Endings only
The past tense adds a suffix to a fixed stem. There is no prefix. The bare form كَتَبَ already means "he wrote", and it is the form you look up in a dictionary.
| Pronoun | Verb | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | كَتَبْتُ | katabtu | I wrote |
| أَنْتَ | كَتَبْتَ | katabta | you wrote (m) |
| أَنْتِ | كَتَبْتِ | katabti | you wrote (f) |
| هُوَ | كَتَبَ | kataba | he wrote |
| هِيَ | كَتَبَتْ | katabat | she wrote |
| نَحْنُ | كَتَبْنَا | katabnā | we wrote |
| أَنْتُمْ | كَتَبْتُمْ | katabtum | you wrote (m pl) |
| أَنْتُنَّ | كَتَبْتُنَّ | katabtunna | you wrote (f pl) |
| هُمْ | كَتَبُوا | katabū | they wrote (m) |
| هُنَّ | كَتَبْنَ | katabna | they wrote (f) |
The written forms كَتَبْتُ, كَتَبْتَ and كَتَبْتِ differ only in the last vowel, and the vowel is often left out in print. Context tells you who acted.
The silent alif
هُمْ كَتَبُوا is written with an alif after the و. It is never pronounced: katabū, not katabū-a. This alif appears only after the plural ـوا ending.
- الطُّلَّابُ دَرَسُوا كَثِيرًا. — The students studied a lot.
- ذَهَبُوا إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ. — They went to school.
More verbs in the past
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ذَهَبَ | to go | ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى السُّوقِ. I went to the market. |
| دَرَسَ | to study | دَرَسَتْ لَيْلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةَ. Layla studied Arabic. |
| أَكَلَ | to eat | أَكَلْنَا فِي الْمَطْعَمِ. We ate in the restaurant. |
| سَكَنَ | to live | سَكَنُوا فِي دِمَشْقَ. They lived in Damascus. |
| فَتَحَ | to open | فَتَحْتُ الْبَابَ. I opened the door. |
One past for several English pasts
كَتَبْتُ الرِّسَالَةَ. covers "I wrote the letter", "I have written the letter" and "I did write the letter". To stress that the action is finished, you can add قَدْ: قَدْ كَتَبْتُ الرِّسَالَةَ.
Watch out as an English speaker
- There is no helping verb "did". ✗ هَلْ فَعَلْتَ تَكْتُبُ؟ / ✓ هَلْ كَتَبْتَ؟
- There is no separate "have written". ✗ عِنْدِي كَتَبْتُ. / ✓ كَتَبْتُ.
- "She" takes ـَتْ, not the bare form. ✗ هِيَ كَتَبَ. / ✓ هِيَ كَتَبَتْ.
- The alif of كَتَبُوا is written but not spoken, and it is never added to other endings. ✗ كَتَبْنَاا / ✓ كَتَبْنَا.
- The dictionary form is "he wrote", not an infinitive; there is no word for "to write" as a verb form.
Example dialogue
مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ أَمْسِ؟ — What did you do yesterday?
دَرَسْتُ فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ. — I studied in the library.
وَهَلْ ذَهَبَتْ لَيْلَى مَعَكَ؟ — And did Layla go with you?
لَا، هِيَ كَتَبَتْ رِسَالَةً فِي الْبَيْتِ. — No, she wrote a letter at home.
وَالطُّلَّابُ؟ — And the students?
ذَهَبُوا إِلَى الْمَطْعَمِ. — They went to the restaurant.