Lesson 16- Corrected Verb Forms

Now we are going to correct the mistake we intentionally put in our verb tables to learn easier.  (Trust me, you will thank me later.)

The real feminine third person singular form in the Present Tense is identical with the second person "you" masculine form.

anta tadrus  You(m) study
hiya yadrusiina tadrus  she studies

One extremely politically incorrect way to remember this is to think about how Arab society seems "chauvinist" to Westerners.  Whenever you are talking about a woman, you are looking for a man to take responsibility for her actions!
If this is offensive, it will probably help you remember better, and I have done my job.

hiya tadrus  She [you(m) study]s

It is common to "drop" or leave out pronouns in Arabic.  Talking to a man and talking about his wife, who is not present, require no change in verb form.

Talking to a man:
maaða ta3mal?  What are you doing?
Talking about his wife:
maaða ta3mal?  What is she doing?

However, this verb form does not only mean that you refer to a man's wife using the "you" verb form of the man.  When talking about any woman, the correct verb form is ta-CCvC.  Women also use this verb form among themselves to talk about other women, and the verb form has no chauvinist implications among Arabs.  I simply brought that up as an offensive memory aid.  The fact is, the feminine singular form is used for all non-living plural nouns, as we will see later...So....women really are important in Arab society!  Really!

ana a-drus
inta ta-drus
inti  ta-drus-iina
huwa ya-drus
hiya ya-drus-iina ta-drus

naHnu   na-drus
intuu      ta-drus-uuna
antunna ta-drus-na
hum       ya-drus-uuna
hunna    ya-drus-na