تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama) means to learn. It is a sound Form V verb from the root ع ل م (ʿ-l-m): تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama) in the past, يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu) in the present and تَعَلَّمْ (taʿallam) 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 taʿallama on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for تَعَلَّمَ, down to the regular Form V verbal noun تَعَلُّم (taʿallum).
Taʿallama at a glance
| Root | ع ل م (ʿ-l-m), starting with the letter ʿayn; the root ʿ-l-m in the Quran |
| Form | Form V, pattern تَفَعَّلَ (tafaʿʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama) |
| Present, he | يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu) |
| Command, you (one man) | تَعَلَّمْ (taʿallam) |
| Active participle | مُتَعَلِّم (mutaʿallim) |
| Passive participle | مُتَعَلَّم (mutaʿallam) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | تَعَلُّم (taʿallum) |
Past tense of taʿallama
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form V stem taʿallam- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: تَعَلَّمْتُ (taʿallamtu), تَعَلَّمَتْ (taʿallamat), تَعَلَّمُوا (taʿallamū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | تَعَلَّمْتُ | taʿallamtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | تَعَلَّمْنَا | taʿallamnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعَلَّمْتَ | taʿallamta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعَلَّمْتِ | taʿallamti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعَلَّمْتُمَا | taʿallamtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعَلَّمْتُمْ | taʿallamtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعَلَّمْتُنَّ | taʿallamtunna |
| he · هو huwa | تَعَلَّمَ | taʿallama |
| she · هي hiya | تَعَلَّمَتْ | taʿallamat |
| they two m. · هما humā | تَعَلَّمَا | taʿallamā |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَعَلَّمَتَا | taʿallamatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | تَعَلَّمُوا | taʿallamū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | تَعَلَّمْنَ | taʿallamna |
Present tense of taʿallama
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form V takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-), as in أَتَعَلَّمُ (ataʿallamu) and يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يَتَعَلَّمُونَ (yataʿallamūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَعَلَّمُ | ataʿallamu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَعَلَّمُ | nataʿallamu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَعَلَّمُ | tataʿallamu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَعَلَّمِينَ | tataʿallamīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَعَلَّمَانِ | tataʿallamāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَعَلَّمُونَ | tataʿallamūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَعَلَّمْنَ | tataʿallamna |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَعَلَّمُ | yataʿallamu |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَعَلَّمُ | tataʿallamu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَعَلَّمَانِ | yataʿallamāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَعَلَّمَانِ | tataʿallamāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَعَلَّمُونَ | yataʿallamūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَعَلَّمْنَ | yataʿallamna |
Subjunctive and jussive of taʿallama
After أن (an, that) the he-form of taʿallama takes the subjunctive, يَتَعَلَّمَ (yataʿallama); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تَتَعَلَّمْ (tataʿallam).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَعَلَّمَ (ataʿallama) | أَتَعَلَّمْ (ataʿallam) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَعَلَّمَ (nataʿallama) | نَتَعَلَّمْ (nataʿallam) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَعَلَّمَ (tataʿallama) | تَتَعَلَّمْ (tataʿallam) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَعَلَّمِي (tataʿallamī) | تَتَعَلَّمِي (tataʿallamī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَعَلَّمَا (tataʿallamā) | تَتَعَلَّمَا (tataʿallamā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَعَلَّمُوا (tataʿallamū) | تَتَعَلَّمُوا (tataʿallamū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَعَلَّمْنَ (tataʿallamna) | تَتَعَلَّمْنَ (tataʿallamna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَعَلَّمَ (yataʿallama) | يَتَعَلَّمْ (yataʿallam) |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَعَلَّمَ (tataʿallama) | تَتَعَلَّمْ (tataʿallam) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَعَلَّمَا (yataʿallamā) | يَتَعَلَّمَا (yataʿallamā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَعَلَّمَا (tataʿallamā) | تَتَعَلَّمَا (tataʿallamā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَعَلَّمُوا (yataʿallamū) | يَتَعَلَّمُوا (yataʿallamū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَعَلَّمْنَ (yataʿallamna) | يَتَعَلَّمْنَ (yataʿallamna) |
Imperative of taʿallama
A Form V command is the jussive تَتَعَلَّمْ (tataʿallam) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: تَعَلَّمْ (taʿallam), تَعَلَّمِي (taʿallamī), تَعَلَّمُوا (taʿallamū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعَلَّمْ | taʿallam |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعَلَّمِي | taʿallamī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعَلَّمَا | taʿallamā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعَلَّمُوا | taʿallamū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعَلَّمْنَ | taʿallamna |
Passive of taʿallama
A Form V passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (تُعُلِّمَ (tuʿullima)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُتَعَلَّمُ (yutaʿallamu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | تُعُلِّمْتُ (tuʿullimtu) | أُتَعَلَّمُ (utaʿallamu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | تُعُلِّمْنَا (tuʿullimnā) | نُتَعَلَّمُ (nutaʿallamu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُعُلِّمْتَ (tuʿullimta) | تُتَعَلَّمُ (tutaʿallamu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُعُلِّمْتِ (tuʿullimti) | تُتَعَلَّمِينَ (tutaʿallamīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُعُلِّمْتُمَا (tuʿullimtumā) | تُتَعَلَّمَانِ (tutaʿallamāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُعُلِّمْتُمْ (tuʿullimtum) | تُتَعَلَّمُونَ (tutaʿallamūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُعُلِّمْتُنَّ (tuʿullimtunna) | تُتَعَلَّمْنَ (tutaʿallamna) |
| he · هو huwa | تُعُلِّمَ (tuʿullima) | يُتَعَلَّمُ (yutaʿallamu) |
| she · هي hiya | تُعُلِّمَتْ (tuʿullimat) | تُتَعَلَّمُ (tutaʿallamu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | تُعُلِّمَا (tuʿullimā) | يُتَعَلَّمَانِ (yutaʿallamāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُعُلِّمَتَا (tuʿullimatā) | تُتَعَلَّمَانِ (tutaʿallamāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | تُعُلِّمُوا (tuʿullimū) | يُتَعَلَّمُونَ (yutaʿallamūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | تُعُلِّمْنَ (tuʿullimna) | يُتَعَلَّمْنَ (yutaʿallamna) |
Participles and verbal noun of taʿallama
Forms V and VI turn the a before the last root letter into i in the active participle: يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu), but مُتَعَلِّم (mutaʿallim). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُتَعَلَّم (mutaʿallam). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form V pattern tafaʿʿul: تَعَلُّم (taʿallum). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why taʿallama conjugates this way
Form V is Form II with ta- in front (tafaʿʿala), the reflexive of Form II. Its present keeps a in both the prefix and the stem: يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu). Tamannā (to wish for) and taḥaddatha (to speak, to talk) are built on the same Form V pattern.
Other verbs from the same root on this site: ʿalima (to know, to be aware), ʿallama (to teach).
Taʿallama in sentences
أتعلم الصينية.
I am learning Chinese.
The verb: أَتَعَلَّمُ (ataʿallamu), present, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 12849802 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
يتعلم بسرعة.
He learns fast.
The verb: يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 2065924 by Amastan (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of taʿallama?
The present tense of تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama) is يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu) for he, أَتَعَلَّمُ (ataʿallamu) for I and تَتَعَلَّمُ (tataʿallamu) for you (one man). Form V takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-) in every person.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of taʿallama?
تَعَلُّم (taʿallum), on the Form V pattern tafaʿʿul. The active participle is مُتَعَلِّم (mutaʿallim), and the passive participle مُتَعَلَّم (mutaʿallam).
Is taʿallama a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form V pattern tafaʿʿala with no changes.