Regular Verbs in Arabic109

Arabic verbs are classified into three main types: regular, irregular, and defective. Regular verbs are the most common type of verb in Arabic and follow a set of rules for their conjugation. In this article, we will discuss the rules for conjugating regular Arabic verbs in the present, past, and future tenses.

Present Tense

The present tense of regular Arabic verbs is formed by adding the following prefixes to the root of the verb:
Perfect (masculine singular): ي (ya-)
Perfect (feminine singular): ت (ta-)
Imperfect (masculine singular): ي (ya-)
Imperfect (feminine singular): ت (ta-)
Imperfect (masculine plural): ي (ta-)
Imperfect (feminine plural): ت (ta-)

For example, the verb كَتَبَ (kataba, "to write") would be conjugated in the present tense as follows:
Perfect (masculine singular): يكتب (yaktubu)
Perfect (feminine singular): تكتب (taktubu)
Imperfect (masculine singular): يكتب (yaktubu)
Imperfect (feminine singular): تكتب (taktubu)
Imperfect (masculine plural): يكتبون (yaktubuna)
Imperfect (feminine plural): يكتبن (yaktubna)

Past Tense

The past tense of regular Arabic verbs is formed by adding the following suffixes to the root of the verb:
Perfect (masculine singular):َ ـَ (a)
Perfect (feminine singular): ت (at)
Imperfect (masculine singular): ـَ (a)
Imperfect (feminine singular): ت (at)
Imperfect (masculine plural): ـوا (u)
Imperfect (feminine plural): ن (na)

For example, the verb كَتَبَ (kataba, "to write") would be conjugated in the past tense as follows:
Perfect (masculine singular): كتب (kataba)
Perfect (feminine singular): كتبت (katabat)
Imperfect (masculine singular): كان يكتب (kana yaktubu)
Imperfect (feminine singular): كانت تكتب (kanat taktubu)
Imperfect (masculine plural): كانوا يكتبون (kanu yaktubuna)
Imperfect (feminine plural): كنّ يكتبن (kunna yaktubna)

Future Tense

The future tense of regular Arabic verbs is formed by adding the following prefixes to the root of the verb:
Perfect (masculine singular): سَـ (sa-)
Perfect (feminine singular): سَـ (sa-)
Imperfect (masculine singular): سَ (sa-)
Imperfect (feminine singular): سَ (sa-)
Imperfect (masculine plural): سَـ (sa-)
Imperfect (feminine plural): سَـ (sa-)

For example, the verb كَتَبَ (kataba, "to write") would be conjugated in the future tense as follows:
Perfect (masculine singular): سيكتب (sayaktubu)
Perfect (feminine singular): ستكتب (sataktubu)
Imperfect (masculine singular): سيكتب (sayaktubu)
Imperfect (feminine singular): ستكتب (sataktubu)
Imperfect (masculine plural): سيكتبون (sayaktubuna)
Imperfect (feminine plural): سيكتبن (sayaktubna)

2024-12-17

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