Verbs: Dual Form

01

The Dual in the Past Tense

To form the dual in the past tense, you add specific suffixes to the root of the verb.

Third Person (They two)

For masculine subjects (two males or a mixed pair), add the long vowel ⁧⁧ـَا⁩⁩ (-ā-ā-ā-a) to the end of the standard past tense verb.

• ⁧هُمَا دَرَسَا فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.⁩

  humā darasā fī al-jāmi‘ah.humā darasā fī al-d͟jāmi‘ah.humā darasā fiy ʾal-ǧāmi‘ah.huma darasa fy al-jami‘ah.

  They (two males) studied at the university.

For feminine subjects (two females), add ⁧⁧ـَتَا⁩⁩ (-atā-atā-atā-ata).

• ⁧الْبِنْتَانِ لَعِبَتَا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.⁩

  al-bintāni la‘ibatā fī al-ḥadīqah.al-bintāni la‘ibatā fī al-ḥadīqah.ʾal-bintāni la‘ibatā fiy ʾal-ḥadiyqah.al-bintani la‘ibata fy al-ḥadyqah.

  The two girls played in the garden.

Second Person (You two)

When addressing two people directly, the gender does not matter. The suffix is always ⁧⁧ـْتُمَا⁩⁩ (-tumā-tumā-tumā-tuma).

• ⁧أَنْتُمَا شَرِبْتُمَا الْمَاءَ.⁩

  antumā sharibtumā al-mā’.antumā sharibtumā al-mā’.ʾantumā sharibtumā ʾal-mā’.antuma sharibtuma al-ma’.

  You two drank the water.

02

The Dual in the Present Tense

In the present tense, the dual is characterized by the ending ⁧⁧ـَانِ⁩⁩ (-āni-āni-āni-ani).

Third Person (They two)

For masculine pairs, the verb starts with ⁧⁧يـ⁩⁩ (y-) and ends with ⁧⁧ـَانِ⁩⁩ (-āni-āni-āni-ani).

• ⁧هُمَا يَذْهَبَانِ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ.⁩

  humā yadhhabāni ilā al-madrasah.humā yadhhabāni ilā al-madrasah.humā yadhhabāni ilā ʾal-madrasah.huma yadhabani ila al-madrasah.

  They (two males) go to school.

For feminine pairs, the verb starts with ⁧⁧تـ⁩⁩ (t-) and ends with ⁧⁧ـَانِ⁩⁩ (-āni-āni-āni-ani).

• ⁧هُمَا تَكْتُبَانِ رِسَالَةً.⁩

  humā taktubāni risālah.humā taktubāni risālah.humā taktubāni risālah.huma taktubani risalah.

  They (two females) are writing a letter.

Second Person (You two)

Just like in the past tense, the second person form is gender-neutral. It looks exactly the same as the third-person feminine form: it starts with ⁧⁧تـ⁩⁩ (t-) and ends with ⁧⁧ـَانِ⁩⁩ (-āni-āni-āni-ani). Context usually clarifies whether you mean "they (female)" or "you two".

• ⁧أَنْتُمَا تَعْمَلَانِ كَثِيرًا.⁩

  antumā ta‘malāni kathīran.antumā ta‘malāni kathīran.ʾantumā ta‘malāni kathiyran.antuma ta‘malani kathyran.

  You two work a lot.

03

Important: Verb-Subject Agreement

There is a crucial rule regarding word order. The dual verb forms described above are used primarily when the sentence starts with the noun/pronoun (Subject-Verb-Object order) or when the subject is implied.

However, if the sentence begins with the verb (Verb-Subject-Object order), the verb remains singular, even if the subject is dual.

Subject First (Use Dual Verb)

• ⁧الْمُهَنْدِسَانِ وَصَلَا.⁩

  al-muhandisāni waṣalā.al-muhandisāni waṣalā.ʾal-muhandisāni waṣalā.al-muhandisani waṣala.

  The two engineers arrived.

Verb First (Use Singular Verb)

• ⁧وَصَلَ الْمُهَنْدِسَانِ.⁩

  waṣala al-muhandisāni.waṣala al-muhandisāni.waṣala ʾal-muhandisāni.waṣala al-muhandisani.

  The two engineers arrived. (Literally: Arrived the two engineers).

04

No First Person Dual

Arabic does not have a specific dual form for "we". If you want to say "we two," you simply use the standard plural "we" form.

• ⁧نَحْنُ نَتَكَلَّمُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ.⁩

  naḥnu natakallamu al-‘arabīyah.naḥnu natakallamu al-‘arabīyah.naḥnu natakallamu ʾal-‘arabiyyah.naḥnu natakalamu al-‘arabyyah.

  We (two or more) speak Arabic.