Learn Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard): عندما تفتح أمي الفرن، تضع فيه طبقا آخر من الطماطم واللحم. - When my mother opens the oven, she puts another dish of tomatoes and meat in it.

عندما تفتح أمي الفرن، تضع فيه طبقا آخر من الطماطم واللحم.indamâ taftahu ummî al-furna, tadau fîhi tabaqan âkhara mina at-tamâtimi wa-llahmi.

When my mother opens the oven, she puts another dish of tomatoes and meat in it.

Breakdown of عندما تفتح أمي الفرن، تضع فيه طبقا آخر من الطماطم واللحم.

Questions & Answers about عندما تفتح أمي الفرن، تضع فيه طبقا آخر من الطماطم واللحم.

What does عندما mean, and how is it used here?

عندما means when. It introduces a time clause:

عندما تفتح أمي الفرن = when my mother opens the oven

It works a lot like English when, but in Arabic it is followed by a full clause. Here it sets up the situation before the main action happens.

Why are both verbs in the present tense: تفتح and تضع?

They are in the present tense because the sentence describes a repeated or habitual action:

تفتح = she opens
تضع = she puts

So the sense is something like:

Whenever my mother opens the oven, she puts another dish in it

In Arabic, the present tense is commonly used for routines and general truths like this.

Why do the verbs begin with تـ?

In these verbs, تـ marks the 3rd person feminine singular in the present tense:

تفتح = she opens
تضع = she puts

That matches أمي (my mother), which is feminine.

A useful thing to know: this same تـ can also appear in forms meaning you. So by itself could mean or . The subject tells you that here it means .