The past tense is the simplest Arabic tense: one stem, with an ending for each person.
Endings
Here is katab (he wrote):
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | -t | katabt |
| inta (you m) | -t | katabt |
| inti (you f) | -ti | katabti |
| huwwa (he) | (none) | katab |
| hiyya (she) | -it | katabit |
| i7na (we) | -na | katabna |
| intu (you pl) | -tu | katabtu |
| humma (they) | -u | katabu |
"He" has no ending, so it's the form you'll find in dictionaries and in the verb tables.
- كتبت الجواب امبارحkatabt ig-gawaab imbaari7I wrote the letter yesterday.
- هي خرجت بدريhiyya kharagit badriShe went out early.
- شربنا شايsharabna shaayWe drank tea.
Two common vowel patterns
Form I verbs are either CaCaC (katab, fata7, daras) or CiCiC (shirib, nizil, rikib). The endings are the same; only the stem vowels differ.
- شرب / شربتshirib / shiribthe drank / I drank
- نزل / نزلناnizil / nizilnahe went down / we went down
Verbs that change shape
Verbs with w or y in the root change shape before the endings:
- شاف / شفتshaaf / shufthe saw / I saw
- نسي / نسيتnisi / nisiithe forgot / I forgot
- حب / حبيت7abb / 7abbeethe loved / I loved
See verb classes for why, and the verb tables for full conjugations.