3
Present tense: I, you (m.), he, she
Arabic A2 · Unit 1
GoalMake the present tense for أَنَا، أَنْتَ، هُوَ and هِيَ.
New words
يَدْرُس (yadrus) · he studiesيَفْتَح (yaftaḥ) · he opensيَلْعَب (yalʿab) · he playsيَجْلِس (yajlis) · he sitsيَدْخُل (yadkhul) · he entersيَخْرُج (yakhruj) · he goes out
Explanation
The present tense starts with a small prefix that shows who is acting. أَ is “I”, تَ is “you” (to a man), يَ is “he” and تَ is also “she”. The prefix goes in front of the stem, for example دْرُس. The middle vowel belongs to the verb, so learn it with the verb: يَدْرُس has u, يَفْتَح has a, يَجْلِس has i. The forms for “you” (man) and “she” look the same. The pronoun or the situation tells you which one it is.
| Who | Prefix | Verb دَرَسَ |
|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | أَ | أَدْرُس |
| أَنْتَ | تَ | تَدْرُس |
| هُوَ | يَ | يَدْرُس |
| هِيَ | تَ | تَدْرُس |
Worked examples
The same action, three people. Listen to the prefix.
Karim
أَيْن تَجْلِس؟
Salma
أَجْلِس هُنَا.
Karim
وَأَحْمَد؟
Salma
هُوَ يَجْلِس بِجَانِب الْبَاب.
One verb, all four faces.
Class activity
Four faces. Write the four present forms of يَدْخُل (enter) and of يَخْرُج (go out) under أَنَا، أَنْتَ، هُوَ، هِيَ. Then say each one aloud, pointing at yourself, at a man, at a boy and at a woman.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Which prefix do you hear: أَ، تَ or يَ?
…
أَ: the word is أَسْكُن (ʾaskun), “I live”.
2
Write in Arabic: “she opens”.
هِيَ تَفْتَح.
3
The picture shows a boy. Say: “he plays”.
هُوَ يَلْعَب.
4
You speak to the man in the picture. Ask him: “where do you sit?”.
أَيْن تَجْلِس؟
5
Which two forms in the table look the same? Why?
تَدْرُس is both “you” (to a man) and “she”. The pronoun or the situation shows which one is meant.