تَحَدَّثَ (taḥaddatha) means to speak, to talk. It is a sound Form V verb from the root ح د ث (ḥ-d-th): تَحَدَّثَ (taḥaddatha) in the past, يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu) in the present and تَحَدَّثْ (taḥaddath) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons and its impersonal passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of taḥaddatha on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for تَحَدَّثَ, down to the regular Form V verbal noun تَحَدُّث (taḥadduth).
Taḥaddatha at a glance
| Root | ح د ث (ḥ-d-th), starting with the letter ḥāʾ |
| Form | Form V, pattern تَفَعَّلَ (tafaʿʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | تَحَدَّثَ (taḥaddatha) |
| Present, he | يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu) |
| Command, you (one man) | تَحَدَّثْ (taḥaddath) |
| Active participle | مُتَحَدِّث (mutaḥaddith) |
| Passive participle | مُتَحَدَّث (mutaḥaddath) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | تَحَدُّث (taḥadduth) |
Past tense of taḥaddatha
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form V stem taḥaddath- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: تَحَدَّثْتُ (taḥaddathtu), تَحَدَّثَتْ (taḥaddathat), تَحَدَّثُوا (taḥaddathū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | تَحَدَّثْتُ | taḥaddathtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | تَحَدَّثْنَا | taḥaddathnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَحَدَّثْتَ | taḥaddathta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَحَدَّثْتِ | taḥaddathti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَحَدَّثْتُمَا | taḥaddathtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَحَدَّثْتُمْ | taḥaddathtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَحَدَّثْتُنَّ | taḥaddathtunna |
| he · هو huwa | تَحَدَّثَ | taḥaddatha |
| she · هي hiya | تَحَدَّثَتْ | taḥaddathat |
| they two m. · هما humā | تَحَدَّثَا | taḥaddathā |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَحَدَّثَتَا | taḥaddathatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | تَحَدَّثُوا | taḥaddathū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | تَحَدَّثْنَ | taḥaddathna |
Present tense of taḥaddatha
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form V takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-), as in أَتَحَدَّثُ (ataḥaddathu) and يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يَتَحَدَّثُونَ (yataḥaddathūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَحَدَّثُ | ataḥaddathu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَحَدَّثُ | nataḥaddathu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَحَدَّثُ | tataḥaddathu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَحَدَّثِينَ | tataḥaddathīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَحَدَّثَانِ | tataḥaddathāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَحَدَّثُونَ | tataḥaddathūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَحَدَّثْنَ | tataḥaddathna |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَحَدَّثُ | yataḥaddathu |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَحَدَّثُ | tataḥaddathu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَحَدَّثَانِ | yataḥaddathāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَحَدَّثَانِ | tataḥaddathāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَحَدَّثُونَ | yataḥaddathūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَحَدَّثْنَ | yataḥaddathna |
Subjunctive and jussive of taḥaddatha
After أن (an, that) the he-form of taḥaddatha takes the subjunctive, يَتَحَدَّثَ (yataḥaddatha); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تَتَحَدَّثْ (tataḥaddath).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَحَدَّثَ (ataḥaddatha) | أَتَحَدَّثْ (ataḥaddath) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَحَدَّثَ (nataḥaddatha) | نَتَحَدَّثْ (nataḥaddath) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَحَدَّثَ (tataḥaddatha) | تَتَحَدَّثْ (tataḥaddath) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَحَدَّثِي (tataḥaddathī) | تَتَحَدَّثِي (tataḥaddathī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَحَدَّثَا (tataḥaddathā) | تَتَحَدَّثَا (tataḥaddathā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَحَدَّثُوا (tataḥaddathū) | تَتَحَدَّثُوا (tataḥaddathū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَحَدَّثْنَ (tataḥaddathna) | تَتَحَدَّثْنَ (tataḥaddathna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَحَدَّثَ (yataḥaddatha) | يَتَحَدَّثْ (yataḥaddath) |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَحَدَّثَ (tataḥaddatha) | تَتَحَدَّثْ (tataḥaddath) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَحَدَّثَا (yataḥaddathā) | يَتَحَدَّثَا (yataḥaddathā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَحَدَّثَا (tataḥaddathā) | تَتَحَدَّثَا (tataḥaddathā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَحَدَّثُوا (yataḥaddathū) | يَتَحَدَّثُوا (yataḥaddathū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَحَدَّثْنَ (yataḥaddathna) | يَتَحَدَّثْنَ (yataḥaddathna) |
Imperative of taḥaddatha
A Form V command is the jussive تَتَحَدَّثْ (tataḥaddath) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: تَحَدَّثْ (taḥaddath), تَحَدَّثِي (taḥaddathī), تَحَدَّثُوا (taḥaddathū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَحَدَّثْ | taḥaddath |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَحَدَّثِي | taḥaddathī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَحَدَّثَا | taḥaddathā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَحَدَّثُوا | taḥaddathū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَحَدَّثْنَ | taḥaddathna |
Passive of taḥaddatha
A Form V passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (تُحُدِّثَ (tuḥudditha)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُتَحَدَّثُ (yutaḥaddathu)). Wiktionary lists the passive of taḥaddatha as impersonal: only the he-form is used, without a subject of its own.
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| he · هو huwa | تُحُدِّثَ (tuḥudditha) | يُتَحَدَّثُ (yutaḥaddathu) |
Participles and verbal noun of taḥaddatha
Forms V and VI turn the a before the last root letter into i in the active participle: يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu), but مُتَحَدِّث (mutaḥaddith). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُتَحَدَّث (mutaḥaddath). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form V pattern tafaʿʿul: تَحَدُّث (taḥadduth). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why taḥaddatha 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: يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu). Taʿallama (to learn) and tamannā (to wish for) are built on the same Form V pattern.
Taḥaddatha in sentences
يتحدث بسرعة.
He is a fast speaker.
The verb: يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 375566 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
عمّن تتحدث؟
Whom are you speaking of?
The verb: تَتَحَدَّثُ (tataḥaddathu), present, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 619980 by Samer (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of taḥaddatha?
The present tense of تَحَدَّثَ (taḥaddatha) is يَتَحَدَّثُ (yataḥaddathu) for he, أَتَحَدَّثُ (ataḥaddathu) for I and تَتَحَدَّثُ (tataḥaddathu) 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 taḥaddatha?
تَحَدُّث (taḥadduth), on the Form V pattern tafaʿʿul. The active participle is مُتَحَدِّث (mutaḥaddith), and the passive participle مُتَحَدَّث (mutaḥaddath).
Is taḥaddatha a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form V pattern tafaʿʿala with no changes.