An Arabic verb carries two clues inside one word: who does the action and when. You read the ending of a past verb and the beginning of a present verb.
This lesson belongs to the SPM Arabic subject guide. Next, work on telling a verb form from its role in the sentence.
How do you read person and time in one word?
Ask two questions in order. First, does the marker sit at the end or the start? Second, which letter is the marker?
| Person | Past | Present |
|---|---|---|
| he | كَتَبَ | يَكْتُبُ |
| she | كَتَبَتْ | تَكْتُبُ |
| I | كَتَبْتُ | أَكْتُبُ |
| we | كَتَبْنَا | نَكْتُبُ |
The root letters ك ت ب stay the same, which gives the meaning “write”. Only the marker changes who is writing.
Worked example: one sentence, two clues
Read this sentence from an original passage: ذَهَبَتْ فاطمةُ إلى المكتبةِ أمسِ.
- The verb ends in تْ, so it is past and feminine singular.
- The word أمسِ means “yesterday”, which agrees with the past form.
- The subject فاطمةُ is a girl’s name, so feminine is correct.
Meaning: “Fatimah went to the library yesterday.”
Now change one clue. In تَذْهَبُ فاطمةُ إلى المكتبةِ غدًا, the prefix ت marks the present, and غدًا means “tomorrow”. The meaning becomes “Fatimah goes to the library tomorrow”.
A common mistake: reading the prefix ت as ‘you’ every time
Some learners see the prefix ت and translate “you write” automatically. That is one valid reading, but it is not the only one.
| Sentence | Wrong reading | Correct reading |
|---|---|---|
| تَكْتُبُ سارةُ رسالةً | You write a letter | Sarah writes a letter |
| أنتَ تَكْتُبُ رسالةً | Sarah writes a letter | You write a letter |
The deciding clue is the subject. When a feminine noun follows the verb, the ت belongs to “she”. When the pronoun أنتَ is present, the ت belongs to “you”.
Quick time words that support the verb
Time words do not replace the verb clue, but they confirm it.
- أمسِ: yesterday (past verb expected)
- الآنَ: now (present verb expected)
- غدًا: tomorrow (present verb, or سَـ plus a present verb)
- كلَّ يومٍ: every day (present verb)
If the time word and the verb disagree, re-read the verb. The mistake is usually in how you read the marker.
Check yourself
Give the person and the time for each verb, then translate.
- ذَهَبْنَا إلى السوقِ أمسِ.
- أَقْرَأُ القصةَ الآنَ.
Answer
-
ذَهَبْنَا ends in نَا, so it is “we” and past. Translation: “We went to the market yesterday.” أمسِ confirms the past.
-
أَقْرَأُ starts with أ, so it is “I” and present. Translation: “I read the story now.” الآنَ confirms the present.
If you swapped the two, check whether you looked at the end for the past and the start for the present.
What to do next
Practise with the whole set in verbs and sentence relationships practice, then record any slips in a mistake log.
If you want a teacher to listen to your reasoning and correct it, see online one-to-one Arabic tuition.