Arabic A2, Unit 18: Time order: first, then, finally

Time order: first, then, finally

Arabic A2 · Unit 18

GoalPut the events of a story in order with time words.

New words

أَوَّلًا (ʾawwalan) · firstثُمَّ (thumma) · thenبَعْد ذَلِك (baʿda dhālik) · after thatأَخِيرًا (ʾakhīran) · finallyفِي الصَّبَاح (fī ṣ-ṣabāḥ) · in the morningفِي الْمَسَاء (fī l-masāʾ) · in the eveningرَجَعْتُ (rajaʿtu) · I returnedوَصَلْتُ (waṣaltu) · I arrived

Explanation

To tell a story, put the events in order with time words: أَوَّلًا “first”, ثُمَّ “then”, بَعْد ذَلِك “after that” and أَخِيرًا “finally”. The verbs stay in the past, and they change with the person: شَرِبْتُ “I drank”, شَرِبَ “he drank”, شَرِبَتْ “she drank”, شَرِبْنَا “we drank”. To say when, add فِي الصَّبَاح “in the morning” or فِي الْمَسَاء “in the evening”. Two more past verbs are رَجَعَ “returned” and وَصَلَ “arrived”. Between two actions of the same person you can also use وَ “and”.

Word	Meaning	Example
أَوَّلًا	first	أَوَّلًا أَكَلْنَا الْفَطُور
ثُمَّ	then	ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَا إِلَى السُّوق
بَعْد ذَلِك	after that	بَعْد ذَلِك دَخَلْنَا الْمَتْجَر
أَخِيرًا	finally	أَخِيرًا رَجَعْنَا إِلَى الْبَيْت

Worked examples

A morning in order. Listen and repeat.

Karim

كَيْف كَانَ يَوْمُكِ يَا لَيْلَى؟

Layla

كَانَ جَمِيلًا! أَوَّلًا ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْحَدِيقَة مَعَ أُخْتِي.

Karim

وَبَعْد ذَلِك؟

Layla

ثُمَّ أَكَلْنَا فِي الْمَطْعَم، وَأَخِيرًا رَجَعْنَا إِلَى الْبَيْت.

Karim asks Layla about her day. Press each line.

Morning and evening.

Class activity

Tell the story of your last morning in four sentences. Start with أَوَّلًا, then use ثُمَّ, بَعْد ذَلِك and أَخِيرًا. Use verbs in the past with أَنَا (the ending ـْتُ).

Practice

Press Listen. Is the word “always”, “suddenly” or “finally”?

Write: “First I drank water, then I ate bread.”

The picture shows the sunrise. Write: “In the morning I went to school.”

The picture shows the moon. Write: “In the evening we returned home.”

Write: “Finally she arrived.”

Telling a story

Time order: first, then, finally