The Present Tense Verb الْفِعْلُ الْمُضَارِعُ

The present tense verb describes ongoing actions or events.15 Unlike past tense verbs which use only suffixes, present tense verbs are conjugated using both prefixes and suffixes.

Principle One: The Model Verb & Prefixes

The pattern يَفْعَلُ (he does) is used as a model. One of four letters is always prefixed to the base letters: yā' (ي), tā' (ت), nūn (ن), or hamzah (أ). These prefixes are crucial for identifying the verb's subject.

Principle Two: Subject-Verb Agreement

Like the past tense, conjugations reflect the subject's person, gender, and plurality. Carefully study the table in the next slide to see how prefixes and suffixes work together.

Table 4.1: Conjugating the Present Tense Verb

This table shows how a prefix and suffix are added to the base letters (ف ع ل) to form the active voice of the present tense verb.

PersonGender & PluralityPrefixBaseSuffixActive VoiceTranslation
3rdMasc. Singularيـفعل-يَفْعَلُHe does
Masc. DualيــَانِيَفْعَلَانِThey (2) do
Masc. PluralيــُونَيَفْعَلُونَThey (3+) do
Fem. Singularتـ-تَفْعَلُShe does
Fem. DualتــَانِتَفْعَلَانِThey (2) do
Fem. PluralيــْنَيَفْعَلْنَThey (3+) do
2ndMasc. Singularتـ-تَفْعَلُYou do
Masc. DualتــَانِتَفْعَلَانِYou (2) do
Masc. PluralتــُونَتَفْعَلُونَYou (3+) do
Fem. SingularتــِينَتَفْعَلِينَYou do
Fem. DualتــَانِتَفْعَلَانِYou (2) do
Fem. PluralتــْنَتَفْعَلْنَYou (3+) do
1stSingularأ-أَفْعَلُI do
Pluralنـ-نَفْعَلُWe do

Passive Voice and Negation

Principle Three: The Passive Voice

To form the passive voice, change the vowels of the active form: (1) change the prefix's vowel to a dammah and (2) change the middle root letter's vowel to a fathah.16

Active: يَفْعَلُ
→
Passive: يُفْعَلُ

Principle Four & Five: Passive Conjugation & Negation

Passive verbs use the same suffixes as active verbs, but they agree with the object. To negate any present tense verb (active or passive), place the word لَا before it.

Table 4.2: The Present Tense Verb (All Forms)

This table shows the active and passive voices with their negations. Memorizing these forms is essential.

PronounActive VoicePassive Voice
PositiveNegativePositiveNegative
Heيَفْعَلُلَا يَفْعَلُيُفْعَلُلَا يُفْعَلُ
They (M,D)يَفْعَلَانِلَا يَفْعَلَانِيُفْعَلَانِلَا يُفْعَلَانِ
They (M,P)يَفْعَلُونَلَا يَفْعَلُونَيُفْعَلُونَلَا يُفْعَلُونَ
Sheتَفْعَلُلَا تَفْعَلُتُفْعَلُلَا تُفْعَلُ
They (F,D)تَفْعَلَانِلَا تَفْعَلَانِتُفْعَلَانِلَا تُفْعَلَانِ
They (F,P)يَفْعَلْنَلَا يَفْعَلْنَيُفْعَلْنَلَا يُفْعَلْنَ
You (M,S)تَفْعَلُلَا تَفْعَلُتُفْعَلُلَا تُفْعَلُ
You (F,S)تَفْعَلِينَلَا تَفْعَلِينَتُفْعَلِينَلَا تُفْعَلِينَ
Iأَفْعَلُلَا أَفْعَلُأُفْعَلُلَا أُفْعَلُ
Weنَفْعَلُلَا نَفْعَلُنُفْعَلُلَا نُفْعَلُ

Principle Six: The Future Tense

The present tense verb form can also describe a future event (e.g., يَفْعَلُ can mean "he will do").17 To explicitly indicate the future, add one of two prefixes:

Prefix سَـ

Indicates the near future.

Prefix سَوْفَ

Indicates the more distant future.

Both prefixes can be added to active and passive verbs.

Table 4.3: The Future Tense

This table shows how the future tense is formed using the prefixes سَـ and سَوْفَ.

Pronoun Active Voice Future Passive Voice Future
with سَـ with سَوْفَ with سَـ with سَوْفَ
He سَيَفْعَلُ سَوْفَ يَفْعَلُ سَيُفْعَلُ سَوْفَ يُفْعَلُ
They (M,P) سَيَفْعَلُونَ سَوْفَ يَفْعَلُونَ سَيُفْعَلُونَ سَوْفَ يُفْعَلُونَ
You (M,S) سَتَفْعَلُ سَوْفَ تَفْعَلُ سَتُفْعَلُ سَوْفَ تُفْعَلُ
I سَأَفْعَلُ سَوْفَ أَفْعَلُ سَأُفْعَلُ سَوْفَ أُفْعَلُ
We سَنَفْعَلُ سَوْفَ نَفْعَلُ سَنُفْعَلُ سَوْفَ نُفْعَلُ

Footnotes & Practice

Lesson Footnotes

  1. 15. The present tense verb includes both the continuous present ("he is doing") and the habitual present ("he does"). ↩
  2. 16. This second step (fathah on the middle letter) is only necessary if the active voice has a dammah or kasrah on its second-to-last letter. Such patterns are covered in Lesson 16. ↩
  3. 17. More accurately, this verb form is the "imperfect tense," implying actions not yet complete. It includes both present and future meanings. ↩

Exercise: Conjugate a Verb

How would you say "She does not do"?

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