Arabic Verbs: Past, Present, Future, Imperative and Conjugation

Arabic verbs are essential for understanding Arabic grammar, reading sentences correctly and building your own expressions. In Arabic, the verb is called الفِعْلُ. It expresses an action linked to a tense, a person, a gender and sometimes a number.

To learn Arabic properly, it is essential to understand the main verb forms: the past, the present, the future and the imperative. You also need to recognize prefixes, endings, pronouns and the changes related to Arabic conjugation.

In this complete lesson, we will study Arabic verb tenses, the three main verb forms, the conjugation of the verb كَتَبَ, the present tense, the past tense, the formation of the future with سـ and سَوْفَ, as well as practical examples to make everything clearer.

This lesson is useful for Arabic beginners, but also for students who want to progress in Modern Standard Arabic, classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic, Arabic reading and Arabic conjugation.

Understanding the verb in Arabic

In Arabic, the verb expresses an action. This action can be completed, ongoing, habitual, future or requested as an order.

An Arabic verb can vary according to several elements:

• tense: past, present, future or imperative;
• person: I, you, he, she, we, you plural, they;
• gender: masculine or feminine;
• number: singular, dual or plural;
• context: affirmative, negative, interrogative or conditional sentence.

Understanding these elements helps students recognize verbs in Arabic sentences and avoid common conjugation mistakes.

The three main forms of the Arabic verb

In Arabic grammar, there are generally three main verb forms:

• the past: الفِعْلُ المَاضِي;
• the present or imperfect: الفِعْلُ المُضَارِعُ;
• the imperative: فِعْلُ الأَمْرِ.

These three forms allow you to express an action that has already been completed, an action that is ongoing or habitual, or an order addressed to someone.

The past tense in Arabic: الفِعْلُ المَاضِي

The Arabic past tense, also called the perfect verb, expresses a completed action. Depending on the context, it often corresponds to the English simple past or present perfect.

اِلْتَحَقَ أَخِي بِالْجَامِعَةِ
My brother joined the university.

In this sentence, the verb اِلْتَحَقَ indicates an action that has already been completed.

Other examples:

• كَتَبَ: he wrote;
• دَرَسَ: he studied;
• جَلَسَ: he sat down;
• نَامَ: he slept;
• ذَهَبَ: he went;
• خَرَجَ: he went out.

The basic Arabic verb form is often given in the third person masculine singular. This is why dictionaries and grammar books usually present verbs in forms such as فَعَلَ, كَتَبَ, ذَهَبَ or خَرَجَ.

The present tense in Arabic: الفِعْلُ المُضَارِعُ

The Arabic present tense, also called the imperfect verb, expresses an ongoing action, a habit, a general action or sometimes a future action depending on the context.

تَعْمَلُ أُمِّي مُوَظَّفَةً فِي الشَّرِكَةِ
My mother works as an employee in a company.

In this example, the verb تَعْمَلُ expresses a present action. It may mean that the person is working now or that she usually works in that job.

Other examples:

• يَكْتُبُ: he writes;
• يَدْرُسُ: he studies;
• يَجْلِسُ: he sits down;
• يَنَامُ: he sleeps;
• يُحِبُّ: he loves.

The letters of the present tense verb

The Arabic present tense verb often begins with one of the following letters:

• أَ: for “I”;
• نَ: for “we”;
• يَ: often for “he”;
• تَ: for “you” or “she”, depending on the context.

These letters are sometimes summarized by the formula أَنَيْتُ, used in traditional Arabic conjugation learning.

Examples:

• أَكْتُبُ: I write;
• نَكْتُبُ: we write;
• يَكْتُبُ: he writes;
• تَكْتُبُ: you write / she writes.

The future tense in Arabic: المُسْتَقْبَل

The Arabic future tense expresses an action that will happen later. It can be indicated by the context, by a time adverb or by markers such as سـ and سَوْفَ.

Forming the future with سـ

The future can be formed simply by adding the prefix سـ before the present tense verb.

يَذْهَبُ مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَى العَمَلِ
Muhammad goes to work.

سَيَذْهَبُ مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَى العَمَلِ
Muhammad will go to work.

The verb يَذْهَبُ is in the present tense. When سـ is added, it becomes سَيَذْهَبُ, which expresses the future.

Forming the future with سَوْفَ

The word سَوْفَ also indicates a future action. It is placed before the present tense verb.

سَوْفَ أَحُجُّ فِي العَامِ القَادِمِ
I will perform Hajj next year.

سَيُسَافِرُ أَبِي غَدًا إِلَى بَاكِسْتَانَ
My father will travel to Pakistan tomorrow.

In the last sentence, the prefix سـ and the word غَدًا, which means “tomorrow”, indicate that the action will happen in the future.

The imperative in Arabic: فِعْلُ الأَمْرِ

The imperative in Arabic is used to give an order, instruction or direct request. It is generally addressed to the second person.

Examples:

• اُكْتُبْ: write;
• اُدْرُسْ: study;
• اِجْلِسْ: sit down;
• نَمْ: sleep.

The imperative is very useful in everyday communication, in Arabic grammar exercises and in understanding certain expressions found in Arabic texts.

Comparison table: past, present, future and imperative

Concept	Arabic form	Example	Translation
Past	الفِعْلُ المَاضِي	كَتَبَ	He wrote
Present	الفِعْلُ المُضَارِعُ	يَكْتُبُ	He writes
Future	سـ + present	سَيَكْتُبُ	He will write
Imperative	فِعْلُ الأَمْرِ	اُكْتُبْ	Write

Conjugation of the verb كَتَبَ

The verb كَتَبَ means “he wrote”. It is often used as a model in Arabic conjugation because its letters are simple and regular.

From this verb, we can form:

• كَتَبَ: he wrote;
• يَكْتُبُ: he writes;
• اُكْتُبْ: write;
• سَيَكْتُبُ: he will write.

Conjugation of كَتَبَ in the present tense

Pronoun	Arabic form	Translation
I	أَكْتُبُ	I write
You masculine	تَكْتُبُ	You write
You feminine	تَكْتُبِينَ	You write
He	يَكْتُبُ	He writes
She	تَكْتُبُ	She writes
We	نَكْتُبُ	We write
They masculine	يَكْتُبُونَ	They write
They feminine	يَكْتُبْنَ	They write

Conjugation of كَتَبَ in the past tense

Pronoun	Arabic form	Translation
I	كَتَبْتُ	I wrote
You masculine	كَتَبْتَ	You wrote
You feminine	كَتَبْتِ	You wrote
He	كَتَبَ	He wrote
She	كَتَبَتْ	She wrote
We	كَتَبْنَا	We wrote
They masculine	كَتَبُوا	They wrote
They feminine	كَتَبْنَ	They wrote

Conjugation of كَتَبَ in the imperative

Addressee	Arabic form	Translation
You masculine	اُكْتُبْ	Write
You feminine	اُكْتُبِي	Write
You two	اُكْتُبَا	Both of you write
You masculine plural	اُكْتُبُوا	Write
You feminine plural	اُكْتُبْنَ	Write

The verb يُحِبُّ in the present tense: to love

The verb يُحِبُّ means “he loves”. It comes from the verb حَبَّ. It helps students understand how prefixes work in the present tense.

Arabic form	Translation	Note
أُحِبُّ	I love	The prefix indicates “I”.
تُحِبُّ	You love / she loves	The meaning depends on context.
يُحِبُّ	He loves	Masculine singular form.
نُحِبُّ	We love	The prefix indicates “we”.

Examples with يُحِبُّ

English	Arabic
I love Allah.	أُحِبُّ اللهَ
Khalid loves the Arabic language.	يُحِبُّ خَالِدٌ اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ
Fatima loves reading.	تُحِبُّ فَاطِمَةُ الْقِرَاءَةَ
We love our religion.	نُحِبُّ دِينَنَا
You love your classmate.	تُحِبُّ زَمِيلَكَ
That is my father; I love him.	ذَلِكَ أَبِي، أَنَا أُحِبُّهُ
That is my mother; I love her.	تِلْكَ أُمِّي، أَنَا أُحِبُّهَا

The subject and object with the present tense verb

In an Arabic verbal sentence, the verb can be followed by a subject and an object. The subject indicates who performs the action. The object indicates what receives the action.

يُحِبُّ أَكْبَرُ الْكِتَابَةَ
Akbar loves writing.

In this sentence:

• يُحِبُّ is the present tense verb;
• أَكْبَرُ is the subject;
• الْكِتَابَةَ is the object.

The object of the verb is generally in the accusative case. In this example, الْكِتَابَةَ carries a final fatha because it is the object of the verb.

Conjugation of the verb ذَهَبَ in the past tense

The verb ذَهَبَ means “to go” or “to leave”. In its basic form, ذَهَبَ means “he went”.

Personal pronoun	Arabic form	Translation
أَنْتَ	ذَهَبْتَ	You went
أَنْتِ	ذَهَبْتِ	You went
هُوَ	ذَهَبَ	He went
هِيَ	ذَهَبَتْ	She went
أَنَا	ذَهَبْتُ	I went
نَحْنُ	ذَهَبْنَا	We went

Conjugation of the verb خَرَجَ in the past tense

The verb خَرَجَ means “to go out” or “to leave”. In its basic form, خَرَجَ means “he went out”.

Personal pronoun	Arabic form	Translation
أَنْتَ	خَرَجْتَ	You went out
أَنْتِ	خَرَجْتِ	You went out
هُوَ	خَرَجَ	He went out
هِيَ	خَرَجَتْ	She went out
أَنَا	خَرَجْتُ	I went out
نَحْنُ	خَرَجْنَا	We went out

Examples of sentences with the past tense verb

English	Arabic
Ahmad went to Iraq.	ذَهَبَ أَحْمَدُ إِلَى الْعِرَاقِ
Amina left the classroom.	خَرَجَتْ آمِنَةُ مِنَ الْفَصْلِ
Where did you go, Aisha?	أَيْنَ ذَهَبْتِ يَا عَائِشَةُ؟
Why did you leave the mosque?	لِمَاذَا خَرَجْتَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ؟
Did Bilqis go to the kitchen?	أَذَهَبَتْ بِلْقِيسُ إِلَى الْمَطْبَخِ؟
I went to the hospital.	ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمُسْتَشْفَىٰ
We left the university.	خَرَجْنَا مِنَ الْجَامِعَةِ

Examples of Arabic verbs in the present and future

Here are several examples to compare the present and future in Arabic.

يَبْدَأُ العَامُ الدِّرَاسِيُّ الجَدِيدُ
The new school year begins.

سَيَبْدَأُ العَامُ الدِّرَاسِيُّ الجَدِيدُ بَعْدَ شَهْرٍ
The new school year will begin in a month.

نُصَلِّي صَلَاةَ العِيدِ
We perform the Eid prayer.

سَنُصَلِّي صَلَاةَ العِيدِ بَعْدَ شُرُوقِ الشَّمْسِ
We will perform the Eid prayer after sunrise.

يَنْجَحُ الطَّالِبُ المُجْتَهِدُ
The hardworking student succeeds.

سَيَنْجَحُ الطَّالِبُ المُجْتَهِدُ
The hardworking student will succeed.

Words that indicate the time of the action

In Arabic, certain words help specify when the action takes place. These words are very useful for identifying the tense expressed by the verb.

• أَمْسِ: yesterday;
• اليَوْمَ: today;
• غَدًا: tomorrow;
• بَعْدَ: after.

غَدًا
Tomorrow.

اليَوْمَ
Today.

بَعْدَ سَاعَةٍ
After an hour / in an hour.

To study this vocabulary further, you can read the lesson on Arabic time adverbs.

When the present tense can express another time

In Arabic, the present tense can sometimes express a future meaning or be used in specific constructions. Context then plays an important role.

إِنْ ذَاكَرَ مُحَمَّدٌ جَيِّدًا يَنْجَحْ
If Muhammad studies seriously, he will succeed.

In this example, the verb يَنْجَحْ can be understood with a future meaning because it depends on a condition.

أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَلْعَبَ مَعَ أَصْدِقَائِي
I want to play with my friends.

Here, the verb أَلْعَبَ depends on أَنْ. This type of construction is frequent in Arabic grammar and should be studied progressively.

Arabic verb roots

In Arabic, many verbs are built from a root. This root can be composed of three, four, five or six letters. The number of letters can sometimes influence the form of the verb in the present tense or imperative.

Number of letters	Past	Present	Imperative	Meaning
Three letters	جَلَسَ	يَجْلِسُ	اِجْلِسْ	to sit down
Four letters	أَصْلَحَ	يُصْلِحُ	أَصْلِحْ	to reform
Five letters	اِقْتَرَبَ	يَقْتَرِبُ	اِقْتَرِبْ	to come closer
Six letters	اِسْتَخْرَجَ	يَسْتَخْرِجُ	اِسْتَخْرِجْ	to extract

For a beginner, it is not necessary to master all forms from the start. The first goal is to recognize the main forms: past, present, future and imperative.

How to quickly recognize the tense of an Arabic verb

Clue	Likely tense	Example
Basic form often ending with a fatha	Past	كَتَبَ
Prefix أ، ن، ي، ت	Present	يَكْتُبُ
سـ + present	Future	سَيَكْتُبُ
سَوْفَ + present	Future	سَوْفَ أَكْتُبُ
Order form addressed to someone	Imperative	اُكْتُبْ

Arabic conjugation exercises

Exercise 1: complete with the verb يُحِبُّ

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verb يُحِبُّ.

1. I love reading: ___ الْقِرَاءَةَ
2. We love our religion: ___ دِينَنَا
3. Khalid loves the Arabic language: ___ خَالِدٌ اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ
4. Fatima loves writing: ___ فَاطِمَةُ الْكِتَابَةَ

Correction:

1. أُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ
2. نُحِبُّ دِينَنَا
3. يُحِبُّ خَالِدٌ اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ
4. تُحِبُّ فَاطِمَةُ الْكِتَابَةَ

Exercise 2: complete in the past tense with ذَهَبَ or خَرَجَ

1. I went to school: ___ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ with ذَهَبَ.
2. She left the house: ___ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ with خَرَجَ.
3. You went, masculine: ___ with ذَهَبَ.
4. We left: ___ with خَرَجَ.

Correction:

1. ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ
2. خَرَجَتْ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ
3. ذَهَبْتَ
4. خَرَجْنَا

Common mistakes made by beginners

• Confusing the past and present because of overly literal translation.
• Forgetting that the present tense can sometimes express a future meaning depending on the context.
• Not recognizing the present tense prefixes: أ، ن، ي، ت.
• Forgetting past tense endings such as ـتُ, ـتَ, ـتِ, ـنَا.
• Confusing the imperative with the present tense.
• Adding سـ to the wrong verb form.
• Studying tables without practicing in complete sentences.

Why learn Arabic verbs progressively?

Arabic conjugation may seem difficult at first because the verb changes according to person, gender, number and tense. However, with a clear method, learning becomes much easier.

Progressive learning helps you:

• recognize verbs more easily in Arabic sentences;
• improve Arabic reading and text comprehension;
• expand your Arabic vocabulary;
• build correct sentences;
• progress in Modern Standard Arabic and classical Arabic;
• better understand certain Quranic Arabic passages.

Learning Arabic conjugation with method

Understanding Arabic verbs is an important step, but students must then practice with other verbs and in complete sentences. They need to learn how to recognize verb tenses, pronouns, masculine and feminine markers, as well as singular, dual and plural forms.

To progress effectively, it is recommended to study step by step:

• the Arabic alphabet;
• Arabic reading and pronunciation;
• Arabic personal pronouns;
• the past tense verb;
• the present tense verb;
• future formation;
• the imperative;
• basic Arabic vocabulary;
• the first rules of Arabic grammar.

If you want to learn Arabic online with a structured method, online Arabic courses allow you to progress with an Arabic teacher who corrects your mistakes and guides you step by step.

To strengthen Arabic grammar, Arabic reading, pronunciation and vocabulary, you can also follow a path in Modern Standard Arabic. Students who want to better understand Quranic texts can study Quranic Arabic.

For beginners, you can also consult our free online Arabic course and our free Arabic books for beginners.

For families, Al-Dirassa also offers Arabic classes for children, adapted to each student’s age, pace and level.

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FAQ — Arabic verbs and conjugation

What are the main Arabic verb tenses?

The main concepts are the past الماضي, the present المضارع, the future المستقبل and the imperative فعل الأمر.

How do you recognize the past tense verb in Arabic?

The past tense verb expresses a completed action. Its basic form is often like كَتَبَ, ذَهَبَ or خَرَجَ.

How do you recognize the present tense verb in Arabic?

The present tense verb often begins with one of the letters أ، ن، ي، ت, as in أَكْتُبُ, نَكْتُبُ, يَكْتُبُ and تَكْتُبُ.

How do you form the future tense in Arabic?

The future is often formed with سـ or سَوْفَ before the present tense verb, as in سَيَذْهَبُ or سَوْفَ أَكْتُبُ.

What is the imperative in Arabic?

The imperative is used to give an order or direct request, such as اُكْتُبْ “write” or اِجْلِسْ “sit down”.

Why is the verb كَتَبَ often used as a model?

Because it is simple, regular and helps students easily understand the main forms: كَتَبَ, يَكْتُبُ and اُكْتُبْ.

Conclusion

Arabic verbs are at the heart of Arabic grammar. They allow students to express an action in the past, present, future or as an order. The past is called الماضي, the present is called المضارع, the future is often formed with سـ or سَوْفَ, and the imperative is used to give an order.

In this lesson, we studied the main forms of the Arabic verb, the conjugation of كَتَبَ, the present tense with يُحِبُّ, the past tense with ذَهَبَ and خَرَجَ, as well as the formation of the future.

To learn Arabic fully, students need a structured method, regular practice and personalized correction from a teacher. This is how they progress sustainably in reading, comprehension and Arabic expression.