You've mastered the past tense's ending-based system. The present tense (muḍāri‘) works the opposite way — it changes its beginning. Same five roots as Chapter Seventeen, so you can focus purely on the new pattern.
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BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Conjugate the same five Chapter Seventeen verbs in the present tense for هو / هي / أنا
Recognise the four imperfect prefixes: أ ت ي
Describe habitual or ongoing actions
Read a verse describing an ongoing action of Allah, in the present tense
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 50–60 min — the first verb chapter always runs long.
Prerequisite check: All of Phase 1 (Chapters 1–8) should be comfortable first.
Watch out for: أ/ي/ت prefixes are the whole lesson — the minimal-pairs table is worth drilling on its own before the dialogue.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf and Maryam talk about their daily habits, now in the present tense. Listen twice, then read aloud.
YŪSUF
مَاذَا تَفْعَلِينَ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ؟
mādhā taf‘alīna kulla ṣabāḥ?
What do you do every morning?
MARYAM
أَقْرَأُ وِرْدِي، ثُمَّ أَكْتُبُ وَاجِبِي.
aqra’u wirdī, thumma aktubu wājibī.
I read my daily portion, then I write my homework.
YŪSUF
وَهَلْ يَسْمَعُ أَخُوكِ الدَّرْسَ مَعَكِ؟
wa hal yasma‘u akhūki-d-darsa ma‘aki?
Does your brother listen to the lesson with you?
MARYAM
نَعَمْ، هُوَ يَسْمَعُ وَيَكْتُبُ أَيْضًا.
na‘am, huwa yasma‘u wa yaktubu ayḍan.
Yes, he listens and writes too.
YŪSUF
اللَّهُ يَرْزُقُكُمُ الْبَرَكَةَ فِي وَقْتِكُمْ.
Allāhu yarzuqukumu-l-barakata fī waqtikum.
May Allah grant you blessing in your time.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
Same roots as Chapter Seventeen — now watch the prefix instead of the suffix change.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEWيَخْلُقُ
yakhluqu
he creates
—
NEWيَرْزُقُ
yarzuqu
he provides
—
NEWيَكْتُبُ
yaktubu
he writes
—
NEWيَقْرَأُ
yaqra’u
he reads
—
NEWيَسْمَعُ
yasma‘u
he hears
—
NEWهِيَتَكْتُبُ/تَقْرَأُ
hiya taktubu / taqra’u
she writes / she reads
تَـ prefix marks ‘she’ (also ‘you, m.’ — context tells them apart).
NEWأَنَاأَكْتُبُ/أَقْرَأُ
anā aktubu / aqra’u
I write / I read
أَـ prefix marks ‘I.’
NEWوِرْدٌ
wird
a daily portion (of Qur'ān)
—
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading. This is your first verb chapter, so these are the everyday present-tense verbs worth fixing early, alongside a few connectors.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYأُرِيدُ / تُرِيدُ
urīd / turīd
I want / you want
Probably the single most useful verb for classroom conversation.
EARLYأَعْرِفُ / تَعْرِفُ
a‘rif / ta‘rif
I know / you know
—
EARLYأَفْهَمُ
afham
I understand
Pair with لَا أَفْهَمُ, "I don't understand" — a genuinely useful classroom phrase.
EARLYدَرْسٌ
dars
a lesson
—
EARLYثُمَّ
thumma
then
—
EARLYيَعْنِي
ya‘nī
it means, i.e., "like"
Extremely common filler/discourse word in spoken Arabic.
EARLYتَقْرِيبًا
taqrīban
approximately, almost
—
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
The present tense changes its prefix, not its suffix. Three letters — أ ت ي — mark who's doing the action, added to the front of a base form.
هُوَ يَكْتُبُ
huwa yaktubu he writes / is writing
هِيَ تَكْتُبُ
hiya taktubu she writes / is writing
أَنَا أَكْتُبُ
anā aktubu I write / am writing
This tense covers both present and future meaning — context tells you which. Next chapter you'll add “you” and “we” to complete the paradigm, just as you did for the past tense.
Quick check: what prefix marks “I” in the present tense? (أَـ — as in أَقْرَأُ, ‘I read.’)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
A verse describing an action Allah does continuously — fittingly, in the present tense.
SŪRAT ĀLI ‘IMRĀN — 3:27 (EXCERPT)
وَيَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
And He provides for whom He wills without account.
وَيَرْزُقُ
wa yarzuqu
and He provides
مَن يَشَاءُ
man yashā’u
whom He wills
بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
bi-ghayri ḥisāb
without account, limit
يَرْزُقُ is exactly this chapter's grammar box, applied to a root you already learned as رَزَقَ in Chapter Seventeen. Providing is a quality Allah continuously possesses, which is exactly why the present tense fits.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Everyday phrases using the present tense.
أَفْهَمُ
afhamu — I understand
لَا أَعْرِفُ
lā a‘rifu — I don't know
مَاذَا تُرِيدُ؟
mādhā turīd? — what do you want?
هَلْ تَسْمَعُنِي؟
hal tasma‘unī? — can you hear me?
أَعْمَلُ عَلَيْهِ
a‘malu ‘alayh — I'm working on it
يَعْنِي...
ya‘nī... — it means..., that is...
أَشْكُرُكَ
ashkuruka — I thank you
هِيَ تَعْرِفُ
hiya ta‘rifu — she knows
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 16.1
Aḥmad describes part of his routine. Listen first, script second.
1. Every day after dawn (fajr). 2. Writes his homework, then listens to a short lesson. 3. She does almost the same thing.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Ask your partner “مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ/تَفْعَلِينَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ؟” and answer with two present-tense verbs from this chapter.
Recycling round. This is the first chapter where a student can answer with أُرِيدُ أَنْ... ("I want to...") — let the answer run into a second clause using a Phase 1 noun (بَيْت، مَدْرَسَة، حَدِيقَة) rather than stopping at one verb.
Letters
Word 1
Word 2
Tip
أَـ vs يَـ vs تَـ
أَقْرَأُ
يَقْرَأُ
These three prefixes are the entire difference between ‘I read,’ ‘he reads,’ and ‘she reads’ — train your ear on the first sound of the verb.
1. False — after fajr. 2. True. 3. False — both Maryam and her brother write.
SKILLS PRACTICE
قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading
Hover to check — no test, just read
A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.