أضع الفاتورة في الحقيبة قبل أن أذهب إلى البنك.

I put the bill in the bag before I go to the bank.

Breakdown of أضع الفاتورة في الحقيبة قبل أن أذهب إلى البنك.

• في: in
• الى: to
• يذهب: to go
• أن: (subordinating particle)

Questions & Answers about أضع الفاتورة في الحقيبة قبل أن أذهب إلى البنك.

Why does the sentence start with أضع? What form is this?

أضع is the present tense / imperfect form of the verb وضع, meaning to put.

Here it means I put or I am putting, depending on context. In Modern Standard Arabic, this form can also express a habitual or near-future action, so the exact English translation depends on the situation.

• أضع = I put
• Root verb: وضع
• Person: first person singular (I)

So the speaker is saying that I put the bill/invoice in the bag.

Why are both verbs in the present tense: أضع and أذهب?

Arabic often uses the present tense for actions that are regular, planned, or connected to the near future.

So:

• أضع الفاتورة... can mean I put the bill...
• قبل أن أذهب... can mean before I go...

In English, this is also possible: I put the bill in the bag before I go to the bank.
Depending on context, it could also be understood as I put the bill in the bag before going to the bank or before I go off to the bank.

Arabic does not need a separate future marker here.

What exactly does الفاتورة mean?

الفاتورة usually means or .