Past Tense
Past tense conjugation with suffix system
I can conjugate regular verbs in the past tense
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
كَتَبتُ رِسالَةً
I wrote a letter
ذَهَبَ إلى المَكتَبَةِ
He went to the library
أَكَلَت التُّفّاحَةَ
She ate the apple
سافَرنا إلى تونُسَ
We traveled to Tunisia
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
الفعل الماضي (Past Tense)
The past tense uses suffixes only added to the verb stem. The base form (3rd masc. singular) has no suffix.
| Person | Suffix | كَتَبَ (wrote) |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | ـتُ | كَتَبتُ |
| أنتَ | ـتَ | كَتَبتَ |
| أنتِ | ـتِ | كَتَبتِ |
| هو | ـَ (fatḥa) | كَتَبَ |
| هي | ـَت | كَتَبَت |
| نحن | ـنا | كَتَبنا |
Pattern: All suffixes attach to the same stem. The 3ms form (كَتَبَ) is the dictionary form of every Arabic verb.
Common Error Patterns
Confusing suffix vowels (تُ vs تَ vs تِ)
أنا=تُ (ḍamma), أنتَ=تَ (fatḥa), أنتِ=تِ (kasra)
Modifying the stem incorrectly
Past tense stem is fixed: كَتَبَ → add suffix without changing the stem
كَتَبتُ رِسالَةً
I wrote a letter
كَتَبَ + تُ → كَتَبتُ. Suffix ـتُ (ḍamma) = أنا.
ذَهَبَ إلى المَكتَبَةِ
He went to the library
ذَهَبَ — 3rd masc. singular (هو) is the base form with just fatḥa.
أَكَلَت التُّفّاحَةَ
She ate the apple
أَكَلَ + ت → أَكَلَت. Suffix ـَت (tā without vowel) = هي.
سافَرنا إلى تونُسَ
We traveled to Tunisia
سافَرَ + نا → سافَرنا. Suffix ـنا = نحن (we).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises