Learn, Practice, and Memorize the Arabic Tenses Efficiently

Every language in the world has verb tenses that indicate when something happens - like an action, event, or state. However, not all languages ​​have the same verb tense, nor do they use them in a similar way. When learning Arabic, getting a sentence wrong can lead to confusion and misunderstanding, which is why it is important to know the basic rules of tenses in order to convey the exact meaning of what you are trying to say.

Tenses in the Arabic language are crucial and quite a challenge to master, but in this article, we will break it down for you so that it becomes easier to write a correct sentence or speak to people clearly and effectively.

Arabic verb tenses are divided into three categories. They are:

 

1-   Past tense فعل الماضي  

Past tense verbs are used to indicate an action that took place in the past, and they are divided into different forms based on person, gender and number.

                                            Singular            Dual          Plural

Third Person (M)                  كَتَبَ              كَتَبَا              كَتَبُوا 

Third Person (F)                كَتَبَتْ               كَتَبَتَا              كَتَبْنَ

Second Person (M)          كَتَبْتَ              كَتَبْتُمَا           كَتَبْتُمْ

Second Person (F)             كَتَبْتِ             كَتَبْتُمَا           كَتَبْتُنَّ

First Person                       كَتَبْتُ                   -                  كَتَبْنَا 

For example: The student wrote the lesson   كَتب التلميذ الدرس 

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “كَتب”.

 

2-   The present tenseفعل المضارع 

The present tense indicates an unfinished action, whether it is currently in progress or is always occurring as a result of repetition. Since the verb must match its subject in number and gender, the verb form in the present tense will be as follows:

                                                Singular        Dual                      Plural

Third Person (M)                  يَكْتُبُ             يَكْتُبَانِ                     يَكْتُبُونَ

Third Person ( F)                   تَكْتُبُ            تَكْتُبَانِ                       يَكْتُبْنَ

Second Person (M)               تَكْتُبُ            تَكْتُبَانِ                   تَكْتُبُونَ

Second Person (F)               تَكْتُبِينَ              تَكْتُبَانِ                     تَكْتُبْنَ

First Person                          أَكْتُبُ                    -                           نَكْتُبُ

For example: The student is writing the lesson   يكتُب التلميذ الدرس 

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “يكتُب”.

 

 

3-   The imperative tense فعل الأمر  

The imperative form is used to give an order or request to another person either in the singular or plural form.

                                                    Singular       Dual          Plural

Second Person (M)                        اكتب        اكتبا             اكتبو

Second Person (F)                      اكتبي         اكتبا           اكتبن         

For example: Write the lesson   اكتبْ الدرس 

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “اكتبْ”.

After all, Arabic tenses are an essential part of grammar that requires dedicated learning, practice, and memorization, so here is a table with several examples to simplify the task for you.

 

فعل الأمر The imperative tense	فعل المضارع The present tense	فعل الماضى The past tense
اكتبْ - Aktb Write	يكتبُ - Yaktubu He is Writing/He Writes	كتبَ - Kataba He Wrote
اجلسْ - ajls Sit	يجلسُ - yajlisu He is Sitting/He Sits	جلس - jalasa He Sat
اقرأْ - Aqra Read	يقرأُ - Yaqrau He is Reading/He Reads	قرأَ - Qaraa He Reads
اسمعْ - Asmaa Listen	يسمعُ - Yasmau He is Listening/He Listens	سمعَ - Samaa He Listened
اضربْ - Adrab Beat	يضربُ - Yadrabu He is Beating/He Beats	ضربَ - Daraba He Beats
ادرسْ - Adrs Learn	يدرسُ - Yadrsu He is Learning/He Learns	درسَ - darasa He Learned
اذهبْ – Adh’hab Go	يذهبُ – yadh’habu He is Going/He Goes	ذهبَ - Dhahaba He Went