The Passive Voice & Grand Verb Classification (Fe'l Majhool — فعل مجہول)
Source Reference: Textbook Pages 110–111
Words in the examples
- جانا (jānā) — to go, also used as the passive auxiliary
- خط (khat) — letter
- کتاب (kitāb) — book
1. Concept of Voice: Active (Ma'roof) vs. Passive (Majhool)
In Urdu grammar:
- Active Voice (فعل معروف — Fe'l-e-Ma'roof):
- The grammatical subject is the doer/agent (فاعل — Faa'il).
- Example: زید نے خط لکھا (Zaid ne khat likha — "Zaid wrote a letter").
- Passive Voice (فعل مجہول — Fe'l-e-Majhool):
- The grammatical subject is the patient/receiver (مفعول — Maf'ool). The original doer is omitted, unknown, or rendered irrelevant.
- Example: خط لکھا گیا (Khat likha gaya — "The letter was written").
To compare the object in the active sentence with the patient in the passive sentence, review transitive verbs and verb classes. For how نے works in the active example, see past tense agreement.
2. Formation Rule (بنانے کا قاعدہ)
Transitive Past Participle (ماضی مطلق) + Conjugated Forms of جانا (jaana)
- Take the Simple Past form (Maazi Mutlaq) of the main transitive verb.
- Combine it with the conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb جانا (jaana — literally "to go").
- Both the participle and the auxiliary verb جانا inflect to agree in gender and number with the patient (grammatical subject).
| Patient Gender & Number | Transitive Participle | جانا in Past | Combined Passive | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. Singular (خط) | لکھا (likha) | گیا (gaya) | خط لکھا گیا | A letter was written |
| Masc. Plural (خطوط) | لکھے (likhe) | گئے (gaye) | خطوط لکھے گئے | Letters were written |
| Fem. Singular (کتاب) | لکھی (likhi) | گئی (gayi) | کتاب لکھی گئی | A book was written |
| Fem. Plural (کتابیں) | لکھی (likhi) | گئیں (gayin) | کتابیں لکھی گئیں | Books were written |
3. Full Paradigm Matrix of the Passive Voice
Textbook Page 111 details the full conjugation of کہنا (kehna) — to say in the passive voice (کہا جانا — to be said) across all tenses:
| Grammatical Tense / Mood | Urdu Passive Form | Roman Urdu | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Past (ماضی مطلق) | کہا گیا | kaha gaya | Was said |
| Present Perfect (ماضی قریب) | کہا گیا ہے | kaha gaya hai | Has been said |
| Past Perfect (ماضی بعید) | کہا گیا تھا | kaha gaya tha | Had been said |
| Past Continuous (ماضی ناتمام) | کہا جاتا تھا / کہا جا رہا تھا | kaha jaata tha / kaha ja raha tha | Was being said / used to be said |
| Presumptive Past (ماضی احتمالی) | کہا گیا ہوگا | kaha gaya hoga | Must have been said |
| Conditional Past (ماضی تمنائی) | کہا جاتا تو | kaha jaata to | If it were said / had it been said |
| Simple Present (حال مطلق) | کہا جاتا ہے | kaha jaata hai | Is said |
| Present Continuous (حال ناتمام) | کہا جا رہا ہے | kaha ja raha hai | Is being said |
| Presumptive Present (حال احتمالی) | کہا جاتا ہوگا | kaha jaata hoga | Must be being said |
| Future Tense (مستقبل) | کہا جائے گا | kaha jaayega | Will be said |
| Subjunctive (مضارع) | کہا جائے | kaha jaaye | May be said / let it be said |
4. The Grand Classification Tree of Urdu Verbs (p. 111)
Textbook Page 111 concludes with a pedagogical master diagram synthesizing all verbal divisions in Urdu grammar:
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ فعل کی بنیادی قسمیں │
│ (Master Urdu Verb Tree) │
└──────────────┬───────────────┘
┌────────────┬─────────────┬────────────┼───────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
ماضی حال مستقبل مضارع امر نہی عادت
(Past) (Present) (Future) (Subjunctive) (Imperative) (Prohibitive) (Habitual)
│ │
│ ├─► حال مطلق (Simple Present)
│ ├─► حال ناتمام (Present Continuous)
│ └─► حال احتمالی (Presumptive Present)
│
├─► ماضی مطلق (Simple Past)
├─► ماضی قریب (Present Perfect)
├─► ماضی بعید (Past Perfect)
├─► ماضی ناتمام (Past Continuous / Habitual)
├─► ماضی تمنائی (Conditional / Optative)
└─► ماضی احتمالی (Presumptive / Doubtful Past)