Grammar · Roots & Verbs · 6 min
The Present Tense
Arabic's present prefixes are Hebrew's future prefixes — א,ת,י,נ
Arabic's present tense (المُضَارِع, al-muḍāriʿ) conjugates from the front: a prefix tells you the person. The prefixes are أ (a-), ت (ta-), ي (ya-), ن (na-) — aleph, tav, yod, nun. If those four letters ring a bell, they should: they are exactly the prefixes of the Hebrew future tense — אֶכְתֹּב, תִּכְתֹּב, יִכְתֹּב, נִכְתֹּב.
The full table
| Person | Arabic | Translit | Hebrew future | Matching prefix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | أَكْتُبُ | aktubu | אֶכְתֹּב | a- ↔ e- (א in both) |
| you (m.) | تَكْتُبُ | taktubu | תִּכְתֹּב | ta- ↔ ti- (ת) |
| you (f.) | تَكْتُبِينَ | taktubīna | תִּכְתְּבִי | ta-...-īna ↔ ti-...-i — both add ī |
| he | يَكْتُبُ | yaktubu | יִכְתֹּב | ya- ↔ yi- (י) |
| she | تَكْتُبُ | taktubu | תִּכְתֹּב | ta- ↔ ti- — same 'you/she' merger in both! |
| we | نَكْتُبُ | naktubu | נִכְתֹּב | na- ↔ ni- (נ) |
| you (m. pl.) | تَكْتُبُونَ | taktubūna | תִּכְתְּבוּ | ta-...-ūna ↔ ti-...-u |
| you (f. pl.) | تَكْتُبْنَ | taktubna | תִּכְתֹּבְנָה | ta-...-na ↔ ti-...-na — Biblical Hebrew kept it! |
| they (m.) | يَكْتُبُونَ | yaktubūna | יִכְתְּבוּ | ya-...-ūna ↔ yi-...-u |
| they (f.) | يَكْتُبْنَ | yaktubna | תִּכְתֹּבְנָה | ya-...-na (Modern Hebrew merged it) |
Two rows deserve applause. Arabic تَكْتُبُ means both 'you (m.) write' and 'she writes' — and Hebrew תִּכְתֹּב has exactly the same double duty. The ambiguity itself is inherited! And Arabic's feminine plural يَكْتُبْنَ / تَكْتُبْنَ lines up with the תִּכְתֹּבְנָה you met in Biblical texts and old-fashioned Israeli prose — nearly the same word, three thousand years apart.
Drills
The present in sentences
- مَاذَا تَكْتُبُ؟מאד'א תכתב?mādhā taktubu?
What are you writing?
מָה אַתָּה כּוֹתֵב? مَا أَتَا كُوتِڤ؟ma ata kotev?
مَاذَا contains مَا — the same ancient question word as Hebrew מָה.
- أَشْرَبُ قَهْوَة كُلّ يَوْمאשרב קהוה כל יוםashrabu qahwa kull yawm
I drink coffee every day
אֲנִי שׁוֹתֶה קָפֶה כָּל יוֹם أَنِي شُوتِي كَافِي كُول يُومani shote kafe kol yom
كُلّ يَوْم is literally כָּל יוֹם — two shared words in a row.
- يَسْكُنُ فِي الْقُدْسיסכן פי אלקדסyaskunu fī l-quds
He lives in Jerusalem
הוּא גָּר בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם هُو گَار بِيرُوشَالَايِمhu gar birushalayim
yaskunu ↔ יִשְׁכֹּן; and الْقُدْس 'Jerusalem' is הַקֹּדֶשׁ — the holy city by name.
- نَسْمَعُ الْأَخْبَارנסמע אלאח'בארnasmaʿu l-akhbār
We listen to the news
אֲנַחְנוּ שׁוֹמְעִים חֲדָשׁוֹת أَنَاخْنُو شُومِيم خَادَاشُوتanakhnu shomim khadashot
nasmaʿu ↔ נִשְׁמַע — in Hebrew that famous verb form is future ('we will hear', כמו נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע); in Arabic it is simply present.
Same root, same prefix — say it both ways
- أَزْرَعُאזרעazraʿu
I plant
אֶזְרַע إِزْرَاezra
azraʿu and אֶזְרַע are the same word — Arabic means 'I plant', Hebrew 'I will plant'.
- يَلْبَسُילבסyalbasu
he wears
יִלְבַּשׁ يِلْبَاشyilbash
yalbasu ↔ יִלְבַּשׁ, sound shift ס↔ש only.
- نَفْتَحُנפתחnaftaḥu
we open
נִפְתַּח نِفْتَاخniftakh
naftaḥu ↔ נִפְתַּח.
- تَسْمَعُתסמעtasmaʿu
you hear / she hears
תִּשְׁמַע تِشْمَاtishma
Both languages leave you guessing between 'you' and 'she' here — a shared family quirk.
- هُنَّ يَكْتُبْنَ رَسَائِلהן יכתבן רסאאלhunna yaktubna rasāʾil
They (f.) write letters
הֵן כּוֹתְבוֹת מִכְתָּבִים هِن كُوتْڤُوت مِخْتَاڤِيمhen kotvot mikhtavim
yaktubna — the feminine plural Biblical Hebrew renders תִּכְתֹּבְנָה. Even هُنَّ 'they (f.)' is Hebrew הֵן.
A preview of the street: spoken Levantine keeps these same prefixes but glues a بـ (b-) on the front for the everyday present — بَكْتُب (baktub) 'I write', بِكْتُب (biktub) 'he writes'. The next lesson takes that up properly, together with negation and the future.