Arabic for Beginners: Describe Professions and Activities with يقوم بـ

Welcome, language explorers! Have you ever wondered how to naturally describe daily jobs in Arabic—like "The tailor sews clothes" or "The teacher instructs students"? 

This guide break down one of Arabic’s most essential structures: 

the "يقوم بـ + مصدر" (yaqūmu bi + verbal noun) pattern. 

Used universally by native speakers, this formula transforms basic verbs into elegant professional statements. 

Whether you’re a complete beginner or refreshing your skills, we’ll break down each grammatical piece with real examples, vocabulary lists, and practice exercises. 

By the end, you’ll confidently construct sentences mirroring authentic Arabic uslub (style). Let’s begin.

Step-by-Step Arabic: Using يقوم بـ to Talk About What People Do

How to Use يقوم بـ + مصدر for Professions & Daily Tasks 

The following pattern is a common way in Arabic to describe what someone "does" or "performs" as part of their job.

The pattern is:

Examples

الخَيَّاطُ يَقُومُ بِخِيَاطَةِ المَلَابِسِ

The tailor performs the sewing of clothes.

الصَّحَفِيُّ يَقُومُ بِنَشْرِ الْأَخْبَارِ

The journalist performs the publishing of news.

Here, "يقوم بـ" is like saying "does" / "carries out" in English, and what comes after is usually a مصدر (verbal noun) or a noun that names the activity.

Sentence 1 explanation

الخَيَّاطُ يَقُومُ بِخِيَاطَةِ المَلَابِسِ

1. Word by word translation for building your vocabulary

• الخَيَّاطُ: the tailor (masculine singular)
• يقوم بـ: idiomatic expression (verb and preposition) meaning "to carry out", "to perform", "to do".
• خِيَاطَةِ: sewing.
• المَلَابِسِ: the clothes.

2. From Sarf perspective

خَيَّاطٌ: wazan fa''ala (صِيغَةُ فَعَّال) derived from the basic verb form "خَاطَ" meaning sew, which indicates a profession (tailor) or someone who performs an action (sew) frequently.

Another example:

Basic verb form: طَبَخَ -> cook

Wazan fa''ala (فَعَّال): it becomes طَبَّاخ -> chef , cooker

يَقُومُ: fi'l mudari' form of the verb قَامَ. It is a 3rd person masculine singular verb form.

يَقُومُ means stand, depart.

يَقُومُ بـ means carry out, perform, be responsible for.

Review قَامَ vs. قَامَ بـ

While قام (qāma) literally means "to stand", قام بـ (qāma bi-) is a very common idiomatic expression meaning "to undertake", "to carry out", "to perform (a task)". It's more formal than simply using a verb like "يفعل (yafʿalu - he does)". 

خياطة: Wazan/pattern "فِعَالَة". Masdar form of  the verb خَاطَ (sew). The masdar is a noun that represents the action itself (sewing).

مَلابِسُ: this is broken plural pattern "مَفَاعِل". The singular form of مَلابِسُ is "مَلْبَسٌ ".

3. From Nahw/grammar perspective

• Sentence Structure: The sentence is a complete nominal sentence (جملة اسمية). It begins with a noun (الخياط), which acts as the subject (المبتدأ). The verb phrase "يقوم بخياطة الملابس" acts as the predicate (الخبر). This is a common way to describe someone's action.
• Verb Tense: The verb "يقوم" is in the present tense (فعل مضارع). It describes an action that is ongoing or habitual, which is appropriate for describing a profession.
• Preposition and Masdar: The verb "يقوم" is followed by the preposition "بـ" (bi), which is attached to the noun "خياطة." This is a fixed grammatical pattern. The word "خياطة" is a verbal noun or Masdar. This structure is used to turn a verb's action into a noun, allowing it to function as the object of the preposition.
• Genitive Case (Idāfah): The word "خياطة" is followed by "الملابس." This is an idāfah construction (a genitive or possessive phrase). "خياطة" is the first term (mudāf) and "الملابس" is the second term (mudāf ilayh). It means "the sewing of the clothes."

Review the Syntax

مبتدأ وخبر (Subject & Predicate):

• الخَيَّاطُ (al-khayyātu): The definite noun phrase acts as the مبتدأ (mubtada') - the topic/subject of the nominal sentence.
• يَقُومُ بِخِيَاطَةِ المَلَابِسِ (yaqūmu bi-khiyātati l-malābisi): This entire verbal sentence acts as the خبر (khabar) - the predicate/information given about the subject. It explains what the tailor does.

جملة فعلية في محل رفع خبر (Verbal Sentence as Predicate):

• The predicate itself is a complete verbal sentence (يَقُومُ بِخِيَاطَةِ المَلَابِسِ).
• This whole verbal sentence is في محل رفع خبر (fī mahalli rafʿi khabar) - meaning it occupies the grammatical position of the predicate and is in the nominative case (rafʿ).

فعل وفاعل (Verb & Subject):

• يَقُومُ (yaqūmu): Imperfect verb (فعل مضارع - fiʿl mudāriʿ), 3rd person masculine singular. مرفوع (marfūʿ) - indicated by the dammah.
• الفاعل (al-fāʿil): The doer of the verb "يقوم" is implied to be the tailor (الخياط). It's مستتر تقديره هو (mustatir taqdīruhu huwa) - a hidden pronoun estimated as "he". This is very common when the subject is already mentioned as the مبتدأ.

جار ومجرور (Preposition & Object of Preposition):

• بِـ (bi-): Preposition (حرف جر - ḥarf jarr).
• خِيَاطَةِ (khiyātati): Verbal noun (مصدر - masdar) in the genitive case (مجرور - majrūr) because it follows the preposition بِـ. Indicated by the kasrah.

إضافة (Idafa - Genitive Construction):

• خِيَاطَةِ المَلَابِسِ (khiyātati l-malābisi): This is an إضافة (idāfa) construction.
• خِيَاطَةِ (khiyātati): The مضاف (mudāf) - the possessed noun (here, the verbal noun meaning "sewing").
• المَلَابِسِ (al-malābisi): The مضاف إليه (mudāf ilayhi) - the possessor noun (here, the definite noun "the clothes"). It is مجرور (majrūr) - genitive case, indicated by the kasrah.
• The إضافة links "sewing" specifically to "clothes", showing possession or association ("the sewing of the clothes").

Let's move on to the sentence 2.

I'll explain you step by step how to create this sentence "The journalist does the publishing of news" in Arabic.

Step 1: Start with the "Who" (The Person)

• The person is "the journalist." The Arabic word for this profession is الصَّحَفِيُّ (as-sahafīyu).
• It is a single, masculine noun.

Step 2: Add the "Does" (The Action Verb)

• We use the standard phrase يَقُومُ بِـ (yaqūmu bi). This is the correct form because it matches the single, masculine subject الصَّحَفِيُّ.

Step 3: Add the "What" (The Action Noun)

• The action is "publishing."
• The Arabic verb for "to publish" is نَشَرَ (nashara).
• The masdar (the noun form) for this verb is نَشْر (nashr).
• We attach the preposition بـ to this noun, giving us بِنَشْرِ (bi-nashri). Notice the kasrah at the end of نَشْرِ.

Step 4: Finish with the "What of What" (The Object)

• The thing being published is "news."
• The Arabic word for "news" is الأَخْبَارِ (al-akhbāri).
• We place this word after بِنَشْرِ, and it also gets a kasrah at the end because of the grammar rule.

Putting It All Together:

By combining all the steps, the full sentence is:

الصَّحَفِيُّ يَقُومُ بِنَشْرِ الأَخْبَارِ

Template for you to building vocabulary and practice creating the sentence

📌 Fill-in-the-blanks Template

[Profession / person] + يقومُ بـ + [Masdar of main action] + [Object of the action]

Step-by-Step Template

1. Choose the Subject (Profession / Person)

• Masculine example: الطبيبُ (the doctor)
• Feminine example: الممرضةُ (the nurse)
• Pattern for professions often: فعّال, مُفَعِّل, فاعل, etc.

2. Keep يقوم بـ exactly as it is

• For singular masculine: يقومُ بـ
• For singular feminine: تقومُ بـ
• For plural masculine: يقومون بـ
• For plural feminine: يقمن بـ

3. Choose the Masdar (verbal noun)

Take it from the main action verb:

• to sew → خياطة
• to teach → تعليم
• to clean → تنظيف
• to repair → إصلاح

4. Choose the Object (Mudaf Ilayh)

This is what the action is done on:

• clothes → الملابسِ
• children → الأطفالِ
• roads → الطرقِ
• books → الكتبِ

💡 Plug-and-Play Examples

الخياطُ يقومُ بخياطةِ الملابسِ

(The tailor does the sewing of clothes)

المعلمُ يقومُ بتعليمِ الطلابِ

(The teacher does the teaching of students)

العاملُ يقومُ بتنظيفِ الطرقِ

(The worker does the cleaning of the roads)

الطبيبُ يقومُ بعلاجِ المرضى

(The doctor does the treatment of the sick)

📝 Your Turn

Fill in the blanks:

[] يقومُ بـ [] الـ[_________]

Summary

In this lesson, you have learned how to use the يقوم بـ pattern to describe what someone does in their profession or daily routine. 

You discovered how to choose the subject, select the correct مصدر for the action, and link it with the object through the إضافة construction. 

We explored vocabulary, example sentences, and exercises to reinforce your understanding. 

This structure is not only common in formal Arabic but also appears frequently in everyday conversation, making it an essential tool for anyone serious about learning the language.

Keep practicing by mixing different professions, actions, and objects—you’ll soon be able to express a wide variety of ideas in fluent and accurate Arabic.

Worksheet

📄 Practice Worksheet

🔹 Verb List (with Masdar)

Verb (Past–Present) | Masdar | Meaning

كتب – يكتب كتابة writing

قرأ – يقرأ قراءة reading

علّم – يعلّم تعليم teaching

نظّف – ينظّف تنظيف cleaning

أصلح – يصلح إصلاح repairing

طبخ – يطبخ طبخ cooking

رسم – يرسم رسم drawing

خاط – يخيط خياطة sewing

زرع – يزرع زراعة planting/farming

ساعد – يساعد مساعدة helping

🔹 Professions / People

الخياطُ – the tailor

المعلمُ – the teacher

المزارعُ – the farmer

الطباخُ – the cook

الطالبُ – the student

الطبيبُ – the doctor

المهندسُ – the engineer

الرسامُ – the artist

الأمُّ – the mother

الأبُ – the father

🔹 Objects (Mudaf Ilayh)

الملابسِ – the clothes

الكتبِ – the books

البيتِ – the house

الحديقةِ – the garden

الطعامِ – the food

الطريقِ – the road

الأطفالِ – the children

المرضى – the sick people

اللوحةِ – the painting

الرسالةِ – the letter

📝 Exercises 1

Instruction: Complete each sentence by choosing one profession/person, the correct verb’s masdar, and an object. Keep the pattern:

[Profession] يقوم بـ [Masdar] [Object]

(Change يقوم to تقوم if subject is feminine)

1. ________ يقوم بـ كتابةِ ________

Example Answer: الطالبُ يقومُ بكتابةِ الرسالةِ (The student writes the letter)

2. ________ يقوم بـ قراءةِ ________

Example Answer: المعلمُ يقومُ بقراءةِ الكتبِ (The teacher reads the books)

3. ________ يقوم بـ تعليمِ ________

Example Answer: الأبُ يقومُ بتعليمِ الأطفالِ (The father teaches the children)

4. ________ يقوم بـ تنظيفِ ________

Example Answer: العاملُ يقومُ بتنظيفِ الطريقِ (The worker cleans the road)

5. ________ يقوم بـ إصلاحِ ________

Example Answer: المهندسُ يقومُ بإصلاحِ البيتِ (The engineer repairs the house)

6. ________ يقوم بـ طبخِ ________

Example Answer: الطباخُ يقومُ بطبخِ الطعامِ (The cook cooks the food)

7. ________ يقوم بـ رسمِ ________

Example Answer: الرسامُ يقومُ برسمِ اللوحةِ (The artist draws the painting)

8. ________ يقوم بـ خياطةِ ________

Example Answer: الخياطُ يقومُ بخياطةِ الملابسِ (The tailor sews the clothes)

9. ________ يقوم بـ زراعةِ ________

Example Answer: المزارعُ يقومُ بزراعةِ الحديقةِ (The farmer plants the garden)

10. ________ يقوم بـ مساعدةِ ________

Example Answer: الأمُّ تقومُ بمساعدةِ الأطفالِ (The mother helps the children)