THE VERB (fi'l): its statement

Very important: in Arabic, there is no infinitive. And, for this reason, each verb (
fi'l ) is taught and stated in the third person masculine singular ( huwa , he ) of the past
and present , which are the two fundamental tenses of Arabic conjugation. And always
in this order: first the past, and then the present. Thus, the verb study is said darasa -
yadrus but, in reality, we are saying: (he) studied / (he) studies .
To conjugate a verb in the past tense, we must first eliminate the ending - a with
which it ends in the statement (we would be left with daras -). And to conjugate it in
the present, we must first remove the prefix already - from the statement (we would be
left with - drus ). That is, darasa - yadrus will remain in daras - drus , the latter being
what we will use to conjugate. Once this is done, we can conjugate it by adding to those
roots the endings and prefixes that we will study later.
Therefore, if we say that kataba - yaktub is the verb to write (and we are
actually saying: he wrote / he writes ), to conjugate it we will use the forms katab -
ktub , having removed the final - a from the past and the ya - that goes at the beginning
of the present.
We will do the same with the verb speak , which is takallam - yatakallam ( he
spoke / he speaks ), and we would be left with takallam - takallam . We have removed
the - a final from the past and the already - with which the present begins.
And so, with all the verbs: wa s ala - ya s il is the verb to arrive (he arrived / he
arrives), but to conjugate it, we will use the forms wa s al - s il . Likewise, inta z aray -
yanta z ir is the verb wait (he waited / he waits), but what works for us is inta z ar -
nta z ir .
We have to make these changes in the verb statement only mentally , before
starting to conjugate, so that the result is correct. That is, we learn that studying is
darasa - yadrus , and when we start to conjugate we must remember that we have to do
it with the daras - drus forms, although this is never written down because in itself it
means nothing. Only putting it together will it mean something.
Once we are clear about the above, we can begin to conjugate the verbs,
remembering what was said: 1- there are no infinitive verbs, and 2- they are taught
conjugated in the third person masculine singular ( él , huwa ), first in the past and then
in the present and always in that order. 3- From these forms we must remove the - at the
end of the past and the - that goes to the beginning of the present. 4- What we obtain
will help us conjugate, although those forms, once we have removed the - a and the -,
no longer mean anything at all (and that is why they are not taught or written) and will
only make sense when the let's conjugate
Important : verbs must be learned as they are taught, that is, conjugated in the
third person, among other things because without the endings and prefixes, they are
sometimes difficult to pronounce, and because, as we have said, without them they
mean absolutely nothing. What we have to do is always remember before combining
them that we must take them off.
Some verbs:
sakana - yaskun ( to live , who will remain in sakan - skun ); qaraa - yaqra (
read , which will remain in qara - qra when conjugated); 'amila - ya'mal ( work ,
which will remain in 'amil - 'mal ); fahima - yafham ( understand , that will remain in
fahim - fham ); ista t â'a - yasta t î' ( power , which will remain in ista t â' - sta t î' );
dzahaba - yadzhab ( go , who will stay in dzahab - dzhab ); 'arafa - ya'rif ( know ,
 who will stay in 'araf - 'rif ); ta'allama - yata'allam , learn , which will remain in
ta'allam - ta'allam ); qâla - yaqûl ( to say , that will remain in qâl - qûl )…

THE PAST (mâ d î)

We are going to see in this chapter how a verb ( fi'l ) is conjugated in the first
part of its statement, that is, in the past tense ( mâ d î ). The past is conjugated by
adding endings to the stem that remains after having removed the final - a from the
verb: darasa becomes daras . Once this is done, we combine it in the following way:

anna , me daras- you Studied ‫َد َر ْس ـــُت‬ ‫أنـــا‬

anta , you (m) darasta have
studied
you ‫َد َر ْس ـــَت‬ ‫أنـَت‬
anti , you (f) daras- you have you
studied
‫َد َر ْس ـــِت‬ ‫أنـِت‬
huwa , he daras- to Study
‫َد َر َس‬ ‫ُهـــَو‬
daughter , she daras- at Study ‫َد َر َس ـــْت‬ ‫ِهــَي‬
na h nu , we daras- nâ we study ‫َد َر ْس ـــنـا‬ ‫نَـْح ـُن‬
antum , you daras- tum you studied
‫َد َر ْس ــتُـْم‬ ‫أنـتُــْم‬
Antunna , you daras- tunna you studied ‫َد َر ْس ــتُـَّن‬ ‫أنـتُـَّن‬
um , they daras- û they studied ‫َد َر ســـوا‬ ‫ُهــــْم‬
hunna , they daras- na they studied
‫َد َر ْس ـــَن‬ ‫ُهـــَّن‬
antumâ , you two daras- tumâ you studied ‫َد َر ْس ــتُـما‬ ‫أنـتُـمـا‬
humâ , the two of them daras- â they studied ‫َد َر ســــــا‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
humâ , the two of them daras- atâ they studied ‫َد َر َس ـــتـا‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
It is essential to know these endings perfectly. Note that in the person hum (
them ), the ending – û is followed (in Arabic writing) by a silent â . It must always be
written, even if it is not read.
Another example. If we want to conjugate the verb kátaba - yáktub , to write ,
in the past tense, we will do the same. First we remove a – a final from the past form:
kátab , and then we add the previous endings:
anâ katabtu ( I wrote ), anta katabta , anti katabti , huwa kataba , hiya katabat , na h
nu katabnâ , antum katabtum , antunna katabtunna , hum katabû (â), hunna katabnâ
; antuma katabtumâ , humâ katabâ , humâ katabatâ .
Conjugate the following verbs in writing in the past : qatala - yaqtul ( kill ); wa s ala -
ya s il ( arrive ); fata h a - yafta h ( open ); inta z ara - yanta z ir ( wait ); kabura -
yakbur ( grow ), sami'a - yasma' ( listen ), dzahaba - yadzhab ( go ); fa'ala - yaf'al (
 do ); d araba - ya d rib ( paste ); takallama - yatakallam ( to speak ); ta'allama -
yata'allam , learn

THE PRESENT (mu dâri ')

Remember that , in every verb statement ( fi'l ), the first part is the past ( mâ d
î ) and the second is the present ( mu dâri '). For example, the verb study ( darasa -
yadrus ) breaks down like this: darasa ( he studied ) / yadrus ( he studies ). In this
lesson we are going to see how to conjugate a verb in the present tense.
First, we must remove the prefix ya - from the statement, and we will be left
with - drus . Once we have that root, we will conjugate the present in the following
way:

anna , me a -drus study ‫أ ْد ُر س‬ ‫أنـــا‬

anta , you (m) ta -drus do you study ‫تَـــْد ُر س‬ ‫أنـَت‬
anti , you (f) ta -drus- în do you study ‫تـَــْد ُر ســين‬ ‫أنـِت‬
huwa , he ya -drus study ‫يـَــْد ُر س‬ ‫ُهـــَو‬
daughter , she ta -drus study ‫تـَــْد ُر س‬ ‫ِهــَي‬

na h nu , we na -drus we study ‫نـَــْد ُر س‬ ‫نَـْح ـُن‬

antum , you ta -drus- ûn you study ‫أنـتُــْم تَـــْد ُر ســـون‬
Antunna , you ta -drus- na you study
‫أنـتُـَّن تَـــْد ُرْس ـــَن‬
um , they ya -drus- ûn they study ‫ُهــــْم يـَــْد ُر ســـون‬
hunna , they ya -drus- na they study
‫ُهـــَّن يـَــْد ُرْس ـــَن‬

antumâ , you two ta -drus- ân you study ‫تَـــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫أنـتُـمـا‬

humâ , the two of them ya -drus- ân they study ‫يَـــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
humâ , the two of them ta -drus- ân they study ‫تـَــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
It is essential to know perfectly how verbs are conjugated in the past ( mâ d î )
and present ( mu d âri' ). We will see later how other times are formed from the
present.
As in the previous lesson, notice how the same model is applied to the verb to
write ( kataba - yaktub ): the second part of this statement corresponds to the verb in
the present tense, from which we first remove the prefix ya - and then conjugate it:
 anâ aktub ( I write ), anta taktub , anti taktubîn , huwa yaktub , hiya taktub ,
na h nu naktub , antum taktubûn , antunna taktubnâ , hum yaktubûn , hunna
yaktubna , antumâ taktubân , humâ yaktubân , humâ taktubân
To practice this, conjugate the verbs that you put into the past in the previous
lesson in writing in the present tense.
Very important, you will see that some verbs begin in the present tense with yu -
instead of ya - (for example, sâfara - yusâfir , travel ). These are derived verbs
(second, third and fourth derived forms), quadrilateral verbs and passive forms. To
conjugate them in the present (there is no problem in the past) you just have to change
the a of all the prefixes for a u , like this: anâ u sâfir , I travel ; anta tu sâfir , you
travel ; anti tu sâfirîn , you travel , huwa and u sâfir , he travels , antun tu sâfirûn ,
you travel , hunna and u safirna , they travel , etc.

PAST PRESENT

It is advisable that you review well what you have learned. Remember, for
example, that the verb is called fi'l , that there is no infinitive, and that verbs are stated
in the past ( mâ d î ) and in the present ( mu d âri' ), that in order to conjugate them
you have to remove the past to the - a that has at the end and from the present we have
to remove the already - that leads to the beginning. Then, you can conjugate them
according to the following scheme ( in the present, to better join it to a word that comes
later, we can add the vowels that we have put in parentheses in the following table ):

Pronouns Past daras -a , he Present ya- drus , he

studied studies
Ana ----- you you will give a ----- (u) to drus (u)
anta ----- ta you will give ta ta ----- (u) ta drus (u)
anti ----- you will you give ta ----- în (a) ta drus în (a)
huwa ----- to you will give to already ----- already drus (u)
(u)
hiya ----- at you will give at ta ----- (u) ta drus (u)
na h nu ----- nâ you will give nâ na ----- (u) na drus (u)
antum ----- tum you will give ta ----- ûn ta drus ûn (a)
tum (a)
antunna ----- tunna daras tunna ta ----- na ta drus na
hum ----- or you will give already ----- ya drus ûn (a)
ûn (a)
hunna ----- na you will give na already ----- ya drus na
na
antumâ ----- your daras tuma ta ----- ân (i) ta drus ân (i)
mom
humâ ----- to you will give already ----- ya drus ân (i)
 ân (i)
humâ ----- atâ you will give atâ ta ----- ân (i) ta drus ân (i)

Remember two very important things: 1st that in the past tense to the ending – û
which corresponds to the person hum , a long â is added in Arabic that is not read; 2nd
that the endings that we have given in parentheses in the previous table for the present
are only to join it to another word that comes later: anâ adrus (u) l-'arabía , I study
Arabic ; antum tadrusûn (a) l-'arabía , they study Arabic ;…
Always remember also that there are verbs that in their statement take yu -
instead of ya - for the present, and that the only difference when conjugating them is
that you have to change all the a's of the present prefixes for a u : and u -rîd , he
wants ; n u -rîd , we want ; tu u -rid-na , you want , etc.
THE NEGATION
“No” , in Arabic, in the absolute sense, is said lâ ( ‫) ال‬.
But “no” plus a verb in the past tense is said mâ ( ‫) ما‬: anâ mâ darastu , I did
not study ; antunna mâ darastunna , you did not study ; humâ mâ darasâ , the two of
them did not study ;…
With a verb in the present tense, lâ is used to say “no” : anâ lâ adrus , I do not
study ; hiya lâ tadrus , she does not study ; antumâ lâ tadrusân , you two don't study ;
…

THE IMPERATIVE (amr)

The imperative is formed from the present stem. Once we have removed the
prefix already - we will look at what we have left:
1 - If what remains begins with the most vocal consonant , that is already the
imperative.
For example, yatakallam , speak . If we remove the ya -, we are left with -
takallam , which begins with the most vocal consonant, therefore it serves us for the
imperative. takallam ! speaks !
2 - But if what we have left after removing the initial ya - from the present
begins with two consecutive consonants , we put in front a u - if there is a u within the
root, and we put in front an i - if within the root there is no u .
For example, yadrus , to study ; If we remove the already - we are left with -
drus , which begins with two consecutive consonants, and to form the imperative we
will place a u - in front of it. udrus ! study ! - Another example, yasma' , listen , if we
remove the ya - we are left with – sma' , which begins with two consonants in a row,
and we will put an i - in front of it, because in the root there is no u : isma' ! listen ! -
We will do the same with the verb yafta h , to open , we first remove the ya - and we
are left with – fta h , which begins with two consonants in a row and does not have any
u , so its imperative will be ifta h ! opens !
Remember: 1- the imperative is formed from the present root, never from the
past. 2- From the present we must first remove the ya - and pay close attention to what
remains: if it begins with the most vocal consonant , that is the imperative; If it begins
with two consonants in a row , we will put a u - or an i - in front: a u - if there is a u in
the root, and an i - in other cases.
qâla - yaqûl , say → qul ! gave !
 kataba - yaktub , write → uktub ! writes !
qaraa - yaqra , read → iqra ! read !
leave it - yadjul , enter → udjul ! enters !
ŷálasa - yajlis , sit → ijlis ! Sit down !
Put the following verbs into imperative:
ta'állama - yata'allam , learn → …...…...…….….! learn !
sákata - yáskut , shut up → ……….....…..! be quiet !
ná z ara - yán z ur , look →…………...…! look !
intá z ara - yanta z ir , wait → ………...….……..! wait !
qâma - yaqûm , stand up →……...…! stand up !
shariba - yashrab , drink → …….……....…..! baby !
ákala - yakul , eat → ….....……! eat !
Important note : in the case of verbs for which we have put a vowel ( u - or i -)
in front of it in the imperative, that vowel is always written but is not pronounced if the
word is preceded by another word. Example: uktub ! writes ! iqra ! read ! → uktub
wa-qra ! write and read ! (but, in Arabic, we will write uktub wa iqra !

CONJUGATION OF THE IMPERATIVE

Now, the orders that we have studied in the previous section can only be given
to men. To give them to women we have to add in all cases a – î : uktubî ! write (said to
a woman)! iŷlisî ! Sit down (said to a woman)!, takallamî ! Speak (said to a woman)!
If we want to give the order to a group of men, we will add a – û to the
imperative: uktubû ! Write (you)! iŷlisû ! sit down takallamû ! Speak (you!). In this
case, furthermore, as happened in the past with the person hum , a long -â that is not
read is added to the – û .
If we give the order to a group of women, we will add the ending – na :
uktubna ! Write (you)! izlisna ! sit down (you)! takallamnâ ! Speak (you)!
If the orders are for two people (in this case it does not matter whether they are
men or women) we will add to the imperative an – â : uktubâ ! Write (both of you)!
ijlisâ ! Sit down (both of you)! takallamâ ! Speak (both of you)
study! (you, masc) u -drus
‫أْد ُرْس‬
study! (you, fem) u -drus- î ‫أْد ُر ســـي‬
study! (you) u -drus- û ‫أْد ُر ســـوا‬
study! (you) u -drus- na
‫أْد ُر ســـَن‬
study! (you two) u -drus- â ‫أْد ُر ســــا‬
Conjugate the verbs proposed in the previous lesson in all the persons of the
imperative, and remember: 1º the ending – û is followed in Arabic by a – â which is not
read; 2nd, if to form the imperative we have put a u - or an i - in front, these vowels are
written but are not read if the imperative is preceded by any other word.
THE NEGATION
 We have studied that to negate a verb in the past we use mâ ; If the verb is in the
present, it is negated with lâ . If the verb is in the imperative it is also negated with lâ ,
but it is conjugated by putting the prefix ta - in front of it:
do not lâ ta -drus do not speak lâ ta -takallam
study ‫ال تَـْد ُرْس‬ ‫ال تـَتَـكَـلَّـْم‬
do not lâ ta -drus- î do not speak lâ ta -takallâm- î
study ‫ال تَـْد ُر سـي‬ ‫ال تَـتَـكَـلَّـمـي‬
don't study lâ ta -drus-û don't talk lâ ta -takallam- û
‫ال تَـْد ُر سـوا‬ ‫ال تـَتَـكَـلَّـمـوا‬
don't study lâ ta -drus- don't talk lâ ta -takallam-
na ‫ال تَـْد ُرْس ـَن‬ na ‫ال تـَتَـكَـلَّـْم ـَن‬
don't study lâ ta -drus- â don't talk lâ ta -takallam- â
‫ال تَـْد ُر سـا‬ ‫ال تـَتَـكَـلَّـمـا‬
THE FUTURE (mustáqbal)

You already know how to conjugate a verb ( fi'l ) in the past ( mâ d î ), present (
mu dâri ' ) and imperative ( amr ). Remember that the imperative is formed from the
root of the present.
The future ( mustáqbal ) is easier. You just have to put the prefix sa - in front of
the present , which is written together with the verb: huwa sa-yadrus , he will study . It
can also be used as sáwfa , but in this case it is not written together with the verb: huwa
sáwfa yadrus , he will study .

Remember : the future is built with the present , without changing it; You just
have to put sa - in front of it.

anna , me sa - a -drus (u) I will study ‫َس ـــأ ْد ُر س‬ ‫أنـــا‬

anta , you (m) sa - ta -drus (u) you
study
will ‫َس ـــتَـــْد ُر س‬ ‫أنـَت‬
anti , you (f) sa - ta -drus- în you will
(a) study
‫َس ـــتـَــْد ُر ســين‬ ‫أنـِت‬
‫ُهـــَو‬
huwa , he sa - ya -drus (u) will study ‫َس ـــيـَــْد ُر س‬
daughter , she sa - ta -drus (u) will study ‫َس ـــتـَــْد ُر س‬ ‫ِهــَي‬
na h nu , we sa-na -drus (u) will study ‫َس ـــنـَــْد ُر س‬ ‫نَـْح ـُن‬
antum , you sa-ta -drus- ûn you will
(a) study
‫أنـتُــْم َس ـــتَـــْد ُر ســـون‬
Antunna , you sa-ta -drus- na you
study
will
‫أنـتُـَّن َس ـــتَـــْد ُرْس ـــَن‬
um , they sa-ya -drus- ûn will study
(a)
‫ُهــــْم َس ـــيـَــْد ُر ســـون‬
hunna , they sa-ya -drus- na will study
‫ُهـــَّن َس ـــيـَــْد ُرْس ـــَن‬
antumâ , you two sa-ta -drus- ân you will
(i) study
‫َس ـــتَـــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫أنـتُـمـا‬
humâ , the two of them sa-ya -drus- ân will study
(i)
‫َس ـــيَـــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
humâ , the two of them sa-ta -drus- ân will study
(i)
‫َس ـــتـَــْد ُر ســان‬ ‫ُهــمـا‬
Remember: the vowels that we have put in parentheses at the end of the verbs are only
to join them to a word that comes after: na h nu sa-nadrus (u) l-'arabía , we will study
Arabic .
Conjugate the following verbs in past, present, future and imperative:
fá'ala - yaf'al , to do ; jaraŷa - yajruj , go out ; ŷálasa – yajlis , sit

THE NEGATION

The past is negated with the particle mâ ; the present and the imperative with lâ .
The future is negated with the particle lan , but the verb follows without the prefix sa -
and in the subjunctive , as we will see later.

THE SUBJUNCTIVE
Until now, you have always conjugated the verb in the present indicative ( mu d
âri' marfû' ). In this lesson you will learn how to do it in the present subjunctive ( mu
dâri ' man s ûb) . The subjunctive is preceded by particles; The most frequent are: an ,
que (“for me to study”), li -, para que (“for me to study”), etc.
The present subjunctive ( mu d âri' man s ûb ) is the same as the present
indicative ( mu d âri' marfû' ), except for the following: 1st the vowel of union to the
following word - the (u) in parentheses that we put in the previous tables - becomes an
(a) , 2nd the persons anti , antum , hum , antumâ and humâ lose the final – n , 3rd
also, in the persons antum and hum the final – n that is lost is replaced for a – â that is
not read.
In the following table you can check the differences between the mu dâri '
marfû' and the mu dâri ' man s ûb :

mu d âri' marfû' mu dâri ' man s ûb

I study a - drus (u) that I study an a - drus (a)
you study ta - drus (u) that you study an ta - drus (a)
you study ta - drus - în (a) that you study an ta - drus - î
he studies already - drus let him study an ya - drus (a)
(u)
she studies ta - drus (u) let her study an ta - drus (a)
we study na - drus (u) that we study an na - drus (a)
You study ta - drus - ûn (a) that you study an ta - drus - û
you study ta - drus - na that you study an ta - drus - na
they study ya - drus - ûn (a) let them study an ya - drus - û
they study ya - drus - na let them study an ya - drus - na
you two study ta - drus - ân (i) that you study an ta - drus - â
they both study ya - drus - ân (i) let them study an ya - drus - â
they both study ya - drus - ân (i) let them study an ta - drus - â
Observe carefully: 1º The union vowel (u) becomes (a) . 2º In the persons anti ,
antum , hum , antumâ , humâ the final – n disappears (with the union vowel that it
had in the present indicative). These are the differences. 3º The antunna and hunna
people do not change. 4º Remember that, writing in Arabic, in the persons antum and
hum you must place an –â that is not read as a substitute for the final –n: an tadrusû (â)
, which you study .
It conjugates in mu d âri' marfû' and in mu d âri' man s ûb the verb fá'ala - yaf'al , to do .

THE NEGATION
The subjunctive is negated with lâ , like the present indicative: an lâ yadrus (a) ,
that he does not study . The conjunction an ( that ) plus the negation lâ can be
contracted like this: allâ ( allâ yadrus (a) , may he not study ).
Important : the negative particle lan plus a verb in the subjunctive is the
negation of the future: anâ lan adrus (a) , I will not study , hum lan yadrusû , they will
not study ,…

THE MAŶZÛM

The mu d âri' majzûm (pronounce majçûm ) is another form of present that

has no exact equivalent in Spanish. Only the use of language and grammar will teach us
how to use it properly. Preceded by the particle in ( if ...) is translated by a conditional .
But preceded by the negative particle lam it indicates a negation in the past (just like
mâ plus past).
For this reason, we will translate the word majzûm as conditional , but others
call it apocopate present or jussive present: in all cases it is the same thing.
The mu d âri'maŷzûm is conjugated the same as the subjunctive ( mu d âri'
man s ûb ), except for one detail: it does not have vowels connecting the following
word (it does not accept either the –(u) of the present nor the – (a) of the subjunctive).

mu d âri' majzûm

if I studied in a - drus ( ) if we studied in na - drus ( )

if you studied in ta - drus if you studied in ta - drus - û
()
if you studied in ta - drus - if you studied in ta - drus - na
î
if he studied in ya - drus ( if they studied in ya - drus - û
)
if she studied in ta - drus if they studied in ya - drus - na
()

if you two studied in ta - drus - â

if they two studied in ya - drus - â
 if the two of them studied in ta - drus - â

Remember: The present ( mu d âri' ) has three forms: indicative ( marfû' ),

subjunctive ( man s ûb ) and conditional ( maŷzûm ). 1 - The indicative is
characterized because its union vowel in some people ( anâ , anta , huwa , hiya and na
h nu ) is a –(u) , and because it maintains the final –n in the people anti , antum ,
hum , antumâ and humâ . 2 - The subjunctive is characterized because it changes the
union –(u) for a –(a) and deletes the final –n in the persons mentioned before. 3 - The
conditional is characterized in that it does not have a union vowel, and, like the
subjunctive, it eliminates the final – n . 4 - In the subjunctive and conditional the final
– n deleted in the persons antum and hum is replaced by a silent – â . 5 - Antunna
and Hunna people never change.
Important : The particle lam plus a verb in the majzûm tense is translated by a
negation in the past: anâ lam adrus ( ) , I did not study , equal in meaning to: anâ mâ
darastu , I did not study ; humâ lam yadrusâ , the two of them did not study , just like
humâ mâ darasâ , the two of them did not study . This is the most frequent use of this
tense , since the conditional form has other easier alternatives.

THE NEGATION
Remember: mâ plus a verb in the past or lam plus a verb in majzûm is a negated
past; lâ more present is the way of denying the present; lan plus a subjunctive verb is
the way to deny a future. Lam and lan should not be confused.

REVIEW
We can review everything studied by writing it directly in Arabic. Let's see it applied to
the verb dárasa - yadrus , to study :

‫األْم ــــــــــر‬ ‫الـمــــاضــــي الُم ـضـــــــارع الُم ـضـــــــارع الُم ـضـــــــارع‬

‫الَم ــجــزوم‬ ‫الَم ــرفــوع الَم ـنـصـوب‬

‫أْد ُرْس‬ ‫أْد ُرَس‬ ‫أْد ُرُس‬ ‫َدَرْس ــــُت‬ ‫أنـا‬

‫ُاْد ُرْس‬ ‫تَـْد ُرْس‬ ‫تَـْد ُرَس‬ ‫تَـْد ُرُس‬ ‫َد َر ْســــَت‬ ‫أنـَت‬
‫ُاْد ُر ســــــي‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــي‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــي‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســيـَن‬ ‫َدَرْس ــــِت‬ ‫أنـِت‬
‫َيـْد ُرْس‬ ‫َيـْد ُرَس‬ ‫َيـْد ُرُس‬ ‫َد َر َس‬ ‫ُهـَو‬
‫تَـْد ُرْس‬ ‫تَـْد ُرَس‬ ‫تَـْد ُرُس‬ ‫َد َرَس ــــْت‬ ‫ِهـَي‬

‫نَـْد ُرْس‬ ‫نَـْد ُرَس‬ ‫نَـْد ُرُس‬ ‫َدَرْس ـــــنـا‬ ‫نَـحـُن‬

‫ُاْد ُر ســـــوا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــوا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــوا‬ ‫تَـدُر ســوَن‬ ‫َدَرْس ــــتُـْم‬ ‫أنـتُـم‬
‫ُاْد ُر ْســــــَن‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ْســـــَن‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ْســـــَن‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ْســــَن‬ ‫َدَرْس ــــتُـَّن‬ ‫أنـتُـَّن‬
‫يَـْد ُر ســــوا‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ســــوا‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ســوَن‬ ‫َد َر ســـــوا‬ ‫ُهـم‬
‫ُهـََّّن‬
‫َيـدُر ْســـــَن‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ْســـــَن‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ْســــَن‬ ‫َد َر ْســـــَن‬
‫ُاْد ُر ســـــــا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســـاِن‬ ‫َدَرْس ـــتُـمـا‬ ‫أنـتُـما‬
 ‫َيـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫َيـْد ُر ســـاِن‬ ‫َد َر ســــــــا‬ ‫ُهـما‬
‫تَـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســــــا‬ ‫تَـْد ُر ســـاِن‬ ‫َد َرَس ــــــتـا‬ ‫ُهـما‬

You must do this with all the verbs of the Arabic language until the process is well
mechanized. To get a good handle on the previous table, start by replacing the verb
study with the verb do : fa'ala - yaf'al ‫ فَـَعـَل – َيـفْــَعـل‬.
‫األْم ـــــــــــر‬ ‫الُم ـضارع الَم جزوم‬ ‫الـمـــــاضـــي الُم ـضـارع الَم ـرفـوع الُم ـضـارع الَم ـنـصوب‬
‫أنـا‬
‫أنـَت‬
‫أنـِت‬
‫ُهـَو‬
‫ِهـَي‬
‫نَـحـُن‬
‫أنـتُـم‬
‫أنـتُـَّن‬
‫ُهـم‬
‫ُهـََّّن‬

‫أنـتُـما‬
‫ُهـما‬
‫ُهـما‬

CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS

Arabic verbs are classified into groups based on the form they have in the third
person masculine singular in the past ( huwa ), that is, the first form of the statement. If
we observe that form we can tell if a verb is radical or derived, if it is healthy or sick.

1 - A verb is radical when it consists of three letters ( we will not take into
account the short vowels, but we will take the long ones ): d a r a s a (drs), k a t a b a
(ktb), qâl a (q -â-l), b a kà (bk-à). It is derived when it consists of more than three
letters: d a rr a s a (drrs), sâf a r a (s-â-fr), t a k a ll a m a (tkllm).

2 - A verb is healthy when its three radical letters are consonants: d a r a s a , ŷ a

l a s a , f a t a h a , f a ' a la , dz a h a b a . It is sick when any of its three letters is a long
vowel: w a s a l a . qâl a , b a kà ; or when the last two consonants are the same: r a dd
a , m a rr a . Also when any of its three letters is a hamza: am a r a , aj a dz a . ak a l a,
s a al a , q a r a a .
 The classification of verbs is important to continue advancing in the study of
Arabic conjugation, but for a first course the notions studied up to this point are
sufficient.