Language/Moroccan-arabic/Grammar/Present-Tense
Հայերէն
Български език
官话
官話
Hrvatski jezik
Český jazyk
Nederlands
English
Suomen kieli
Français
Deutsch
עברית
हिन्दी
Magyar
Bahasa Indonesia
فارسی
Italiano
日本語
Қазақ тілі
한국어
Lietuvių kalba
Νέα Ελληνικά
Şimali Azərbaycanlılar
Język polski
Português
Limba Română
Русский язык
Српски
Español
العربية القياسية
Svenska
Wikang Tagalog
தமிழ்
ภาษาไทย
Türkçe
Українська мова
Urdu
Tiếng Việt
As a Moroccan Arabic language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to teach you about the present tense in Moroccan Arabic verbs. This is an essential step on the path to achieving A1 level proficiency in Moroccan Arabic. In this lesson, we will focus on the present tense for regular verbs, which is the most commonly used tense in Moroccan Arabic.
Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Tense
To form the present tense in Moroccan Arabic, simply remove the infinitive ending (-er or -ir) and replace it with the appropriate present tense ending. Here are the present tense endings for the three persons in singular and plural:
| Person | Suffix | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Person Singular (I) | -i (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) | -u (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) | |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbi | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbu | ||
| Second Person Singular (You) | -k | -i (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) | -u (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbak | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbu | ||
| Third Person Singular (He/She/It) | -u | -a (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) | -i (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbu | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbi | ||
| First Person Plural (We) | -na | -iw (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) | -aw (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbna | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbiw | ||
| Second Person Plural (You All) | -kum | -iw (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) | -aw (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbkum | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbaw | ||
| Third Person Plural (They) | -u | -aw (for verbs whose last vowel is a or o) | -iw (for verbs whose last vowel is i or u) |
| Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbu | Example: ktèb (to write) → ktèbiw |
- How to use the present tense in Moroccan Arabic?
The present tense in Moroccan Arabic is used in several ways:
- To talk about what is happening now or in the present moment.
- To describe habits or actions that happen regularly or repeatedly.
- To express general truths or facts.
Here are some examples of sentences using the present tense:
- Ana ktèb = I write.
- Nta ktèbak = You write (masc. singular).
- Nti ktèbik = You write (fem. singular).
- Howa kay ktèb = He is writing.
- Homa kay ktèbu = They write.
- Nkhwi had shi ktèbna = We write something.
- Pronunciation Key
The pronunciation of Moroccan Arabic can be tricky for non-native speakers, so here is a list of the essential phonetic symbols and components of pronunciation to help you correctly say and understand the words and phrases:
- A/ إ (alif) is a long vowel, pronounced as "a" in "father."
- B/ ب (baa) is pronounced as "b" in "basket."
- T/ ت (taa) is pronounced as "t" in "table."
- TH/ ث (tha) is pronounced as "th" in "earth."
- J/ ج (Ja) is pronounced as "j" in "job."
- H/ ح (ha) is pronounced as a heavily aspirated "h."
- KH / خ (kha) is a guttural sound similar to the Spanish "j" in "marijuana."
- D/ د (daal) is pronounced as "d" in "do."
- R/ ر (raa) is pronounced as "r" in "rat."
- Z/ ز (zayn) is pronounced as "z" in "zing."
- S/ س (siin) is pronounced as "s" in "sit."
- SH/ ش (shiin) is pronounced as "sh" in "sheep."
- SS/ ص (Saad) is pronounced as "s" in "sell."
- D/ ض (Daad) is pronounced as a heavily articulated "d."
- T/ ط (Taa) is pronounced heavily articulated "t."
- Z/ ظ/ (Zaa) is pronounced as the "z" in "buzz."
- AIN/ ع (aa'in) has a guttural, pharyngeal sound.
- GHAIN/ غ (ghaiin) is pronounced similar to “r” and “gh” sounds in French.
- F/ ف (faa) is pronounced as "f" in "fast."
- Q/ ق (Qaaf) is pronounced as "k" in "ken."
- K/ ك (kaaf) is pronounced as "k" in "kettle."
- L/ ل (laam) is pronounced as "l" in "love."
- M/ م (miim) is pronounced as "m" in "mother."
- N/ ن (nuun) is pronounced as "n" in "not."
- H/ ه (haa') is pronounced as "h" in "house."
- OU/ و (waw) is a long vowel sound pronounced as "oo" in "boot."
- Y/ ي (yaa) is pronounced as "y" in "yes."
- Tips for Learning the Present Tense
Here are some tips to help you learn and practice the present tense in Moroccan Arabic:
- Practice conjugating the regular verbs in different themes (sport, work, music, etc.) to increase your vocabulary.
- Speak and listen to the language as much as possible.
- Try to memorize the present tense verb endings to make the learning process easier.
- Write and read short stories or texts in Moroccan Arabic to familiarize yourself with the present tense in context.
- Conclusion
The present tense is one of the most important tenses in Moroccan Arabic and is used frequently in conversation. With practice and patience, you can master the present tense and become more proficient in speaking Moroccan Arabic.
Sources