Talking about yesterday
الفِعْلُ الماضِي
Tell a simple story about what you did yesterday.
You will learn
- Recognise common past-tense endings
- Say what you did yesterday
- Ask what someone did
A completed action
The past tense describes a completed action: كَتَبْتُ = I wrote, ذَهَبْتُ = I went, دَرَسْتُ = I studied. The ending ـتُ often marks 'I'.
Build a tiny story
Start with a time word, then the action: أَمْسِ دَرَسْتُ العَرَبِيَّة = Yesterday I studied Arabic. Keep the story short, then add one detail.
Vocabulary
| Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| أَمْسِ | amsi | yesterday |
| ذَهَبْتُ | dhahabtu | I went |
| دَرَسْتُ | darastu | I studied |
| كَتَبْتُ | katabtu | I wrote |
| قَرَأْتُ | qaraʾtu | I read |
| بَعْدَ | baʿda | after |
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