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Now that you know the dual pronouns **هما** (they two) and **أنتما** (you two), it is time to put them into action. Just like singular and plural verbs, Arabic verbs must change their shape to match a dual subject.

### The Present Tense (Dual)

To conjugate a verb for two people in the present indicative tense, add the suffix **ـان** to the end of the verb. The prefix changes depending on who is performing the action:

| Pronoun | Prefix + Suffix | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **هما** (They two, Masculine / Mixed) | يـ ... ـان | يتشابهان |
| **هما** (They two, Feminine) | تـ ... ـان | تتسابقان |
| **أنتما** (You two) | تـ ... ـان | تتسابقان |

Notice that the feminine "they two" and the gender-neutral "you two" use the exact same form. Context will always make it clear which is meant.

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### The Past Tense (Dual)

In the past tense, verbs do not take prefixes. Instead, they use specific suffixes to show who performed the action:

| Pronoun | Suffix | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **هما** (They two, Masculine / Mixed) | ـا | تسابقا |
| **هما** (They two, Feminine) | ـتا | لعبتا |
| **أنتما** (You two) | ـتما | تسابقتما |

A helpful shortcut: the past tense suffix for "you two" (**ـتما**) perfectly matches the end of the pronoun itself (**أنتما**).

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### Emphasizing "Both"

To emphasize that a pair did something together—like twin siblings engaged in a friendly rivalry—you can use the word **كلاهما** (both of them) alongside your dual verbs.

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Dual verbs

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
twin	توأمtaw'am
to resemble each other	تشابهtashâbaha
Ahmed and Youssef are twins and they resemble each other very much.	أحمد ويوسف توأم وهما يتشابهان جدا.ahmadu wa yûsufu taw'amun wa humâ yatashâbahâni jiddan.
intelligence	ذكاءzakâ'
They resemble each other in intelligence a lot.	هما يتشابهان في الذكاء كثيرا.humâ yatashâbahâni fi-l-dhakâ'i kathîran
to challenge	تحدىtahaddâ
to race each other	تسابقtasâbaqa
speed	سرعةsur'a
Yesterday, Ahmed challenged Youssef and they raced in speed.	أمس، تحدى أحمد يوسف وتسابقا في السرعة.amsi, tahaddâ ahmadu yûsufa wa tasâbaqâ fî as-sur'ati
to defeat	غلبghalaba
When they raced, Ahmed defeated Youssef.	عندما تسابقا، غلب أحمد يوسف.'indamâ tasâbaqâ, ghalaba 'ahmadu yûsufa.
Ahmed and Youssef, why do you two always race?	يا أحمد ويوسف، لماذا تتسابقان دائما؟yâ ahmadu wa yûsufu, limâdhâ tatasâbaqâni dâ'iman؟
to differ	اختلفikhtalafa
Did you two differ in something?	هل اختلفتما في شيء؟hali ikhtalaftumâ fî shay'in?
to tie	تعادلta'âdala
You two raced in speed, but you tied in chess.	تسابقتما في السرعة، لكن تعادلتما في الشطرنج.tasābaqtumā fis-sur'ati, lākin ta'ādaltumā fish-shatranji
They played tennis and tied.	لعبا كرة التنس وتعادلا.la'ibâ kurata t-tinisi wa ta'âdalâ
Youssef used intelligence and defeated Ahmed when they raced.	استخدم يوسف الذكاء وغلب أحمد عندما تسابقا.istakhdama yûsufu-dh-dhakâ'a wa ghalaba ahmada 'indamâ tasâbaqâ
Ahmed and Youssef are twins, and they won the competition.	أحمد ويوسف توأم، وفازا في المسابقة.ahmadu wa yûsufu taw'amun, wa fâzâ fil musâbaqah
Maryam and Fatima are racing now.	مريم وفاطمة تتسابقان الآن.maryamu wafâtimatu tatasâbaqâni al'âna
They (f) played well and tied.	لعبتا جيدا وتعادلتا.la'ibatâ jayyidan wa ta'âdalatâ.
When you two played, you challenged our team.	لما لعبتما، تحديتما فريقنا.lammâ la'ibtumâ, tahaddaytumâ farîqanâ.
both of them	كلاهماkilâhumâ
They disagreed yesterday, so both of them raced today.	هما اختلفا أمس، فكلاهما تسابقا اليوم.humâ ikhtalafâ amsi, fakilâhumâ tasâbaqâ al-yawma.
Both of them race quickly, and they always tie.	كلاهما يتسابقان بسرعة، ويتعادلان دائما.kilâhumâ yatasâbaqâni bisur'atin, wa yata'âdalâni dâ'iman.

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