Complete the present-tense paradigm with “you” and “we,” plus two new common verbs. With this chapter finished, you'll have both tenses fully conjugated for every core pronoun, using the same five familiar roots.
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BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Conjugate the present tense for أَنْتَ / أَنْتِ / نَحْنُ
Recognise the ن prefix for ‘we’ and the تَ...ِينَ ending for ‘you (f.)’
Ask and answer ‘what do you do?’ using the full present paradigm
Read a rhetorical Qur'ānic question addressed to ‘you’ (dual)
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 45–50 min
Prerequisite check: Present tense singular forms from Chapter Nine.
Watch out for: Dual verb endings appear in the reading (تَدْخُلَانِ etc.) — flagged as recognise-only until Chapter Twenty-One.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf asks Maryam and her sister about their studies. Listen twice, then read aloud.
We read the Qur'ān, and we write with the teacher.
YŪSUF
بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِي وَقْتِكُمَا.
bāraka-llāhu fī waqtikumā.
May Allah bless your time.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
Same roots as Chapters Nine and Seventeen, plus two new common present-tense verbs.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEWأَنْتَتَكْتُبُ/أَنْتِتَكْتُبِينَ
anta taktubu / anti taktubīna
you (m./f.) write
Feminine ‘you’ adds ـِينَ.
NEWنَحْنُنَكْتُبُ
naḥnu naktubu
we write
نَـ prefix marks ‘we.’
NEWيَذْهَبُ
yadhhabu
he goes
—
NEWيَدْخُلُ
yadkhulu
he enters
—
NEWأَنْتَتَذْهَبُ
anta tadhhabu
you (m.) go
—
NEWنَحْنُنَذْهَبُ
naḥnu nadhhabu
we go
—
NEWمُبَكِّرًا/مُبَكِّرَةً
mubakkiran / mubakkiratan
early (m./f.)
—
NEWوَقْتٌ
waqt
time
—
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYالْجَمِيعُ
al-jamī‘
everyone, all
—
EARLYالْعِلْمُ
al-‘ilm
knowledge
—
A reordering trade-off worth knowing about. The dialogue also uses كِلَانَا ("both of us") and dual-form verb endings (تَدْخُلَانِ, تَكْذِبَانِ) — these are dual grammar, which this course now teaches much later (Chapter Twenty-One) than it used to, since the dual was moved out of the early "everyday speech" block. That's a deliberate trade for getting present tense in early, but it means a few dual forms will surface in readings before their formal chapter for a while. Treat them as recognise-only vocabulary here — tell students not to worry about producing them yet.
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
Completing the present-tense paradigm. “You (m.)” uses the same تَـ prefix as “she” (context tells them apart); “you (f.)” adds ـِينَ; “we” uses نَـ.
أَنْتَ تَكْتُبُ
anta taktubu you (m.) write
أَنْتِ تَكْتُبِينَ
anti taktubīna you (f.) write
نَـكْتُبُ
naktubu we write
You now have the full present-tense paradigm: يَكْتُبُ، تَكْتُبُ (she)، أَكْتُبُ، تَكْتُبُ (you, m.)، تَكْتُبِينَ (you, f.)، نَكْتُبُ. Combined with the past tense from Chapters Twelve and Thirteen, you can now talk about almost anything, in either time frame.
Quick check: how would you say “we read,” starting from قَرَأَ? (نَقْرَأُ.)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
A rhetorical question repeated thirty-one times in one sūrah — addressed to “you two” in the present tense.
SŪRAT AR-RAḤMĀN — 55:13
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
So which of the favours of your Lord will you both deny?
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ
fa bi-ayyi ālā’i
so by which favours
رَبِّكُمَا
rabbikumā
of your (dual) Lord
تُكَذِّبَانِ
tukadhdhibāni
will you two deny
تُكَذِّبَانِ is a present-tense verb with a dual ‘you two’ ending — built on the same تَـ prefix pattern from this chapter, just extended to a pronoun (أَنْتُمَا) you haven't formally drilled yet. This question repeats thirty-one times throughout Sūrat ar-Raḥmān.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Everyday phrases using ‘you’ and ‘we’ in the present.
أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ؟
ayna tadhhab? — where are you going?
نَحْنُ نَفْهَمُ
naḥnu nafham — we understand
هَلْ تَدْخُلِينَ؟
hal tadkhulīn? — are you (f.) coming in?
نَذْهَبُ سَوِيًّا
nadhhabu sawiyyan — we go together
مَاذَا تَكْتُبُ؟
mādhā taktub? — what are you writing?
نَقْرَأُ مَعًا
naqra’u ma‘an — we read together
هَلْ تَسْمَعِينَ جَيِّدًا؟
hal tasma‘īna jayyidan? — can you (f.) hear well?
نَحْنُ نَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ
naḥnu nadhkuru-llāh — we remember Allah
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 17.1
Salmā and Aḥmad talk about school. Listen first, script second.
SALMĀ
هَلْ تَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ مَاشِيًا؟
AḨMAD
نَعَمْ، وَأَدْخُلُ الصَّفَّ قَبْلَ الْجَمِيعِ.
SALMĀ
نَحْنُ نَذْهَبُ بِالسَّيَّارَةِ.
AḨMAD
كِلَانَا نَصِلُ مُبَكِّرِينَ إِذًا!
How does Aḥmad go to school?
When does he enter the classroom?
How does Salmā's family go?
Reveal answers
1. Walking. 2. Before everyone else. 3. By car.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Ask each other “مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ/تَفْعَلِينَ فِي الصَّفِّ؟” and answer with نَـ (we) forms describing something you do together.
Recycling round. Push the "we" answer to name a specific Phase 1 place — الْمَدْرَسَة، الْمَسْجِد، الْبَيْت — so students are combining two chapters' material, not just drilling the new verb form in isolation.
Letters
Word 1
Word 2
Tip
تَفْعَلُ vs تَفْعَلِينَ
أَنْتَ تَذْهَبُ
أَنْتِ تَذْهَبِينَ
The ـِينَ ending is the entire difference between ‘you (m.) go’ and ‘you (f.) go.’
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.