The future is the present plus سـ
Arabic has no separate future tense. You put سَـ in front of the present verb, written joined to it:
- سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَى السُّوقِ. (sa-adhhabu) — I will go to the market.
- سَتَدْرُسُ لَيْلَى غَدًا. — Layla will study tomorrow.
- سَنُسَافِرُ فِي الصَّيْفِ. — We will travel in the summer.
سَوْفَ is a separate word with the same meaning, a little more emphatic or more distant: سَوْفَ نَرَى. — We will see.
Negating the future: لن + subjunctive
لَنْ replaces سَـ and puts the verb into the subjunctive (منصوب): the final damma becomes fatha.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| سَأَذْهَبُ I will go | لَنْ أَذْهَبَ I will not go |
| سَيَكْتُبُ he will write | لَنْ يَكْتُبَ he will not write |
| سَتَدْرُسُ she will study | لَنْ تَدْرُسَ she will not study |
Forms that end in ـُونَ or ـِينَ lose the ن instead: يَذْهَبُونَ → لَنْ يَذْهَبُوا, تَذْهَبِينَ → لَنْ تَذْهَبِي.
Negating the past: لم + jussive
The usual way to say "did not" is not to negate the past form. You take لَمْ plus the present verb in the jussive (مجزوم), which ends in sukun:
| Past | Negative |
|---|---|
| ذَهَبْتُ I went | لَمْ أَذْهَبْ I did not go |
| كَتَبَ he wrote | لَمْ يَكْتُبْ he did not write |
| دَرَسَتْ she studied | لَمْ تَدْرُسْ she did not study |
| ذَهَبُوا they went | لَمْ يَذْهَبُوا they did not go |
مَا plus the past form (مَا ذَهَبْتُ) means the same thing. It is correct but less formal, and it is the normal form in most spoken Arabic.
Six forms side by side
- أَذْهَبُ. — I go.
- لَا أَذْهَبُ. — I do not go.
- سَأَذْهَبُ. — I will go.
- لَنْ أَذْهَبَ. — I will not go.
- ذَهَبْتُ. — I went.
- لَمْ أَذْهَبْ. — I did not go.
Watch out as an English speaker
- سَـ is a letter, not a word. ✗ سَ أَذْهَبُ / ✓ سَأَذْهَبُ.
- After لَنْ the ending is fatha. ✗ لَنْ أَذْهَبُ. / ✓ لَنْ أَذْهَبَ.
- After لَمْ you use the present form, not the past. ✗ لَمْ ذَهَبْتُ. / ✓ لَمْ أَذْهَبْ.
- لَا does not make a future negative. ✗ لَا أَذْهَبُ غَدًا. (in writing this reads as a present, "I do not go") / ✓ لَنْ أَذْهَبَ غَدًا.
Example dialogue
هَلْ سَتَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْحَفْلَةِ؟ — Will you go to the party?
لَا، لَنْ أَذْهَبَ. عِنْدِي عَمَلٌ. — No, I will not go. I have work.
وَلِمَاذَا لَمْ تَأْتِ أَمْسِ؟ — And why did you not come yesterday?
لَمْ أَسْمَعْ عَنِ الْمَوْعِدِ. — I did not hear about the date.
سَأُخْبِرُكَ فِي الْمَرَّةِ الْقَادِمَةِ. — I will tell you next time.