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### Introduction to the Past Tense

In Arabic, the past tense is created by taking the base form of a verb and adding suffixes to the end. These suffixes tell you who performed the action.

While these singular endings sound different when spoken, they are written exactly the same way in standard, unvoweled Arabic. You will rely on pronouns and context to know exactly who is acting.

| Pronoun | Suffix | Example (فعل - to do) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| هو | (none) | فعل |
| هي | ت | فعلت |
| أنا | ت | فعلت |
| أنت | ت | فعلت |

### The "I" and "You" Forms

To say "I" or "you" did something, attach the letter ت to the end of the verb. Notice how they share the same spelling in written Arabic.

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### The Base Form ("He")

When you look up a verb in an Arabic dictionary, you will find its base form. This base form is actually the "he" past tense conjugation, which has no added suffix.

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### Verbs with Prepositions

Some Arabic verbs are closely paired with specific prepositions to complete their meaning, such as بحث عن (to search for) or اتصل ب (to call). Conjugate the verb normally and place the preposition directly after it.

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### The "She" Form

To conjugate a past tense verb for a female subject ("she"), you also add a ت to the end of the base verb. Just like with the "I" and "you" forms, rely on context or the subject of the sentence to distinguish who is acting.

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### Telling a Story

When recounting memories and past events, placing adverbs like فجأة (suddenly) or أخيرا (finally) at the beginning of your sentence helps set the pace and sequence your story.

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Past tense singular suffixes

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 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)

Expressing purpose (لـ)

Question	Answer
past	ماضيmâdi
I traveled to Egypt last month.	أنا سافرت إلى مصر الشهر الماضي.ana sâfartu ilâ misra ash-shahra al-mâdiya
What did you do last week?	ماذا فعلت الأسبوع الماضي؟mâdhâ fa'alta al-usbû'a al-mâdî؟
to forget	نسيnasiya
He forgot the name of the book.	هو نسي اسم الكتاب.huwa nasiya isma l-kitâb
I forgot the time of the meeting.	أنا نسيت موعد الاجتماع.ana nasîtu maw'ida l-ijtimâ'
to search for	بحث عنbaHatha 'an
I searched for my key in the room.	بحثت عن مفتاحي في الغرفة.bahathtu 'an miftâhî fî al-ghurfati
Did you search for the pen?	هل بحثت عن القلم؟hal bahathta 'ani-lqalam?
to find / to exist, there is (passive)	وجدwajada
Yes, I found the pen under the table.	نعم، وجدت القلم تحت الطاولة.na'am, wajadtu al-qalama tahta at-tâwilati
She found her bag yesterday.	هي وجدت حقيبتها أمس.hiya wajadat haqîbataha amsi
to call	اتصل بittasala bi
When did you call the company?	متى اتصلت بالشركة؟matâ ittaṣalta bish-sharikah?
I called my father in the evening.	اتصلت بأبي في المساء.ittasaltu bi'abî fil-masâ'
suddenly	فجأةfaj'atan
to meet	قابلqâbala
Suddenly, I met my friend in the restaurant.	فجأة، قابلت صديقي في المطعم.faj'atan, qâbaltu sadîqî fî al-mat'am.
Where did you meet the manager yesterday?	أين قابلت المدير أمس؟ayna qâbalta al-mudîra amsi?
holiday	عيد'îd
birth	ميلادmîlâd
birthday	عيد ميلاد'îdu mîlâd
I attended my brother's birthday party.	حضرت حفلة عيد ميلاد أخي.ḥaḍartu ḥaflata eedi meelâdi akhee.
Did you remember my birthday?	هل تذكرت عيد ميلادي؟hal tadhakkarta 'îda mîlâdî?
Suddenly, the rain fell and I returned to the house.	فجأة، نزل المطر ورجعت إلى البيت.faj'atan, nazala al-mataru wa raja'tu ila al-bayti.
finally	أخيراakhîran
Finally, I found my key.	أخيرا، وجدت مفتاحي.akhîran, wajadtu miftâhî.
Did you finally receive my message?	هل استلمت رسالتي أخيرا؟hal istalamta risâlatî akhîran?
to say	قالqâla
The professor said: the exam is easy.	قال الأستاذ: الامتحان سهل.qâla al-ustâdhu: al-imtihânu sahlun
The woman said: thank you.	قالت المرأة: شكرا.qâlati al-mar'atu: shukran
to get up / rise	قامqâma
The boy got up from the chair.	قام الولد من الكرسي.qâma al-waladu mina al-kursiyy
The girl got out of bed early.	قامت البنت من السرير مبكرا.qâmati l-bintu mina s-sarîri mubakkiran

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