Your Easy Guide to Learning Arabic Verb Conjugations

 

Arabic is a Semitic language with a vocabulary based on roots. To truly understand this beautiful language, we mu know the origin of words. One of the essential grammar rules to start with is Arabic verb conjugation. If you get it right, you will be able to quickly predict the meanings of new words you read or hear, increase your vocabulary, and build a strong foundation for learning the Arabic language.

Arabic verb conjugation is the process of deriving verbs from a set of base letters, which usually consist of three consonants. Arabic conjugated forms indicate tense, plurality, person, and gender, but they also have an additional dimension that changes the meaning. Once you know the rules and memorize them, you will be good to go.

With Arabic verb conjugation, we always use the root verbs in the past tense to make the required changes, and each form has its own rules. Before we get started, you should know that Arabic verbs in Modern Standard Arabic are categorized based on three main tenses:

 

1-   Past Tense “الماضي al-maadi”.

Verbs in the past tense are used to indicate actions that have been completed. Verbs in the past tense are conjugated by changing the end of the word.

2-   Present Tense “المضارع al-mudaaria”.

Verbs in the present tense are used to indicate actions that have not been completed yet. Verbs in the present tense are conjugated by changing the beginning and the end of the word.

 

3-   Imperative Tense “الأمر Al 'amr”.

The imperative is used for commands and requests. It is addressed to a person or persons; therefore, verbs are conjugated with second-person pronouns only.

 

Conjugating the Past Tense in Arabic:

For past tense conjugation, the root of the verb which is the singular male form of the verb, is followed by a suffix according to who or what it is referring to.

For example, the base verb “كَتَبَ kataba”, from the root ك-ت-ب k-t-b meaning of “to write” is conjugated as follows:

Form	Past	Meaning & Arabic pronunciation
I	katbt كَتَبْت	I wrote    أَنَا كَتَبْت   ana katbt
He	katb كَتَب	He wrote هُو كَتَب   houa katb
She	katbat كَتَبَت	She wrote هِي كَتَبَت    heya katbat
You (masc.)	katbt كَتَبْت	You wrote أنْت كَتَبْت   anta katbt
You (fem.)	katbati كَتَبْتِ	You wrote أنْتِ كَتَبْتِ  anti katbati
We	katbabna كَتَبْنَا	We wrote نَحنُ كَتَبْنَا nahnou katbabna
They (masc.)	katabou اِنْكَتَبَ	They wrote هُم كَتَبَوا  hum katabou
They (fem.)	katabna كَتَبَنَ	They wrote هُنّ كَتَبَنَ hunna katabna
You (pl)	katabtom كَتَبتُم	You people wrote أَنتُم كَتَبتُم  antom katabtom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

note: The past tense can be negated by placing “لا or

ليس”, meaning “not” in front of the word.

 

 

Conjugating the Present Tense in Arabic:

The process of conjugating present Arabic verbs begins with identifying the subject. The subject is categorized by number (singular, dual, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine), then we add the necessary suffixes/prefixes to the main verb.

We are going to use “كَتَبَ kataba”, from the root ك-ت-ب k-t-b meaning of “to write” as a base verb, and the following chart will show how it is conjugated in the Present Tense for all of the different Subject Pronouns:

 

 

English Pronoun	Present	Meaning
I	aktubu أكْتُبُ	I write أَنَا أكْتُبُ ana aktubu
He	yaktubu يكْتُبُ	He writes هُو يكْتُبُ houa yaktubu
She	taktubu تكْتُبُ	She writes هِي تكْتُبُ heya taktubu
You (masc.)	taktubu تكْتُبُ	You write أنْت تكْتُبُ anta taktubu
You (fem.)	taktubiina تكْتُبين	You write أنْتِ تكْتُبين anti taktubiina
We	naktubu نكْتُبُ	We write نَحنُ نكْتُبُ nahnou naktub
They (masc.)	yaktoboona يَكتُبُون	They write هُم يَكتُبُون hum yaktoboona
They (fem.)	yaktobna يكْتَبُن	They write هُنّ يكْتَبُن hunna yaktobna
You (pl)	taktoboon تَكتُبُون	You people write أَنتُم تَكتُبُون antom taktoboon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conjugating the Imperative Tense in Arabic:

 

To conjugate the imperative Arabic verb, we first define who is the subject, which is classified according to number (singular, dual, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine). Then we add the necessary suffixes/prefixes to the main verb.

Let’s use the same example, “كَتَبَ kataba” from the root ك-ت-ب k-t-b meaning “to write” as a base verb:

 

English Pronoun	Present	Meaning
You (masc.	oktob اكْتُبْ	Write أنْت اكْتُبْ  anta aktubu
You (fem.)	oktobi اُكْتُبِي	Write  أنْتِ اُكْتُبِي anti oktobi
You (pl)	oktobou اُكْتُبْوا	Write أَنتُم اُكْتُبْوا antom oktobou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, learning Arabic verb conjugations is not an easy ride, but once you learn the rules by heart, you will never forget them.

Good luck with your Arabic journey!