سَأَلَ (saʾala) means to ask. It is a hamzated Form I verb from the root س ء ل (s-ʾ-l): سَأَلَ (saʾala) in the past, يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu) in the present and اِسْأَلْ (isʾal) 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 saʾala on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for سَأَلَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Saʾala at a glance
| Root | س ء ل (s-ʾ-l), starting with the letter sīn |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | hamzated |
| Past, he | سَأَلَ (saʾala) |
| Present, he | يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِسْأَلْ (isʾal) or سَلْ (sal) |
| Active participle | سَائِل (sāʾil) |
| Passive participle | مَسْؤُول (masʾūl) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | سُؤَال (suʾāl), مَسْأَلَة (masʾala), تَسْآل (tasʾāl) |
Past tense of saʾala
The past tense (al-māḍī) of saʾala is one stem, saʾal-, plus a suffix that carries the person: سَأَلْتُ (saʾaltu) for I, سَأَلَتْ (saʾalat) for she, سَأَلُوا (saʾalū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | سَأَلْتُ | saʾaltu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | سَأَلْنَا | saʾalnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | سَأَلْتَ | saʾalta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | سَأَلْتِ | saʾalti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | سَأَلْتُمَا | saʾaltumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | سَأَلْتُمْ | saʾaltum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | سَأَلْتُنَّ | saʾaltunna |
| he · هو huwa | سَأَلَ | saʾala |
| she · هي hiya | سَأَلَتْ | saʾalat |
| they two m. · هما humā | سَأَلَا | saʾalā |
| they two f. · هما humā | سَأَلَتَا | saʾalatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | سَأَلُوا | saʾalū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | سَأَلْنَ | saʾalna |
Present tense of saʾala
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of saʾala has a in the stem, -sʾal-, which no rule predicts: أَسْأَلُ (asʾalu) for I, يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu) for he, يَسْأَلُونَ (yasʾalūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْأَلُ | asʾalu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْأَلُ | nasʾalu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْأَلُ | tasʾalu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْأَلِينَ | tasʾalīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْأَلَانِ | tasʾalāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْأَلُونَ | tasʾalūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْأَلْنَ | tasʾalna |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْأَلُ | yasʾalu |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْأَلُ | tasʾalu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْأَلَانِ | yasʾalāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْأَلَانِ | tasʾalāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْأَلُونَ | yasʾalūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْأَلْنَ | yasʾalna |
Subjunctive and jussive of saʾala
The subjunctive and the jussive of saʾala change only the ending of the present: يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu) becomes يَسْأَلَ (yasʾala) after لن (lan, will not) and يَسْأَلْ (yasʾal) after لم (lam, did not). Next to the regular jussive يَسْأَلْ (yasʾal), Arabic also has a short form without the hamza, يَسَلْ (yasal).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَسْأَلَ (asʾala) | أَسْأَلْ (asʾal) or أَسَلْ (asal) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَسْأَلَ (nasʾala) | نَسْأَلْ (nasʾal) or نَسَلْ (nasal) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَسْأَلَ (tasʾala) | تَسْأَلْ (tasʾal) or تَسَلْ (tasal) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَسْأَلِي (tasʾalī) | تَسْأَلِي (tasʾalī) or تَسَلِي (tasalī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَسْأَلَا (tasʾalā) | تَسْأَلَا (tasʾalā) or تَسَلَا (tasalā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَسْأَلُوا (tasʾalū) | تَسْأَلُوا (tasʾalū) or تَسَلُوا (tasalū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَسْأَلْنَ (tasʾalna) | تَسْأَلْنَ (tasʾalna) or تَسَلْنَ (tasalna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَسْأَلَ (yasʾala) | يَسْأَلْ (yasʾal) or يَسَلْ (yasal) |
| she · هي hiya | تَسْأَلَ (tasʾala) | تَسْأَلْ (tasʾal) or تَسَلْ (tasal) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَسْأَلَا (yasʾalā) | يَسْأَلَا (yasʾalā) or يَسَلَا (yasalā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَسْأَلَا (tasʾalā) | تَسْأَلَا (tasʾalā) or تَسَلَا (tasalā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَسْأَلُوا (yasʾalū) | يَسْأَلُوا (yasʾalū) or يَسَلُوا (yasalū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَسْأَلْنَ (yasʾalna) | يَسْأَلْنَ (yasʾalna) or يَسَلْنَ (yasalna) |
Imperative of saʾala
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَسْأَلْ (tasʾal) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِسْأَلْ (isʾal) or سَلْ (sal) to one man, اِسْأَلِي (isʾalī) to one woman, اِسْأَلُوا (isʾalū) to a group. It also has a short form without the hamza: سَلْ (sal).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِسْأَلْ or سَلْ | isʾal or sal |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِسْأَلِي or سَلِي | isʾalī or salī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِسْأَلَا or سَلَا | isʾalā or salā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِسْأَلُوا or سَلُوا | isʾalū or salū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِسْأَلْنَ or سَلْنَ | isʾalna or salna |
Passive of saʾala
The passive of saʾala keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (سُئِلَ (suʾila)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُسْأَلُ (yusʾalu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | سُئِلْتُ (suʾiltu) | أُسْأَلُ (usʾalu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | سُئِلْنَا (suʾilnā) | نُسْأَلُ (nusʾalu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | سُئِلْتَ (suʾilta) | تُسْأَلُ (tusʾalu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | سُئِلْتِ (suʾilti) | تُسْأَلِينَ (tusʾalīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | سُئِلْتُمَا (suʾiltumā) | تُسْأَلَانِ (tusʾalāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | سُئِلْتُمْ (suʾiltum) | تُسْأَلُونَ (tusʾalūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | سُئِلْتُنَّ (suʾiltunna) | تُسْأَلْنَ (tusʾalna) |
| he · هو huwa | سُئِلَ (suʾila) | يُسْأَلُ (yusʾalu) |
| she · هي hiya | سُئِلَتْ (suʾilat) | تُسْأَلُ (tusʾalu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | سُئِلَا (suʾilā) | يُسْأَلَانِ (yusʾalāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | سُئِلَتَا (suʾilatā) | تُسْأَلَانِ (tusʾalāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | سُئِلُوا (suʾilū) | يُسْأَلُونَ (yusʾalūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | سُئِلْنَ (suʾilna) | يُسْأَلْنَ (yusʾalna) |
Participles and verbal noun of saʾala
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: سَائِل (sāʾil). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَسْؤُول (masʾūl). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists three for saʾala: سُؤَال (suʾāl), مَسْأَلَة (masʾala), تَسْآل (tasʾāl). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under s-ʾ-l in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why saʾala conjugates this way
The middle root letter of سَأَلَ (saʾala) is a hamza, and its seat changes with the vowels around it: سَأَلَ (saʾala), يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu), and in the passive سُئِلَ (suʾila). Qaraʾa (to read) and faʿala (to do) share its vowels, a in the past and a in the present.
Saʾala in sentences
سأل أمي.
He asked my mother.
The verb: سَأَلَ (saʾala), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11783010 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
لماذا تسأل؟
Why do you ask?
The verb: تَسْأَلُ (tasʾalu), present, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 392801 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of saʾala?
The present tense of سَأَلَ (saʾala) is يَسْأَلُ (yasʾalu) for he, أَسْأَلُ (asʾalu) for I and تَسْأَلُ (tasʾalu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, a, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of saʾala?
سُؤَال (suʾāl), مَسْأَلَة (masʾala), تَسْآل (tasʾāl), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is سَائِل (sāʾil), and the passive participle مَسْؤُول (masʾūl).
Is saʾala a regular verb?
Mostly. Its jussive and command also have short forms without the hamza: yasal, sal.