Try our new Vocabulary Builder for free
Verb Tenses
0%
0/24
Lesson 16
Verb Tenses
Past Tense Verb
فِعلٌ مَاضِي
Past tense verbs usually closely resemble the root of the word. Sometimes they are derived from the root, with minor additions to create related meanings. The past tense verbs are divided into different forms based on person, gender and number.
| - | Plural | Dual | Singular | - |
| Third Person | (They wrote) كَتَبُوا | (They wrote) كَتَبَا | (He wrote) كَتَبَ | M |
| - | (They wrote) كَتَبْنَ | (They wrote) كَتَبَتَا | (She wrote) كَتَبَتْ | F |
| Second Person | (You wrote) كَتَبْتُم | (You wrote) كَتَبْتُما | (You wrote) كَتَبْتَ | M |
| - | (You wrote) كَتَبْتُنَّ | (You wrote)كَتَبْتُمَا | (You wrote) كَتَبْتِ | F |
| First Person | (We wrote) كَتَبْنَا | - | (I wrote) كَتَبْتُ | M&F |
M: Male F: Female
Examples
قَرَأَ الطَّالِبُ الكِتَابَ
The student (male) read the book.
قَرَأَتْ الطَّالِبَةُ الكِتَابَ
The student (female) read the book
الطَّالباتُ قرأْنَ الكِتابَ
The students (female) read the book.
Present Tense Verb
فِعلٌ مُضَارِعٌ
The imperfect verb is used to describe the present and is also derived from the root in predictable patterns.
The present tense verbs have 14 forms according to person, gender and number:
| - | Plural | Dual | Singular | - |
| Third Person | (They write) يَكْتُبُونَ | (They write) يَكْتُبَانِ | (He writes) يَكْتُبُ | M |
| - | (They write) يَكْتُبْنَ | (They write) تَكْتُبَانِ | She writes) تَكْتُبُ | F |
| Second Person | (You write) تَكْتُبَونَ | (You write) تَكْتُبَانِ | (You write) تَكْتُبُ | M |
| - | (You write) تَكْتُبْنَ | (You write) تَكْتُبَانِ | (You write) تَكْتُبِينَ | F |
| First Person | (We write) نَكْتُبُ | Same as Plural | (I write) أَكْتُبُ | M&F |
Examples
يأكُلُ حَامِدٌ السّمَكَ
Hamid is eating the fish
أقرأُ صفحَتينِ كُلَّ يومٍ
I read two pages every day
أُحِبُّ السّفر
I love travelling
Future tense
مُستَقبَلٌ
To indicate the future tense, سَ ‘sa’ or سَوفَ ‘sawfa’ is simply added to the beginning of the imperfect verb.
Examples
سأَذهَبُ إلى المَسجِدِ
I will go to the masjid
سَوفَ أَرجِعُ
I will return
سَأَكتُبُ الدَّرسَ
I will write the lesson
Command Tense / Imperative
فٍعلُ أَمرٍ
The imperative or command tense verb is always used in the second person. Therefore each verb can occur in all these forms:
| Pronoun | Imperative | Gender |
| You = أنتَ | اُكّتُبْ | M |
| You = أنتِ | اُكْتُبِي | F |
| You = أنتما | اُكْتُبَا | M&F |
| You = أنتم | اُكْتُبُوا | M |
| You = أنتنَّ | اُكْتُبْـنَ | F |
Examples
سَيَزُورُ عَلِيٌّ جَدَّهُ
Future tense: Ali will visit his grandfather.
كُلِي الغَدَاءَ
Imperative: Eat the lunch (Addressed to a female)
يَنَامُ الأَطْفالُ مُبَكِّرَاً
Present tense: The children sleep early
Quiz Time!
Let's test your knowledge.
What does (اِذْهَبْ) mean?
Go! (addressed to a male)
Go! (addressed to a female)
Go! (addressed to a group of males)
Go! (addressed to a 2 males)
You have completed Lesson 16
You have now understood how the Arabic verb system works
Next Up
Numbers
Let's learn the basic rules of Arabic numbers
