Morphology Lesson 4: Form I Present Tense (الفعل المضارع)

Welcome back to our Arabic Morphology series! Now that you've mastered the past tense, we'll learn how to conjugate Form I verbs in the present tense (الفعل المضارع).

Understanding the Present Tense

The present tense describes:

⏳

Current actions

🔄

Habits

🔁

Repeated actions

أَكْتُبُ

I write

يَقْرَأُ

He reads

يَذْهَبُونَ

They go

Present Tense Markers

All Form I present tense verbs begin with one of four prefixes:

نَأْتِي

Memory aid for prefixes:

نَ

نَحْنُ

أَ

أَنَا

تَ

You

أَنْتَ/أَنْتِ

يَ

هُوَ

Conjugation Table: يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu)

Pronoun	Arabic	Conjugation	Meaning
I	أَنَا	أَكْتُبُ	I write
You (m)	أَنْتَ	تَكْتُبُ	You (m) write
You (f)	أَنْتِ	تَكْتُبِينَ	You (f) write
He	هُوَ	يَكْتُبُ	He writes
She	هِيَ	تَكْتُبُ	She writes
We	نَحْنُ	نَكْتُبُ	We write
They (m)	هُمْ	يَكْتُبُونَ	They (m) write

Vowel Patterns

Most Form I verbs follow this pattern in present tense:

يَكْتُبُ

Prefix (يَ) + Root (كتب) + ḍammah (ـُ) on second root letter

Exception: فَعِلَ verbs like سَمِعَ (to hear):

يَسْمَعُ (yasmaʿu) - with fatḥah on second letter

Practice: دَرَسَ (to study)

I study

أَدْرُسُ

You (m) study

تَدْرُسُ

They (m) study

يَدْرُسُونَ

Interactive Exercise

Conjugate فَتَحَ (to open):

He opens =

You (f) open =

They (m) open =

I open =

Mastery Tips

📌

Create color-coded charts for prefixes/suffixes

🔊

Practice conjugations aloud daily

📚

Learn 5 new verbs each week

🎧

Listen to Quranic verses with present tense verbs

You've Unlocked Essential Arabic Skills!

With present tense conjugation, you can now express:

أَقْرَأُ

I read

أَفْهَمُ

I understand

أَذْهَبُ

I go

Next lesson: Verbal Nouns (المصدر)

Subscribe Download Exercises

Morphology Lesson 4: Form I Present Tense (الفعل المضارع)