Past Tense (Perfect) in Arabic

Overview

The past tense in Arabic, called الفعل الماضي (al-fi'l al-maadi) or the "perfect" tense, describes completed actions. It is one of the two main verb tenses in Arabic (alongside the imperfect/present) and is typically the first tense taught to learners because its conjugation system is relatively straightforward.

At the A1 level, the past tense is your gateway to talking about what happened. The base form of every Arabic verb is the third person masculine singular past tense (e.g., كَتَبَ "he wrote"), which is also the form you will find in dictionaries. From this base, you add suffixes to indicate the subject's person, gender, and number.

Arabic verbs in the past tense do not need a separate subject pronoun because the suffix itself tells you who performed the action. However, pronouns are sometimes added for emphasis or clarity.

How It Works

Past Tense Conjugation (كَتَبَ - to write)

Person	Suffix	Conjugation	Transliteration	Meaning
he	-a	كَتَبَ	kataba	he wrote
she	-at	كَتَبَتْ	katabat	she wrote
you (m)	-ta	كَتَبْتَ	katabta	you wrote
you (f)	-ti	كَتَبْتِ	katabti	you wrote
I	-tu	كَتَبْتُ	katabtu	I wrote
they (m)	-uu	كَتَبوا	katabuu	they wrote
they (f)	-na	كَتَبْنَ	katabna	they wrote
you (m pl)	-tum	كَتَبْتُم	katabtum	you all wrote
you (f pl)	-tunna	كَتَبْتُنَّ	katabtunna	you all wrote
we	-naa	كَتَبْنا	katabnaa	we wrote
they (dual)	-aa	كَتَبا	katabaa	they two wrote

Common Past Tense Verbs

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
ذَهَبَ	dhahaba	he went
أَكَلَ	akala	he ate
شَرِبَ	shariba	he drank
فَعَلَ	fa'ala	he did
سَمِعَ	sami'a	he heard
جَلَسَ	jalasa	he sat

Examples in Context

Arabic	English	Note
كَتَبَ (kataba)	he wrote	Base form
كَتَبْتُ (katabtu)	I wrote	First person suffix
ذَهَبَتْ (dhahabat)	she went	Feminine suffix
أكلنا (akalnaa)	we ate	First person plural
سمعتَ الخبر؟	Did you hear the news?	Question with past tense
درسوا كثيراً.	They studied a lot.	Masculine plural
شربتُ القهوة.	I drank coffee.	Complete sentence
رجعنا إلى البيت.	We returned home.	Past action with destination
فهمتِ الدرس؟	Did you (f) understand the lesson?	Feminine singular
وصلوا أمس.	They arrived yesterday.	With time adverb

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
أنا كتب	كتبتُ (or أنا كتبتُ for emphasis)	The suffix alone indicates "I"; the verb must be conjugated
كتبَ for "she wrote"	كتبتْ	Feminine requires the -at suffix
كتبو (without alif)	كتبوا	The masculine plural past tense ends in وا (with alif)
Using past tense for ongoing actions	Using present tense (imperfect)	Past tense is only for completed actions

Practice Tips

• Start with five common verbs (ذهب, أكل, شرب, كتب, درس) and conjugate each one through all persons. Write them out daily until the suffixes are automatic.
• Practice telling simple stories about your day using only past tense: ذهبتُ إلى العمل, أكلتُ الغداء, رجعتُ إلى البيت.
• Pay attention to the vowel pattern of the base form (فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, فَعُلَ) as this affects the present tense form.

Related Concepts

• Personal Pronouns
• Present Tense (Imperfect)
• Weak Verbs
• Doubled Verbs
• Passive Voice