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### The Particle حتى: "Until" and "In Order To"

To express the ultimate goal of an action or the limit of how long it lasts, Arabic uses the versatile particle **حتى**. Depending on the context, it translates to "in order to," "so that," or "until."

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### The Subjunctive Mood

When **حتى** is followed by a present tense verb, that verb must take the **subjunctive mood** (المضارع المنصوب). Changing a verb to the subjunctive involves specific modifications to its ending:

- For standard singular verbs (such as I, you (masc.), he, she, we), the final vowel changes from a *damma* (ـُ) to a *fatha* (ـَ).
- For dual and plural forms that normally end in **ـون** or **ـان** (like "they" or "you all"), the final **ن** is dropped. For the masculine plural, an unpronounced *alif* (ـوا) is added in its place.

### Expressing Purpose: "In Order To"

When used to explain *why* an action was undertaken, **حتى** functions like "in order to" or "so that." Notice how the singular verbs in the following examples end with a *fatha*:

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When the subject is plural, the subjunctive verb drops its final **ن**. In the next example, notice how the verb becomes **يحققوا** instead of the regular present tense *يحققون*:

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### Expressing a Limit: "Until"

When describing an action or state that continues up to a specific breaking point, **حتى** translates as "until." The grammatical rules remain exactly the same.

{{item:1122196}}

The same rule for dropping the final **ن** applies to dual subjects. Notice how the verb in this dual sentence becomes **يتغلبا** instead of *يتغلبان*:

{{item:1122189}}

Until and in order to (حتى)

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
to continue	استمرistamarra
suffering	معاناةmu'ânâh
The suffering continued for a long time.	استمرت المعاناة وقتا طويلا.istamarrati al-mu'ânâtu waqtan tawîlan
to endure	تحملtahammala
difficulty	صعوبةsu'ûba
so that / in order to	حتىhattâ
to achieve	حققhaqqaqa
ambition	طموحtumûh
He endured the difficulty in order to achieve the ambition.	تحمل الصعوبة حتى يحقق الطموح.tahammala as-su'ûbata hattâ yuhaqqiqa at-tumûha
to give up	استسلمistaslama
to overcome	تغلب علىtaghallaba 'alâ
They (dual) did not give up until they overcame the problem.	هما لم يستسلما حتى يتغلبا على المشكلة.huma lam yastaslimâ hattâ yataghallabâ ala al-mushkila
They continued working in order to achieve the goal.	هم استمروا في العمل حتى يحققوا الهدف.hum istamarruu fi al-'amali hattâ yuhaqqiquu al-hadafa
to attain	نالnâla
I waited a long time in order to attain this ambition.	انتظرت وقتا طويلا حتى أنال هذا الطموح.intazartu waqtan taweelan hatta anala hatha at-tumooh
to exert	بذلbadhala
He exerted great effort in order for the suffering to end.	بذل جهدا كبيرا حتى تنتهي المعاناة.badhala juhdan kabîran hattâ tantahiya al-muânâtu.
We exerted the effort and endured the difficulty.	نحن بذلنا الجهد وتحملنا الصعوبة.nahnu badhalna al-juhda wa tahammalna as-su'ûba
The intelligent student did not give up until he overcame the difficulty.	الطالب الذكي لم يستسلم حتى يتغلب على الصعوبة.at-tâlibu adh-dhakiyyu lam yastaslim hattâ yataghallaba 'alâ as-su'ûbah
You know that the ambition requires effort.	أنتم تعرفون أن الطموح يحتاج إلى جهد.antum tarifoona anna at-tumooha yahtaju ila juhdin
He set off today in order to attain the opportunity.	انطلق اليوم حتى ينال الفرصة.intalaqa alyawma hatta yanala alfursata