☰ Units · Arabic A1

Daily routine: the present tense

Unit 16 · Part C · Arabic A1 (Beginners)
2

He and she do: the verb with يَ and تَ

Arabic A1 · Unit 16
GoalSay what he and she do with the prefixes يَ and تَ.
New words
هُوَ (huwa) · heهِيَ (hiya) · sheيَذْهَب (yadhhab) · he goesتَذْهَب (tadhhab) · she goesيَشْرَب (yashrab) · he drinksتَشْرَب (tashrab) · she drinksيَكْتُب (yaktub) · he writesتَكْتُب (taktub) · she writes
Explanation

For “he” the verb begins with يَ. For “she” it begins with تَ. The stem is the same as with أَ. So ذْهَب gives يَذْهَب (he goes) and تَذْهَب (she goes). A pronoun like هُوَ or هِيَ can stand in front, or a name: كَرِيم يَذْهَب, لَيْلَى تَذْهَب. The verb changes only in its first letter. Be careful with the name: use يَ for a boy and تَ for a girl.

StemIHeShe
goأَذْهَبيَذْهَبتَذْهَب
drinkأَشْرَبيَشْرَبتَشْرَب
writeأَكْتُبيَكْتُبتَكْتُب
Worked examples
The same sentence for a boy and a girl. Only the first letter of the verb changes.
Names work like pronouns. A boy takes يَ and a girl takes تَ.
Omar

أَيْن يُوسُف؟

Nour

هُوَ يَعْمَل فِي الْبَيْت.

Omar

وَأَيْن سَلْمَى؟

Nour

هِيَ تَذْهَب إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَة.

Omar asks about two friends. Press each line.
Class activity

A man and a woman. Think of a man and a woman you know, for example your father and your mother. Write three lines about each with يَ and تَ, such as أَبِي يَعْمَل and أُمِّي تَقْرَأ. Read the six lines aloud.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Does the verb start with يَ (he) or with تَ (she)?

…

2
Write “she writes” in Arabic.
3
The picture shows a girl. Say “she drinks”.
4
The picture shows a man. Say “he works”.
5
Which is right for Salma: سَلْمَى يَذْهَب or سَلْمَى تَذْهَب?