سَاعَدَ (sāʿada) means to help. It is a sound Form III verb from the root س ع د (s-ʿ-d): سَاعَدَ (sāʿada) in the past, يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu) in the present and سَاعِدْ (sāʿid) 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 sāʿada on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for سَاعَدَ, down to the regular Form III verbal noun مُسَاعَدَة (musāʿada).
Sāʿada at a glance
| Root | س ع د (s-ʿ-d), starting with the letter sīn |
| Form | Form III, pattern فَاعَلَ (fāʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | سَاعَدَ (sāʿada) |
| Present, he | يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu) |
| Command, you (one man) | سَاعِدْ (sāʿid) |
| Active participle | مُسَاعِد (musāʿid) |
| Passive participle | مُسَاعَد (musāʿad) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | مُسَاعَدَة (musāʿada) |
Past tense of sāʿada
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form III stem sāʿad- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: سَاعَدْتُ (sāʿadtu), سَاعَدَتْ (sāʿadat), سَاعَدُوا (sāʿadū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | سَاعَدْتُ | sāʿadtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | سَاعَدْنَا | sāʿadnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | سَاعَدْتَ | sāʿadta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | سَاعَدْتِ | sāʿadti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | سَاعَدْتُمَا | sāʿadtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | سَاعَدْتُمْ | sāʿadtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | سَاعَدْتُنَّ | sāʿadtunna |
| he · هو huwa | سَاعَدَ | sāʿada |
| she · هي hiya | سَاعَدَتْ | sāʿadat |
| they two m. · هما humā | سَاعَدَا | sāʿadā |
| they two f. · هما humā | سَاعَدَتَا | sāʿadatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | سَاعَدُوا | sāʿadū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | سَاعَدْنَ | sāʿadna |
Present tense of sāʿada
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form III takes the prefix vowel u (yu-, tu-, nu-, u-), as in أُسَاعِدُ (usāʿidu) and يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يُسَاعِدُونَ (yusāʿidūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُسَاعِدُ | usāʿidu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُسَاعِدُ | nusāʿidu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُسَاعِدُ | tusāʿidu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُسَاعِدِينَ | tusāʿidīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُسَاعِدَانِ | tusāʿidāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُسَاعِدُونَ | tusāʿidūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُسَاعِدْنَ | tusāʿidna |
| he · هو huwa | يُسَاعِدُ | yusāʿidu |
| she · هي hiya | تُسَاعِدُ | tusāʿidu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُسَاعِدَانِ | yusāʿidāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُسَاعِدَانِ | tusāʿidāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُسَاعِدُونَ | yusāʿidūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُسَاعِدْنَ | yusāʿidna |
Subjunctive and jussive of sāʿada
After أن (an, that) the he-form of sāʿada takes the subjunctive, يُسَاعِدَ (yusāʿida); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تُسَاعِدْ (tusāʿid).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُسَاعِدَ (usāʿida) | أُسَاعِدْ (usāʿid) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُسَاعِدَ (nusāʿida) | نُسَاعِدْ (nusāʿid) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُسَاعِدَ (tusāʿida) | تُسَاعِدْ (tusāʿid) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُسَاعِدِي (tusāʿidī) | تُسَاعِدِي (tusāʿidī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُسَاعِدَا (tusāʿidā) | تُسَاعِدَا (tusāʿidā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُسَاعِدُوا (tusāʿidū) | تُسَاعِدُوا (tusāʿidū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُسَاعِدْنَ (tusāʿidna) | تُسَاعِدْنَ (tusāʿidna) |
| he · هو huwa | يُسَاعِدَ (yusāʿida) | يُسَاعِدْ (yusāʿid) |
| she · هي hiya | تُسَاعِدَ (tusāʿida) | تُسَاعِدْ (tusāʿid) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُسَاعِدَا (yusāʿidā) | يُسَاعِدَا (yusāʿidā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُسَاعِدَا (tusāʿidā) | تُسَاعِدَا (tusāʿidā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُسَاعِدُوا (yusāʿidū) | يُسَاعِدُوا (yusāʿidū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُسَاعِدْنَ (yusāʿidna) | يُسَاعِدْنَ (yusāʿidna) |
Imperative of sāʿada
A Form III command is the jussive تُسَاعِدْ (tusāʿid) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: سَاعِدْ (sāʿid), سَاعِدِي (sāʿidī), سَاعِدُوا (sāʿidū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | سَاعِدْ | sāʿid |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | سَاعِدِي | sāʿidī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | سَاعِدَا | sāʿidā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | سَاعِدُوا | sāʿidū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | سَاعِدْنَ | sāʿidna |
Passive of sāʿada
A Form III passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (سُوعِدَ (sūʿida)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُسَاعَدُ (yusāʿadu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | سُوعِدْتُ (sūʿidtu) | أُسَاعَدُ (usāʿadu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | سُوعِدْنَا (sūʿidnā) | نُسَاعَدُ (nusāʿadu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | سُوعِدْتَ (sūʿidta) | تُسَاعَدُ (tusāʿadu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | سُوعِدْتِ (sūʿidti) | تُسَاعَدِينَ (tusāʿadīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | سُوعِدْتُمَا (sūʿidtumā) | تُسَاعَدَانِ (tusāʿadāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | سُوعِدْتُمْ (sūʿidtum) | تُسَاعَدُونَ (tusāʿadūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | سُوعِدْتُنَّ (sūʿidtunna) | تُسَاعَدْنَ (tusāʿadna) |
| he · هو huwa | سُوعِدَ (sūʿida) | يُسَاعَدُ (yusāʿadu) |
| she · هي hiya | سُوعِدَتْ (sūʿidat) | تُسَاعَدُ (tusāʿadu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | سُوعِدَا (sūʿidā) | يُسَاعَدَانِ (yusāʿadāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | سُوعِدَتَا (sūʿidatā) | تُسَاعَدَانِ (tusāʿadāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | سُوعِدُوا (sūʿidū) | يُسَاعَدُونَ (yusāʿadūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | سُوعِدْنَ (sūʿidna) | يُسَاعَدْنَ (yusāʿadna) |
Participles and verbal noun of sāʿada
A Form III active participle is the present stem with mu- in place of the prefix: يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu) gives مُسَاعِد (musāʿid). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُسَاعَد (musāʿad). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form III pattern mufāʿala: مُسَاعَدَة (musāʿada). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why sāʿada conjugates this way
Form III lengthens the vowel after the first root letter (fāʿala) and often aims the action at another person. Its present starts with yu-: يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu). Ḥāwala (to try) is built on the same Form III pattern.
Sāʿada in sentences
ساعدت توم.
She helped Tom.
The verb: سَاعَدَتْ (sāʿadat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11676949 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
كيف أساعد توم؟
How do I help Tom?
The verb: أُسَاعِدُ (usāʿidu), present, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 10883890 by User105223 (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of sāʿada?
The present tense of سَاعَدَ (sāʿada) is يُسَاعِدُ (yusāʿidu) for he, أُسَاعِدُ (usāʿidu) for I and تُسَاعِدُ (tusāʿidu) for you (one man). Form III takes the prefix vowel u (yu-, tu-, nu-, u-) in every person.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of sāʿada?
مُسَاعَدَة (musāʿada), on the Form III pattern mufāʿala. The active participle is مُسَاعِد (musāʿid), and the passive participle مُسَاعَد (musāʿad).
Is sāʿada a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form III pattern fāʿala with no changes.