There are only two tenses in Arabic: Past and Non-Past.
The Non-Past tense is sometimes inaccurately called the "present" tense by me and other people to make it easier. However, the true meaning of "non past" vs. "past" can be summarized by comparing the words
"happening" vs. "happened"
"eating" vs. "ate"
"sitting" vs. "sat"
"learning" vs. "learned"
When we read the sentences
It was happening. It is happening. It will be happening.
we see that "happening" can mean something on-going in the past, present, or future. However, "happened" means that the action is over.
In the same way, the Arabic non-past can be used to describe on-going events in the past, present, or future. However, it is usually used for the present tense, and can safely be thought of as a "present" tense for the time being by the beginner.
The Arabic Non-Past ("Present") Tense
My system for teaching the Non-Past Tense has worked for me and clarified the years of confusion I spent with Arabic verbs. It contains an intentional mistake which I have found makes the conjugations much easier to remember, which will be clarified and corrected later.
The non-past is made up of the first two consonants of the root squished together with a vowel before the last consonant.
k-t-b writing
non-past stem: ktub
conjugation pattern
ana a-ktub(u) I am writing.
anta ta-ktub(u) You are writing. (said to a man)
anti ta-ktub-iina You are writing. (said to a woman)
huwa ya-ktub(u) He is writing.
hiya ya-ktub-iina She is writing.
naHnu na-ktub(u) We are writing.
antum ta-ktub-uuna You guys are writing.
antunna ta-ktub-na You ladies are writing.
hum ya-ktub-uuna They are writing. (said about a group of men)
hunna ya-ktub-na They are writing. (said about a group of women)
As you can see, the a- prefix means first person ("I"). The na- prefix means "we." The ta- prefix means second person ("you" in English). And the "ya-" prefix means third person ("he" "she" "they").
The -(u) suffix is the "default" suffix and is not usually pronounced, unless the next word requires a vowel at the beginning. This will be explained later. Here is the table again, without the default suffixes, which is how these verbs are normally pronounced in Arabic.
ana a-ktub I am writing.
anta ta-ktub You are writing. (said to a man)
anti ta-ktub-iina You are writing. (said to a woman)
huwa ya-ktub He is writing.
hiya ya-ktub-iina She is writing.
naHnu na-ktub We are writing.
antum ta-ktub-uuna You guys are writing.
antunna ta-ktub-na You ladies are writing.
hum ya-ktub-uuna They are writing. (said about a group of men)
hunna ya-ktub-na They are writing. (said about a group of women)
Suffixes:
The feminine singular has the suffix "-iina."
And the feminine plural has the suffix "-na"
The masculine plural has the suffix "-uuna"
The Non-Past tense is sometimes inaccurately called the "present" tense by me and other people to make it easier. However, the true meaning of "non past" vs. "past" can be summarized by comparing the words
"happening" vs. "happened"
"eating" vs. "ate"
"sitting" vs. "sat"
"learning" vs. "learned"
When we read the sentences
It was happening. It is happening. It will be happening.
we see that "happening" can mean something on-going in the past, present, or future. However, "happened" means that the action is over.
In the same way, the Arabic non-past can be used to describe on-going events in the past, present, or future. However, it is usually used for the present tense, and can safely be thought of as a "present" tense for the time being by the beginner.
The Arabic Non-Past ("Present") Tense
My system for teaching the Non-Past Tense has worked for me and clarified the years of confusion I spent with Arabic verbs. It contains an intentional mistake which I have found makes the conjugations much easier to remember, which will be clarified and corrected later.
The non-past is made up of the first two consonants of the root squished together with a vowel before the last consonant.
k-t-b writing
non-past stem: ktub
conjugation pattern
ana a-ktub(u) I am writing.
anta ta-ktub(u) You are writing. (said to a man)
anti ta-ktub-iina You are writing. (said to a woman)
huwa ya-ktub(u) He is writing.
hiya ya-ktub-iina She is writing.
naHnu na-ktub(u) We are writing.
antum ta-ktub-uuna You guys are writing.
antunna ta-ktub-na You ladies are writing.
hum ya-ktub-uuna They are writing. (said about a group of men)
hunna ya-ktub-na They are writing. (said about a group of women)
As you can see, the a- prefix means first person ("I"). The na- prefix means "we." The ta- prefix means second person ("you" in English). And the "ya-" prefix means third person ("he" "she" "they").
The -(u) suffix is the "default" suffix and is not usually pronounced, unless the next word requires a vowel at the beginning. This will be explained later. Here is the table again, without the default suffixes, which is how these verbs are normally pronounced in Arabic.
ana a-ktub I am writing.
anta ta-ktub You are writing. (said to a man)
anti ta-ktub-iina You are writing. (said to a woman)
huwa ya-ktub He is writing.
hiya ya-ktub-iina She is writing.
naHnu na-ktub We are writing.
antum ta-ktub-uuna You guys are writing.
antunna ta-ktub-na You ladies are writing.
hum ya-ktub-uuna They are writing. (said about a group of men)
hunna ya-ktub-na They are writing. (said about a group of women)
Suffixes:
The feminine singular has the suffix "-iina."
And the feminine plural has the suffix "-na"
The masculine plural has the suffix "-uuna"
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