Questions & Answers about أرسل رسالة من هاتفي، ثم أستلم رسالة بعد قليل.
Where is the word I in this sentence?
Arabic often leaves the subject pronoun unstated because it’s built into the verb.
- أرسل = (I) send / sent (depending on context and vowel marks)
- أستلم = (I) receive
So the “I” is understood from the أ- prefix (first person) in the present/imperfect form, or from context in an unvowelled text.
Are أرسل and أستلم present tense or past tense?
With no vowel marks, أرسل is ambiguous in writing:
- أَرْسَلَ = he sent (past, 3rd person masculine)
- أُرْسِلُ = I send (present/imperfect, 1st person)
In your sentence, the intended meaning is clearly “I send… then I receive…”, so it’s functioning as present/imperfect:
- أُرسِلُ رسالةً… ثم أستلمُ رسالةً…
If you want an unambiguous past narrative (“I sent… then I received…”), you would usually write:
- أرسلتُ رسالةً من هاتفي، ثم استلمتُ رسالةً بعد قليل.
Why does أرسل look like it could mean he sent?
Because Arabic normally writes without short vowels, and some forms collapse into the same spelling.
- أرسل (no vowels) can represent أَرْسَلَ (he sent) or أُرْسِلُ (I send) Learners often rely on context or add diacritics when needed.