Arabic – Lebanese Dialect
Lesson – Verb Tenses
This lesson aims to teach four verb tenses in Lebanese Arabic. This lesson is dedicated to my husband, Michael. May this help clarify verb conjugations for you 🙂
To start learning any verbs in Arabic, we must first learn pronouns because all verbs are conjugated with respect to pronouns and/or the gender of the subject of a sentence.
ene | انا | I |
enta | انتَ | You (masculine) |
enti | انتِ | You (feminine) |
huwe | هو | He |
hiyye | هي | She |
nhna | نحنا | We |
entu | انتو | You (plural) |
henne | هني | They |
Simple Present Tense
Next, we will start with simple present tense using اكل (to eat). In red, I have added the conjugations of the verb.
ene bekl | انا باكل | I eat |
enta btekl | انتَ بتاكل | You (m) eat |
enti btekle | انتِ بتاكلي | You (f) eat |
huwe byekl | هو بياكل | He eats |
hiyye btekl | هي بتاكل | She eats |
nhna mnekl | نحنا مناكل | We eat |
entu bteklu | انتو بتاكلو | You (pl) eat |
henne byeklu | هني بياكلو | They eat |
Exercise 1:
Make three sentences using simple present tense. For example: انا بحب القهوة و هو بيحب الشي
Present Continuous Aspect
Now, let’s do present continuous aspect. In this case, you add عم before the verb in the simple present tense.
ene 3m bekl | انا عم باكل | I am eating |
enta 3m btekl | انتَ عم بتاكل | You (m) are eating |
enti 3m btekle | انتِ عم بتاكلي | You (f) are eating |
huwe 3m byekl | هو عم بياكل | He is eating |
hiyye 3m btekl | هي عم بتاكل | She is eating |
nhna 3m mnekl | نحنا عم مناكل | We are eating |
entu 3m bteklu | انتو عم بتاكلو | You (pl) are eating |
henne 3m byeklu | هني عم بياكلو | They are eating |
Exercise 2:
Make three new sentences using Present Continuous.
For example: انا عم بكتب و هي عم بتنام
Simple Future Tense
For simple future, you add رح before the verb and you remove the ب or م from the beginning of the verb.
ene ra7 ekl | انا رح اكل | I will eat |
enta ra7 tekl | انتَ رح تاكل | You (m) will eat |
enti ra7 tekle | انتِ رح تاكلي | You (f) will eat |
huwe ra7 yekl | هو رح ياكل | He will eat |
hiyye ra7 tekl | هي رح تاكل | She will eat |
nhna ra7 nekl | نحنا رح ناكل | We will eat |
entu ra7 teklu | انتو رح تاكلو | You (pl) will eat |
henne ra7 yeklu | هني رح ياكلو | They will eat |
Exercise 3:
Make three new sentences using Simple Future Tense.
For example: باسبوعين نحنا رح نروح الى بيت اهلك
Simple Past Tense
Lastly, let us look at simple past tense. Here, we start with the verb in its root form and add new conjugations to the end.
ene eklt | انا اكلت | I ate |
enta ekleet | انتَ اكليت | You (m) ate |
enti ekoleetee | انتِ اكليتي | You (f) ate |
huwe ekl | هو اكل | He ate |
hiyye ekleet | هي اكليت | She ate |
nhna eklna | نحنا اكلنا | We ate |
entu ekltu | انتو اكلتو | You (pl) ate |
henne ekolu | هني اكلو | They ate |
Exercise 4:
Make three new sentences using Simple Past Tense.
For example: انا نامت و هوشتغل
Practice:
Use this Quizlet Deck to test practice verb conjugations. The more you practice the faster your recall will be!