mūtī), مُوتُوا (mūtū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | مُتْ | mut |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | مُوتِي | mūtī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | مُوتَا | mūtā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | مُوتُوا | mūtū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | مُتْنَ | mutna |
Participles and verbal noun of māta
For the active participle Wiktionary gives مَائِت (māʾit) or مَيْت (mayt) or مَيِّت (mayyit). Māta has no passive, so it has no passive participle either. Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists two for māta: مَوْت (mawt), مَمَات (mamāt). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under m-w-t in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why māta conjugates this way
The middle root letter of مَاتَ (māta) is و (w), a weak letter, which is why grammars call it a hollow verb. That letter never appears as a consonant in Form I. Where the syllable stays open it becomes a long vowel (مَاتَ (māta), يَمُوتُ (yamūtu)); where a consonant ending closes it, the vowel is short (مُتُّ (muttu), يَمُتْ (yamut)). So māta has two past stems, māt- and mut-. Jāʾa (to come) and kāna (to be) are hollow too, and change in the same places.
Māta in sentences
ماتت جدتي.
Grandma passed away.
The verb: مَاتَتْ (mātat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11672905 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
الجميع يموت.
Everyone dies.
The verb: يَمُوتُ (yamūtu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 778467 by Samer (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of māta?
The present tense of مَاتَ (māta) is يَمُوتُ (yamūtu) for he, أَمُوتُ (amūtu) for I and تَمُوتُ (tamūtu) for you (one man). The long vowel in the stem shortens before the feminine plural -na, as in يَمُتْنَ (yamutna).
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of māta?
مَوْت (mawt), مَمَات (mamāt), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is مَائِت (māʾit) or مَيْت (mayt) or مَيِّت (mayyit).
Is māta a regular verb?
It is regular for a hollow verb: its middle root letter becomes a long vowel (مَاتَ (māta), يَمُوتُ (yamūtu)) or a short one before a consonant ending (مُتُّ (muttu)).