Apprenez le verbe au passé en arabe avec هُمْ et هُنَّ : conjugaison à l’accompli, masculin pluriel, féminin pluriel et exemples.

The Arabic past tense is essential for learning how to build simple and correct Arabic sentences. In Arabic grammar, the past tense is usually called الْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي or فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ. It expresses a completed action.

In this lesson, we will continue studying the Arabic past tense with the third-person plural pronouns: هُمْ, which means “they” for the masculine plural, and هُنَّ, which means “they” for the feminine plural.

This lesson is useful for beginners, but also for students who want to strengthen their Arabic verb conjugation, better understand past tense verbs and progress in literary Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and Quranic Arabic.

Understanding the Arabic Past Tense

The Arabic past tense generally indicates that an action has been completed. It often corresponds to the English past tense.

Example:

ذَهَبَ

He went.

From this basic form, some endings can be added or modified to indicate who performed the action.

Reminder: What Is the Arabic Perfect Tense?

The Arabic perfect tense, called الْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي, expresses a completed action. In Arabic, the form of the verb changes according to person, gender and number.

In this lesson, we focus on two third-person plural pronouns:

• هُمْ: they, masculine plural;
• هُنَّ: they, feminine plural.

These two forms are very important for reading and understanding simple Arabic sentences.

The Past Tense in the Masculine Plural

With the pronoun هُمْ, the Arabic past tense often takes the ending ـُوا.

Example:

هُمْ ذَهَبُوا

They went.

The ending ـُوا indicates that the subject is masculine plural or grammatically masculine plural.

The Past Tense in the Feminine Plural

With the pronoun هُنَّ, the Arabic past tense often takes the ending ـْنَ.

Example:

هُنَّ ذَهَبْنَ

They went.

The ending ـْنَ indicates that the subject is feminine plural.

Conjugation Table with هُمْ and هُنَّ

This table shows the difference between masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular and feminine plural forms.

Examples with هُمْ in the Masculine Plural

Here are several examples with the pronoun هُمْ.

• هُمْ ذَهَبُوا عِنْدَ الْمُدَرِّسِ: they went to the teacher.
• الطُّلَّابُ خَرَجُوا مَعَ زُمَلَائِهِمْ: the students went out with their classmates.
• الْأَوْلَادُ جَلَسُوا فِي الْمَطْعَمِ: the children sat in the restaurant.

In these sentences, the subject is masculine plural or grammatically masculine plural.

Examples with هُنَّ in the Feminine Plural

Here are several examples with the pronoun هُنَّ.

• هُنَّ وَقَفْنَ عِنْدَ الْبَابِ: they stopped near the door.
• هُنَّ كَتَبْنَ عَلَى السَّبُّورَةِ: they wrote on the board.
• بَنَاتُ طَاهِرٍ جَلَسْنَ فِي السَّيَّارَةِ: Tahir’s daughters sat in the car.

In these sentences, the subject is feminine plural.

Difference Between ذَهَبُوا and ذَهَبْنَ

The difference between ذَهَبُوا and ذَهَبْنَ is related to the gender of the subject.

• ذَهَبُوا is used with هُمْ, for a masculine group or a grammatically masculine group.
• ذَهَبْنَ is used with هُنَّ, for a feminine group.

This distinction is essential because Arabic clearly marks gender and number in verb conjugation.

Other Useful Verbs to Conjugate

To make progress, it is useful to practice with several simple verbs in the past tense.

These verbs help students practice recognizing masculine plural and feminine plural endings.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some common mistakes made by students who learn the Arabic past tense:

• confusing هُمْ and هُنَّ;
• using ذَهَبُوا for a feminine group;
• using ذَهَبْنَ for a masculine group;
• forgetting the ending ـُوا in the masculine plural;
• forgetting the ending ـْنَ in the feminine plural;
• not distinguishing between singular and plural in verb conjugation.

These mistakes are normal at the beginning. They gradually decrease with reading, exercises and correction.

Learn Arabic Verb Conjugation with a Teacher

Arabic verb conjugation requires students to understand the verb, the subject, gender and number. The forms ذَهَبُوا and ذَهَبْنَ show that Arabic is a precise language, where each ending carries meaning.

To learn Arabic effectively, online Arabic classes with an Arabic teacher online help students move step by step. A teacher can correct your mistakes, explain conjugation and provide exercises adapted to your level.

At Al-Dirassa, you can take private Arabic lessons, start Arabic for beginners, progress in Modern Standard Arabic, strengthen your Quranic Arabic or use free Arabic books for beginners alongside your lessons.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we studied Arabic past tense conjugation with the third-person plural pronouns هُمْ and هُنَّ.

With هُمْ, Arabic uses a form such as ذَهَبُوا, meaning “they went” for a masculine group. With هُنَّ, Arabic uses a form such as ذَهَبْنَ, meaning “they went” for a feminine group.

With a progressive method, regular exercises and correction from a teacher, Arabic conjugation becomes clearer and easier to use in real sentences.