Verbs: Past Tense

01

The First Person (I, We)

When speaking about yourself or a group you are part of, the gender does not matter. The endings are the same for both males and females.

• I: Add the suffix ⁧ـتُ⁩ (-tu) to the stem.
• We: Add the suffix ⁧ـنَا⁩ (-nā) to the stem.

• ⁧دَرَسْتُ فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.⁩

  darastu fī al-jāmi‘ah.darastu fī al-d͟jāmi‘ah.darastu fiy ʾal-ǧāmi‘ah.darastu fy al-jami‘ah.

  I studied at the university.

• ⁧شَرِبْنَا قَهْوَةً فِي الصَّبَاحِ.⁩

  sharibnā qahwah fī al-ṣabāḥ.sharibnā qahwah fī al-ṣabāḥ.sharibnā qahwah fiy ʾal-ṣabāḥ.sharibna qahwah fy al-ṣabaḥ.

  We drank coffee in the morning.

02

The Second Person (You)

When addressing others, Arabic distinguishes between gender (male vs. female) and number (singular vs. plural).

• You (singular male): Add ⁧ـتَ⁩ (-ta).
• You (singular female): Add ⁧ـتِ⁩ (-ti).
• You (plural male/mixed): Add ⁧ـتُمْ⁩ (-tum).
• You (plural female): Add ⁧ـتُنَّ⁩ (-tunna).

• ⁧هَلْ كَتَبْتَ الرِّسَالَةَ؟⁩

  hal katabta al-risālah?hal katabta al-risālah?hal katabta ʾal-risālah?hal katabta al-risalah?

  Did you (male) write the letter?

• ⁧مَاذَا فَعَلْتِ أَمْسِ؟⁩

  mādhā fa‘alti ams?mādhā fa‘alti ams?mādhā fa‘alti ʾams?madha fa‘alti ams?

  What did you (female) do yesterday?

• ⁧أَيْنَ ذَهَبْتُمْ؟⁩

  ayna dhahabtum?ayna dhahabtum?ʾayna dhahabtum?ayna dhahabtum?

  Where did you (plural) go?

03

The Third Person (He, She, They)

This category talks about people who are not part of the conversation.

• He: This is the base form with no extra suffix, usually ending in a short 'a' sound (-a).
• She: Add ⁧ـتْ⁩ (-at). Note that the 't' has a sukun (no vowel) on it.
• They (plural male/mixed): Add ⁧ـُوا⁩ (-ū). This suffix includes a silent ⁧⁧ا⁩⁩ (alifalifʾalifalif) at the very end which is written but not pronounced.
• They (plural female): Add ⁧ـْنَ⁩ (-na).

• ⁧وَصَلَ الْمُدِيرُ.⁩

  waṣala al-mudīr.waṣala al-mudīr.waṣala ʾal-mudiyr.waṣala al-mudyr.

  The manager arrived.

• ⁧سَكَنَتْ فِي مِصْرَ.⁩

  sakanat fī Miṣr.sakanat fī Miṣr.sakanat fiy Miṣr.sakanat fy Miṣr.

  She lived in Egypt.

• ⁧خَرَجُوا مِنَ الْبَيْتِ.⁩

  kharajū min al-bayt.kharad͟jū min al-bayt.kharaǧuw min ʾal-bayt.kharajw min al-bayt.

  They left the house.

04

The Dual Form

Arabic has a specific grammatical number for exactly two people or things, called the Dual.

• You two (male or female): Add ⁧ـتُمَا⁩ (-tumā).
• They two (male): Add ⁧ـَا⁩ (-ā).
• They two (female): Add ⁧ـَتَا⁩ (-atā).

• ⁧أَكَلْتُمَا الطَّعَامَ.⁩

  akaltumā al-ṭa‘ām.akaltumā al-ṭa‘ām.ʾakaltumā ʾal-ṭa‘ām.akaltuma al-ṭa‘am.

  You two ate the food.

• ⁧نَجَحَا فِي الْاِمْتِحَانِ.⁩

  najaḥā fī al-imtiḥān.nad͟jaḥā fī al-imtiḥān.naǧaḥā fiy ʾal-imtiḥān.najaḥa fy al-imtiḥan.

  They (two males) passed the exam.

05

Negating the Past Tense

To say that someone "did not" do something in the past, place the particle ⁧مَا⁩ (mā) before the verb. The verb form itself does not change.

• ⁧مَا فَهِمْتُ الدَّرْسَ.⁩

  mā fahimtu al-dars.mā fahimtu al-dars.mā fahimtu ʾal-dars.ma fahimtu al-dars.

  I did not understand the lesson.

• ⁧مَا سَافَرَ خَالِدٌ.⁩

  mā sāfara Khālid.mā sāfara Khālid.mā sāfara Khālid.ma safara Khalid.

  Khalid did not travel.

06

Non-Human Plurals

A crucial rule in Arabic grammar concerns plural nouns that refer to non-human things (cars, books, ideas, animals). These are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Therefore, when a verb refers to "them" (the non-human things), you use the "She" form ⁧⁧ـَتْ⁩⁩ (-at).

• ⁧تَوَقَّفَتِ السَّيَّارَاتُ.⁩

  tawaqqafat al-sayyārāt.tawaqqafat al-sayyārāt.tawaqqafat ʾal-sayyārāt.tawaqafat al-sayarat.

  The cars stopped. (Literally: She-stopped the cars)