وَقَفَ (waqafa) means to stop, to stand still. It is an assimilated Form I verb from the root و ق ف (w-q-f): وَقَفَ (waqafa) in the past, يَقِفُ (yaqifu) in the present and قِفْ (qif) 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 waqafa on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for وَقَفَ, which is also the source of its verbal noun.
Waqafa at a glance
| Root | و ق ف (w-q-f), starting with the letter wāw |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | assimilated |
| Past, he | وَقَفَ (waqafa) |
| Present, he | يَقِفُ (yaqifu) |
| Command, you (one man) | قِفْ (qif) |
| Active participle | وَاقِف (wāqif) |
| Passive participle | مَوْقُوف (mawqūf) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | وُقُوف (wuqūf) |
Past tense of waqafa
The past tense (al-māḍī) of waqafa is one stem, waqaf-, plus a suffix that carries the person: وَقَفْتُ (waqaftu) for I, وَقَفَتْ (waqafat) for she, وَقَفُوا (waqafū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | وَقَفْتُ | waqaftu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | وَقَفْنَا | waqafnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | وَقَفْتَ | waqafta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | وَقَفْتِ | waqafti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | وَقَفْتُمَا | waqaftumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | وَقَفْتُمْ | waqaftum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | وَقَفْتُنَّ | waqaftunna |
| he · هو huwa | وَقَفَ | waqafa |
| she · هي hiya | وَقَفَتْ | waqafat |
| they two m. · هما humā | وَقَفَا | waqafā |
| they two f. · هما humā | وَقَفَتَا | waqafatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | وَقَفُوا | waqafū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | وَقَفْنَ | waqafna |
Present tense of waqafa
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of waqafa has no و (w) at all: أَقِفُ (aqifu) for I, يَقِفُ (yaqifu) for he, يَقِفُونَ (yaqifūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَقِفُ | aqifu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَقِفُ | naqifu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَقِفُ | taqifu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَقِفِينَ | taqifīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَقِفَانِ | taqifāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَقِفُونَ | taqifūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَقِفْنَ | taqifna |
| he · هو huwa | يَقِفُ | yaqifu |
| she · هي hiya | تَقِفُ | taqifu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَقِفَانِ | yaqifāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَقِفَانِ | taqifāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَقِفُونَ | yaqifūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَقِفْنَ | yaqifna |
Subjunctive and jussive of waqafa
Like the present, the subjunctive and the jussive of waqafa have no و (w): يَقِفَ (yaqifa) after لن (lan, will not), يَقِفْ (yaqif) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَقِفَ (aqifa) | أَقِفْ (aqif) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَقِفَ (naqifa) | نَقِفْ (naqif) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَقِفَ (taqifa) | تَقِفْ (taqif) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَقِفِي (taqifī) | تَقِفِي (taqifī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَقِفَا (taqifā) | تَقِفَا (taqifā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَقِفُوا (taqifū) | تَقِفُوا (taqifū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَقِفْنَ (taqifna) | تَقِفْنَ (taqifna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَقِفَ (yaqifa) | يَقِفْ (yaqif) |
| she · هي hiya | تَقِفَ (taqifa) | تَقِفْ (taqif) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَقِفَا (yaqifā) | يَقِفَا (yaqifā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَقِفَا (taqifā) | تَقِفَا (taqifā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَقِفُوا (yaqifū) | يَقِفُوا (yaqifū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَقِفْنَ (yaqifna) | يَقِفْنَ (yaqifna) |
Imperative of waqafa
The command loses the و (w) as the present does, so it starts straight on the second root letter: قِفْ (qif) to one man, قِفِي (qifī) to one woman, قِفُوا (qifū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | قِفْ | qif |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | قِفِي | qifī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | قِفَا | qifā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | قِفُوا | qifū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | قِفْنَ | qifna |
Passive of waqafa
In the passive the و (w) comes back: the past is وُقِفَ (wuqifa), and in the present it merges with the u of the prefix into a long ū: يُوقَفُ (yūqafu).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | وُقِفْتُ (wuqiftu) | أُوقَفُ (ūqafu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | وُقِفْنَا (wuqifnā) | نُوقَفُ (nūqafu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | وُقِفْتَ (wuqifta) | تُوقَفُ (tūqafu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | وُقِفْتِ (wuqifti) | تُوقَفِينَ (tūqafīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | وُقِفْتُمَا (wuqiftumā) | تُوقَفَانِ (tūqafāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | وُقِفْتُمْ (wuqiftum) | تُوقَفُونَ (tūqafūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | وُقِفْتُنَّ (wuqiftunna) | تُوقَفْنَ (tūqafna) |
| he · هو huwa | وُقِفَ (wuqifa) | يُوقَفُ (yūqafu) |
| she · هي hiya | وُقِفَتْ (wuqifat) | تُوقَفُ (tūqafu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | وُقِفَا (wuqifā) | يُوقَفَانِ (yūqafāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | وُقِفَتَا (wuqifatā) | تُوقَفَانِ (tūqafāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | وُقِفُوا (wuqifū) | يُوقَفُونَ (yūqafūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | وُقِفْنَ (wuqifna) | يُوقَفْنَ (yūqafna) |
Participles and verbal noun of waqafa
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: وَاقِف (wāqif). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَوْقُوف (mawqūf). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, so وُقُوف (wuqūf) has to be learned with the verb, or looked up under w-q-f in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why waqafa conjugates this way
وَقَفَ (waqafa) begins with the weak letter و (w), which makes it an assimilated verb. In the Form I present the و (w) drops out (يَقِفُ (yaqifu)), and so does the command (قِفْ (qif)). In the past it stays (وَقَفْتُ (waqaftu)). Wajada (to find) and walada (to give birth to) are assimilated too, and change in the same places.
Waqafa in sentences
من يقف هناك؟
Who is standing there?
The verb: يَقِفُ (yaqifu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 371659 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
وقفت هناك.
She stood there.
The verb: وَقَفَتْ (waqafat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11671505 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of waqafa?
The present tense of وَقَفَ (waqafa) is يَقِفُ (yaqifu) for he, أَقِفُ (aqifu) for I and تَقِفُ (taqifu) for you (one man). The first root letter, و (w), drops out of the present.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of waqafa?
وُقُوف (wuqūf), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is وَاقِف (wāqif), and the passive participle مَوْقُوف (mawqūf).
Is waqafa a regular verb?
It is regular for an assimilated verb: its first root letter drops out of the present (يَقِفُ (yaqifu)) and stays in the past (وَقَفَ (waqafa)).