Non-finite verbs in Turkish and Arabic: A comparative study of adjectival verbs

Non-finite verbals—despite their verbal origin in both Turkish and Arabic—function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs within sentences. Among these, adjectival participles play a particularly important role by qualifying objects or states. This study aims to conduct a contrastive analysis of adjectival participles in Turkish and Arabic, two typologically distinct languages. Turkish, as a member of the Altaic family with an agglutinative, suffixing morphology, forms adjectival participles through systematic, regular affixation. For example, in the phrase "koşan çocuk" ("the child who is running"), the verb root koş- "run" retains its verbal meaning while shifting into the adjective category (–an), thereby modifying the noun çocuk "child." In contrast, Arabic derives its adjectival participles from its triliteral root system via established morphological patterns—most notably the ism-i fāʿil (active participle) and ism-i mafʿūl (passive participle) templates. Thus, from the root k-t-b "write" one obtains kātib "writer/one who writes" and maktūb "written," each carrying the adjectival function. Employing descriptive and comparative methodologies, the research combines a comprehensive literature review, historical development analysis, detailed grammatical examination, and cross-linguistic evaluation. The structural properties, usage domains, and functional dynamics of Turkish and Arabic adjectival participles are elucidated in light of their respective historical evolutions. Ultimately, this contrastive study not only deepens our understanding of Turkish and Arabic grammatical systems but also offers valuable insights for language teaching, applied linguistics, and further typological research into non-finite verbals.