تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala) means to take, to receive. It is a sound Form VI verb from the root ن و ل (n-w-l): تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala) in the past, يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu) in the present and تَنَاوَلْ (tanāwal) 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 tanāwala on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for تَنَاوَلَ, down to the regular Form VI verbal noun تَنَاوُل (tanāwul).
Tanāwala at a glance
| Root | ن و ل (n-w-l), starting with the letter nūn |
| Form | Form VI, pattern تَفَاعَلَ (tafāʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala) |
| Present, he | يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu) |
| Command, you (one man) | تَنَاوَلْ (tanāwal) |
| Active participle | مُتَنَاوِل (mutanāwil) |
| Passive participle | مُتَنَاوَل (mutanāwal) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | تَنَاوُل (tanāwul) |
Past tense of tanāwala
In the past tense (al-māḍī) the Form VI stem tanāwal- stays the same in all 13 persons and only the suffix changes: تَنَاوَلْتُ (tanāwaltu), تَنَاوَلَتْ (tanāwalat), تَنَاوَلُوا (tanāwalū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | تَنَاوَلْتُ | tanāwaltu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | تَنَاوَلْنَا | tanāwalnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَنَاوَلْتَ | tanāwalta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَنَاوَلْتِ | tanāwalti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَنَاوَلْتُمَا | tanāwaltumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَنَاوَلْتُمْ | tanāwaltum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَنَاوَلْتُنَّ | tanāwaltunna |
| he · هو huwa | تَنَاوَلَ | tanāwala |
| she · هي hiya | تَنَاوَلَتْ | tanāwalat |
| they two m. · هما humā | تَنَاوَلَا | tanāwalā |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَنَاوَلَتَا | tanāwalatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | تَنَاوَلُوا | tanāwalū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | تَنَاوَلْنَ | tanāwalna |
Present tense of tanāwala
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of Form VI takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-), as in أَتَنَاوَلُ (atanāwalu) and يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu); the masculine plural adds -ūna: يَتَنَاوَلُونَ (yatanāwalūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَنَاوَلُ | atanāwalu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَنَاوَلُ | natanāwalu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَنَاوَلُ | tatanāwalu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَنَاوَلِينَ | tatanāwalīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَنَاوَلَانِ | tatanāwalāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَنَاوَلُونَ | tatanāwalūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَنَاوَلْنَ | tatanāwalna |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَنَاوَلُ | yatanāwalu |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَنَاوَلُ | tatanāwalu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَنَاوَلَانِ | yatanāwalāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَنَاوَلَانِ | tatanāwalāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَنَاوَلُونَ | yatanāwalūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَنَاوَلْنَ | yatanāwalna |
Subjunctive and jussive of tanāwala
After أن (an, that) the he-form of tanāwala takes the subjunctive, يَتَنَاوَلَ (yatanāwala); the negative command puts لا (lā) before the jussive: لا تَتَنَاوَلْ (tatanāwal).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَنَاوَلَ (atanāwala) | أَتَنَاوَلْ (atanāwal) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَتَنَاوَلَ (natanāwala) | نَتَنَاوَلْ (natanāwal) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَتَنَاوَلَ (tatanāwala) | تَتَنَاوَلْ (tatanāwal) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَتَنَاوَلِي (tatanāwalī) | تَتَنَاوَلِي (tatanāwalī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَتَنَاوَلَا (tatanāwalā) | تَتَنَاوَلَا (tatanāwalā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَتَنَاوَلُوا (tatanāwalū) | تَتَنَاوَلُوا (tatanāwalū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَتَنَاوَلْنَ (tatanāwalna) | تَتَنَاوَلْنَ (tatanāwalna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَتَنَاوَلَ (yatanāwala) | يَتَنَاوَلْ (yatanāwal) |
| she · هي hiya | تَتَنَاوَلَ (tatanāwala) | تَتَنَاوَلْ (tatanāwal) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَتَنَاوَلَا (yatanāwalā) | يَتَنَاوَلَا (yatanāwalā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَتَنَاوَلَا (tatanāwalā) | تَتَنَاوَلَا (tatanāwalā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَتَنَاوَلُوا (yatanāwalū) | يَتَنَاوَلُوا (yatanāwalū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَتَنَاوَلْنَ (yatanāwalna) | يَتَنَاوَلْنَ (yatanāwalna) |
Imperative of tanāwala
A Form VI command is the jussive تَتَنَاوَلْ (tatanāwal) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: تَنَاوَلْ (tanāwal), تَنَاوَلِي (tanāwalī), تَنَاوَلُوا (tanāwalū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَنَاوَلْ | tanāwal |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَنَاوَلِي | tanāwalī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَنَاوَلَا | tanāwalā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَنَاوَلُوا | tanāwalū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَنَاوَلْنَ | tanāwalna |
Passive of tanāwala
A Form VI passive has u in the opening syllables and i before the last root letter in the past (تُنُووِلَ (tunūwila)), and the prefix yu- with a before the last root letter in the present (يُتَنَاوَلُ (yutanāwalu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | تُنُووِلْتُ (tunūwiltu) | أُتَنَاوَلُ (utanāwalu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | تُنُووِلْنَا (tunūwilnā) | نُتَنَاوَلُ (nutanāwalu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُنُووِلْتَ (tunūwilta) | تُتَنَاوَلُ (tutanāwalu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُنُووِلْتِ (tunūwilti) | تُتَنَاوَلِينَ (tutanāwalīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُنُووِلْتُمَا (tunūwiltumā) | تُتَنَاوَلَانِ (tutanāwalāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُنُووِلْتُمْ (tunūwiltum) | تُتَنَاوَلُونَ (tutanāwalūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُنُووِلْتُنَّ (tunūwiltunna) | تُتَنَاوَلْنَ (tutanāwalna) |
| he · هو huwa | تُنُووِلَ (tunūwila) | يُتَنَاوَلُ (yutanāwalu) |
| she · هي hiya | تُنُووِلَتْ (tunūwilat) | تُتَنَاوَلُ (tutanāwalu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | تُنُووِلَا (tunūwilā) | يُتَنَاوَلَانِ (yutanāwalāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُنُووِلَتَا (tunūwilatā) | تُتَنَاوَلَانِ (tutanāwalāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | تُنُووِلُوا (tunūwilū) | يُتَنَاوَلُونَ (yutanāwalūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | تُنُووِلْنَ (tunūwilna) | يُتَنَاوَلْنَ (yutanāwalna) |
Participles and verbal noun of tanāwala
Forms V and VI turn the a before the last root letter into i in the active participle: يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu), but مُتَنَاوِل (mutanāwil). The passive participle has a where the active participle has i: مُتَنَاوَل (mutanāwal). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form VI pattern tafāʿul: تَنَاوُل (tanāwul). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why tanāwala conjugates this way
The middle root letter of تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala) is و (w), the letter that makes other verbs hollow. In Form VI it stands between two vowels as an ordinary consonant, so tanāwala conjugates like a sound verb: تَنَاوَلْتُ (tanāwaltu), يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu).
Form VI is Form III with ta- in front (tafāʿala), usually two parties acting on each other. Its present keeps a throughout: يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu).
Tanāwala in sentences
تناول العشاء.
He ate dinner.
The verb: تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11580421 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
لم يتناول الغذاء.
He didn't have lunch.
The verb: يَتَنَاوَلْ (yatanāwal), jussive, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 12827439 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of tanāwala?
The present tense of تَنَاوَلَ (tanāwala) is يَتَنَاوَلُ (yatanāwalu) for he, أَتَنَاوَلُ (atanāwalu) for I and تَتَنَاوَلُ (tatanāwalu) for you (one man). Form VI takes the prefix vowel a (ya-, ta-, na-, a-) in every person.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of tanāwala?
تَنَاوُل (tanāwul), on the Form VI pattern tafāʿul. The active participle is مُتَنَاوِل (mutanāwil), and the passive participle مُتَنَاوَل (mutanāwal).
Is tanāwala a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so it follows the Form VI pattern tafāʿala with no changes.