Verbs of certainty: ʿalima ('to know'), wajada ('to find'), raʾa ('to see' — in the sense of 'to know'). Verbs of preponderance: zanna ('to think'), hasiba ('to reckon'), zaʿama ('to claim'), khala ('to suppose'). Verbs of transformation: jaʿala ('to make/turn into').
The Operation of Zanna and Its Sisters
Zanna and Its Sisters Are of Three Categories:
1 — Those denoting certainty and the actual occurrence of the predicate: ʿalima, raʾa, wajada.
Examples:
ʿalim-tu al-ʿilm-a asas-a al-nahda
— I knew knowledge to be the foundation of advancement.
raʾay-tu husn-a al-khulq-i afdal-a min al-mal
— I saw [i.e., regarded] good character as better than wealth.
wajad-tu al-sidq-a ahsan-a al-akhlaq
— I found honesty to be the best of virtues.
2 — Those denoting preponderance, i.e., that the predicate is likely to occur: zanna, zaʿama, khala, hasiba, jaʿala.
Examples:
zanan-tu al-luʿbat-a sahla
— I thought the game was easy.
hasiba al-sariq-u al-sariqat-a nafiʿa la-hu
— The thief reckoned theft would benefit him.
khala al-tilmidh-u al-laʿib-a afdal-a min al-dirasa
— The pupil supposed playing was better than studying.
jaʿala al-tilmidh-u al-muʿadalat-a dhat-a majhul-in wahid-in wa-badaʾa fi hall-i-ha lam yufliḥ
— The pupil considered the equation to have only one unknown and began trying to solve it — without success.
zaʿama al-tabib-u al-marad-a basitan
— The doctor claimed the illness was simple.
3 — Those denoting transformation: sayyara ('to make/render'), jaʿala ('to make'), hawwala ('to convert').
Examples:
sayyara al-ʿilm-u wa-l-ʿamal-u al-umam-a mutaqaddima
— Knowledge and work made the nations advanced.
jaʿal-tu Muhammad-an masʾul-an ʿan al-mazraʿa
— I made Muhammad responsible for the farm.
hawwal-tu al-daqiq-a khubz-an
— I converted the flour into bread.
ʿalim-tu al-haqiqa
— I knew the truth. (here meaning 'I came to know it')
wajada Ahmad-u hatif-a-hu
— Ahmad found his phone. (here meaning 'he came upon it')
raʾay-tu al-sariq
— I saw the thief. (here meaning 'I observed him with my eyes' — a verb of visual perception, not 'to know'; the other 'raʾa' is a verb of the heart, meaning 'to know')
taraka al-rajul-u watan-a-hu
— The man left his homeland. (here meaning 'departed and abandoned')
Notes:
kun-tu zann-an najah-a-ka amr-an tabiʿiyyan
— I had been thinking your success was a natural matter.
aray-tu al-walad-a al-ʿilm-a muhimm-an la-hu
— I showed the boy that knowledge was important for him.
aʿlam-tu al-talamidh-a husn-a al-khulq-i asas-a al-islah
— I informed the pupils that good character is the foundation of reform.
aʿlam-tu-ka al-nabaʾ-a sahihan
— I informed you that the news was true.
aʿlama: a verb. The taʾ: the subject (faʿil). The kaf: the first direct object (mafʿul bih awwal). al-nabaʾ: the second direct object. sahihan: the third direct object.