Language/Egyptian-arabic/Grammar/Regular-Verbs
As a beginner learning Egyptian Arabic, the present tense of regular verbs is essential to understand. In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate regular verbs in Egyptian Arabic, which will help you have simple conversations and express yourself better.
The Present Tense in Egyptian Arabic
The present tense in Egyptian Arabic is formed by adding specific suffixes to the verb. These suffixes change according to the subject pronouns.
For example, let’s take the Egyptian Arabic verb for “to study”, which is “يدرس” (yadros). Here are the suffixes that will be added to create the present tense:
| Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| أنا بيدرس | 'ana byadrus | I study |
| انتَ بتدرس | 'enta btadrus | You (male singular) study |
| انتِ بتدرسي | 'enti btadrusi | You (female singular) study |
| هو بيدرس | huwa byadrus | He studies |
| هي بتدرس | hiya btadrus | She studies |
| احنا بندرس | 'ahna bndrus | We study |
| انتو بتدرسوا | 'entu btdrusu | You (plural) study |
| هم بيدروسوا | huma byadrusu | They study |
As you can see, the subject pronouns are attached to the conjugated verb at the beginning. The way that these pronouns are used in the present tense is slightly different from modern standard Arabic, so it’s important to learn the differences.
Conjugating the Present Tense of Regular Verbs
To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, we need to follow a simple three-step process:
Step one: remove the last two letters of the infinitive form of the verb. For example, the verb “يدرس” (yadros) has the last two letters “س” (s) and “ر” (r), which we remove to get the root “در” (dr).
Step two: add the appropriate prefix to the root based on the subject pronoun.
Step three: add the appropriate suffixes to the prefix, as shown in the previous table.
For example, let’s conjugate the verb “يشرب” (yashrab), which means “to drink”:
1. Remove the last two letters “ب” (b) and “ر” (r) to get the root “شر” (shar). 2. Add prefixes based on the subject pronouns. 3. Add the appropriate suffixes as shown in the table.
Here are the conjugations of “يشرب” (yashrab) in the present tense:
| Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| أنا بشرب | 'ana bashrab | I drink |
| انتَ بتشرب | 'enta btashrab | You (male singular) drink |
| انتِ بتشربي | 'enti btashrabi | You (female singular) drink |
| هو بيشرب | huwa bashrab | He drinks |
| هي بتشرب | hiya btashrab | She drinks |
| احنا بنشرب | 'ahna bnashrab | We drink |
| انتو بتشربوا | 'entu btashrabu | You (plural) drink |
| هم بيشربوا | huma bashrabu | They drink |
Understanding Verb Tenses in Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic uses the present tense more often than the past tense. The present tense can be used to describe current activities, general habits, and past events, whereas the past tense is reserved for completed actions that have no connection to the present.
For example, someone might use the present tense to say “I went to the market yesterday” instead of using the past tense - this is because the person went to the market yesterday, and it is still relevant and connected to the present.
Practice Makes Perfect!
The best way to learn how to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense is by practicing with examples. Here are some regular verbs in Egyptian Arabic that you can practice conjugating in the present tense:
| Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| يشرب | yashrab | to drink |
| يقرأ | ya'ra' | to read |
| يكتب | yektob | to write |
| يتكلم | yitkalem | to speak |
| يفهم | yefham | to understand |
Conclusion
In this lesson, we learned how to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense in Egyptian Arabic. By following the three-step process, you can now easily form simple sentences using regular verbs. Don’t forget to practice what you have learned, as it is through practicing that we improve our skills.
If you want to continue learning Egyptian Arabic with us, follow the next lesson on irregular verbs.