Every language in the world has verb tenses that indicate when something happens - like an action, event, or state. However, not all languages have the same verb tense, nor do they use them in a similar way. When learning Arabic, getting a sentence wrong can lead to confusion and misunderstanding, which is why it is important to know the basic rules of tenses in order to convey the exact meaning of what you are trying to say.

Tenses in the Arabic language are crucial and quite a challenge to master, but in this article, we will break it down for you so that it becomes easier to write a correct sentence or speak to people clearly and effectively.

Arabic verb tenses are divided into three categories. They are:

1- Past tense فعل الماضي

Past tense verbs are used to indicate an action that took place in the past, and they are divided into different forms based on person, gender and number.

Singular Dual Plural

Third Person (M) كَتَبَ كَتَبَا كَتَبُوا

Third Person (F) كَتَبَتْ كَتَبَتَا كَتَبْنَ

Second Person (M) كَتَبْتَ كَتَبْتُمَا كَتَبْتُمْ

Second Person (F) كَتَبْتِ كَتَبْتُمَا كَتَبْتُنَّ

First Person كَتَبْتُ - كَتَبْنَا

For example: The student wrote the lesson كَتب التلميذ الدرس

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “كَتب”.

2- The present tenseفعل المضارع

The present tense indicates an unfinished action, whether it is currently in progress or is always occurring as a result of repetition. Since the verb must match its subject in number and gender, the verb form in the present tense will be as follows:

Singular Dual Plural

Third Person (M) يَكْتُبُ يَكْتُبَانِ يَكْتُبُونَ

Third Person ( F) تَكْتُبُ تَكْتُبَانِ يَكْتُبْنَ

Second Person (M) تَكْتُبُ تَكْتُبَانِ تَكْتُبُونَ

Second Person (F) تَكْتُبِينَ تَكْتُبَانِ تَكْتُبْنَ

First Person أَكْتُبُ - نَكْتُبُ

For example: The student is writing the lesson يكتُب التلميذ الدرس

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “يكتُب”.

3- The imperative tense فعل الأمر

The imperative form is used to give an order or request to another person either in the singular or plural form.

Singular Dual Plural

Second Person (M) اكتب اكتبا اكتبو

Second Person (F) اكتبي اكتبا اكتبن

For example: Write the lesson اكتبْ الدرس

The verb is the first word of the sentence _ from the right direction_ is “اكتبْ”.

After all, Arabic tenses are an essential part of grammar that requires dedicated learning, practice, and memorization, so here is a table with several examples to simplify the task for you.

فعل الأمر

The imperative tense

فعل المضارع

The present tense

فعل الماضى

The past tense

اكتبْ - Aktb

Write

يكتبُ - Yaktubu

He is Writing/He Writes

كتبَ - Kataba

He Wrote

اجلسْ - ajls

Sit

يجلسُ - yajlisu

He is Sitting/He Sits

جلس - jalasa

He Sat

اقرأْ - Aqra

Read

يقرأُ - Yaqrau

He is Reading/He Reads

قرأَ - Qaraa

He Reads

اسمعْ - Asmaa

Listen

يسمعُ - Yasmau

He is Listening/He Listens

سمعَ - Samaa

He Listened

اضربْ - Adrab

Beat

يضربُ - Yadrabu

He is Beating/He Beats

ضربَ - Daraba

He Beats

ادرسْ - Adrs

Learn

يدرسُ - Yadrsu

He is Learning/He Learns

درسَ - darasa

He Learned

اذهبْ – Adh’hab

يذهبُ – yadh’habu

He is Going/He Goes

ذهبَ - Dhahaba

He Went

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