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To express hope or expectation in Arabic, similar to saying "hopefully" or "it is hoped that" in English, we use the verb عسى.

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### The Basic Structure: عسى أن

Although عسى is technically a past-tense verb, in modern usage it often functions like a fixed particle. To build a sentence, place عسى at the beginning, followed by أن and a present tense verb.

Because of أن, the present tense verb must be in the **subjunctive mood** (المضارع المنصوب). This means regular verbs will take a *fatha* on their final letter, and verbs that usually end in ن (like the feminine "you" or plural forms) will drop their final ن.

We often use this structure when discussing career ambitions and positive outcomes, like hoping for a promotion:

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### Naming the Subject

If you want to specify *who* or *what* you are hoping for (rather than just using a pronoun hidden in the verb), the noun goes directly after عسى, before the أن.

The structure becomes: **عسى + Subject + أن + Subjunctive verb**

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### Discussing Resolutions and Ambitions

This grammar pattern is incredibly useful for talking about future goals, planning, and self-improvement. 

Notice how the next example drops the final ن on the verb for the feminine "you" (تتخلصين becomes تتخلصي) because it is in the subjunctive mood after أن:

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### Seeing the endings

This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is something you hear in the audio but never see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:

| present | after عسى أن |
|---|---|
| أَحْصُلُ | عَسَى أَنْ **أَحْصُلَ** عَلَى هَذِهِ التَّرْقِيَةِ |
| يَسْتَقِرُّ، يَزْدَهِرُ | عَسَى الِاقْتِصَادُ أَنْ **يَسْتَقِرَّ وَيَزْدَهِرَ** قَرِيبًا |
| تَتَخَلَّصِينَ | عَسَى أَنْ **تَتَخَلَّصِي** مِنْ هَذِهِ العَادَةِ |

After أن the verb is subjunctive: *-u* becomes *-a*. A second verb joined by و takes it too (**يَزْدَهِرَ**). The feminine *you* shows the change in writing: تتخلصين → تتخلصي.

Expressing hope (عسى أن)

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
it is hoped that / may (expressing hope)	عسىasâ
promotion	ترقيةtarqiya
Hopefully I will get this promotion.	عسى أن أحصل على هذه الترقية.'asâ 'an 'ahsula 'alâ hâdhihi t-tarqiyah.
position	منصبmansib
It is a promotion to a very important position.	إنها ترقية إلى منصب مهم جدا.innahâ tarqiyatun ilâ mansibin muhimmin jiddan.
to stabilize / to settle	استقرistaqarra
to prosper / to flourish	ازدهرizdahara
Hopefully the economy will stabilize and prosper soon.	عسى الاقتصاد أن يستقر ويزدهر قريبا.asa al-iqtisâdu an yastaqirra wa yazdahira qarîban
I will settle down in the city where my brother works.	سوف أستقر في المدينة حيث يعمل أخي.sawfa astaqirru fi al-madinati haythu ya'malu akhi
to earn / to win (gain, acquire)	كسبkasaba
His business prospered, therefore he earned a lot of money.	ازدهر عمله لذلك كسب مالا كثيرا.izdahara 'amaluhu lidhâlika kasaba mâlan kathîran.
to get rid of	تخلص منtakhallasa min
bad	سيئsayyi'
Hopefully you will get rid of this bad habit.	عسى أن تتخلصي من هذه العادة السيئة.asâ an tatakhallasî min hâdhihi al-âdati as-sayyi'ati
The food is bad, but we got rid of it.	الطعام سيئ لكننا تخلصنا منه.at-ta'âmu sayyi'un lâkinnanâ takhallasnâ minhu.
to plan	خططkhattata
The team planned well in order to win the match.	خطط الفريق جيدا لكي يكسب المباراة.khattata al-farîqu jayyidan likay yaksiba al-mubârâta.
She is planning to reach this position, and hopefully she will succeed in that.	هي تخطط للوصول إلى هذا المنصب، وعسى أن تنجح في ذلك.hiya tukhattitu lilwusûli ilâ hâdhâ almansibi, wa'asâ an tanjaha fî dhâlika
to benefit from	استفاد منistafâda min
He benefited from an unexpected promotion.	استفاد من ترقية غير متوقعة.istafâda min tarqiyatin ghayri mutawaqqa'atin
Did you benefit from this bad situation?	هل استفدت من هذا الموقف السيئ؟hali istafadta min hâdha al-mawqifi s-sayyi'i

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