A Conversational Course in Qur'ānic Arabic

لُغَةُ القُرْآنِ

Phase 3 · Chapter Eighteen

الْمَاضِي (٢)

The Past Tense, Part Two — You / We

Same five roots from Chapter Seventeen, three more endings: “you” (m./f.) and “we.” Reusing the same verbs keeps the vocabulary load light while you finish the full past-tense paradigm, plus two new high-frequency verbs.

Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

Conjugate the past tense for أَنْتَ / أَنْتِ / نَحْنُ
Combine the full past-tense paradigm (he/she/I/you/we) confidently
Ask someone what they did, and answer for yourself or a group
Read a phrase from the Qur'ān addressed directly to ‘you’

TEACHER NOTES

Pacing: 45–50 min

Prerequisite check: Past tense singular from Chapter Seventeen.

Watch out for: أَحْسَنْتَ is worth using constantly from this chapter onward — it costs nothing and reinforces itself.

01 — LISTEN & REPEAT

حِوَارٌDialogue

Yūsuf asks Maryam and her sister about their day. Listen twice, then read aloud.

YŪSUF

هَلْ ذَاكَرْتِ دَرْسَكِ يَا مَرْيَمُ؟

hal dhākarti darsaki yā Maryam?

Did you study your lesson, Maryam?

MARYAM

نَعَمْ، كَتَبْتُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ. وَأَنْتَ، مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ؟

na‘am, katabtu kulla shay’. wa anta, mādhā fa‘alt?

Yes, I wrote everything. And you, what did you do?

YŪSUF

قَرَأْتُ وَسَمِعْتُ دَرْسًا جَدِيدًا.

qara’tu wa sami‘tu darsan jadīdan.

I read and heard a new lesson.

MARYAM

نَحْنُ عَمِلْنَا كَثِيرًا الْيَوْمَ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ.

naḥnu ‘amilnā kathīran-l-yawm, al-ḥamdu lillāh.

We worked a lot today, praise be to Allah.

YŪSUF

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمَا.

bāraka-llāhu fīkumā.

May Allah bless you both.

02 — CORE WORDS

الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary

Same roots as Chapter Seventeen — now with أَنْتَ / أَنْتِ / نَحْنُ endings, plus two new verbs.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
NEWأَنْتَ كَتَبْتَ / أَنْتِ كَتَبْتِ	anta katabta / anti katabti	you (m./f.) wrote	The vowel on ‑تَ/‑تِ is the only difference.
NEWنَحْنُ كَتَبْنَا	naḥnu katabnā	we wrote	—
NEWذَاكَرَ	dhākara	he studied, reviewed	—
NEWعَمِلَ	‘amila	he worked, did	Root ع-م-ل — عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ, ‘righteous deed.’
NEWفَعَلَ	fa‘ala	he did	The model verb Arabic grammar is built around.
NEWمَاذَا فَعَلْتَ؟	mādhā fa‘alt?	what did you do?	—
NEWكُلُّ شَيْءٍ	kullu shay’	everything	From Chapter Fourteen.
NEWبَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكَ	bāraka-llāhu fīk	may Allah bless you	—

Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
EARLYأَحْسَنْتَ / أَحْسَنْتُمْ	aḥsanta / aḥsantum	well done! (m. sg. / pl.)	A teacher's most useful phrase.
EARLYالتَّمَارِينُ	at-tamārīn	the exercises	—
EARLYالْمَكْتَبَةُ	al-maktabah	the library	Not to be confused with مَكْتَب, "desk," from Chapter Twelve.
EARLYأُمَّةٌ	ummah	a nation, a community	—
EARLYرِسَالَةٌ	risālah	a letter, a message	—

فِيكُمَا is another dual form (see the note in Chapters Ten and Thirteen) — recognise-only until Chapter Twenty-One.

03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS

رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner

Completing the paradigm. “You” and “we” follow the same pattern as “I” and “she” — an ending attached to the fixed root.

أَنْتَ كَتَبْتَ / أَنْتِ كَتَبْتِ

anta katabta / anti katabti
you (m./f.) wrote

نَحْنُ كَتَبْنَا

naḥnu katabnā
we wrote

You now have the full core paradigm: هُوَ كَتَبَ، هِيَ كَتَبَتْ، أَنَا كَتَبْتُ، أَنْتَ كَتَبْتَ، أَنْتِ كَتَبْتِ، نَحْنُ كَتَبْنَا. Every regular verb you learn from here follows exactly this pattern.

Quick check: how would you say “we read,” starting from قَرَأَ? (قَرَأْنَا.)

04 — READING THE SOURCE

وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection

A verse using “you” directly — addressed to the reader, in the plain past tense you just completed.

SŪRAT AL-ĀLI ‘IMRĀN — 3:110 (PHRASE)

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ

You were the best nation...

كُنتُمْ

kuntum

you (pl.) were

خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ

khayra ummah

the best nation

كُنتُمْ uses a ‘you-plural’ ending you haven't formally drilled yet (‑تُمْ), but you can already recognise the same ‑تُ pattern that marks the person in كَتَبْتَ and كَتَبْتُ. Small preview: the full pronoun set (أنتم، هم) will round out naturally as you keep reading real texts.

05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE

عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases

Everyday phrases in the ‘you/we’ past tense.

مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ الْيَوْمَ؟

mādhā fa‘alta-l-yawm? — what did you do today?

عَمِلْنَا مَعًا

‘amilnā ma‘an — we worked together

هَلْ ذَاكَرْتَ؟

hal dhākarta? — did you study?

أَحْسَنْتَ صُنْعًا

aḥsanta ṣun‘an — well done

سَمِعْنَا الْخَبَرَ

sami‘nā-l-khabar — we heard the news

كَتَبْنَا رِسَالَةً

katabnā risālah — we wrote a letter

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمَا

bāraka-llāhu fīkumā — may Allah bless you both

قَرَأْتَ جَيِّدًا

qara’ta jayyidan — you read well

SKILLS PRACTICE

الِاسْتِمَاعُListening

Audio track 13.1

Aḥmad and Salmā compare their homework. Listen first, script second.

AḨMAD

هَلْ ذَاكَرْتِ دَرْسَ الْيَوْمِ يَا سَلْمَى؟

SALMĀ

نَعَمْ، وَكَتَبْتُ كُلَّ التَّمَارِينِ.

AḨMAD

نَحْنُ عَمِلْنَا الْوَاجِبَ مَعًا فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ.

SALMĀ

أَحْسَنْتُمْ صُنْعًا!

Did Salmā study today's lesson?
What did she write?
Where did Aḥmad and his group do their homework?

Reveal answers

1. Yes. 2. All the exercises. 3. In the library, together.

SKILLS PRACTICE

التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking

Pair work

Partner drill. Ask your partner “مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ/فَعَلْتِ أَمْسِ؟” and answer with two full past-tense sentences, then describe something “we” did together.

Recycling round. If the answer is homework-related, reach for التَّمَارِينُ or الْوَاجِبُ from this chapter and last, and close with أَحْسَنْتَ! if your partner's sentence was correct.

Letters	Word 1	Word 2	Tip
‑تَ vs ‑تِ	كَتَبْتَ	كَتَبْتِ	The only difference between ‘you wrote’ (m.) and (f.) is this final short vowel.

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْقِرَاءَةُReading

Read silently, then aloud

Read once for meaning, then aloud.

أَنْتَ ذَاكَرْتَ كَثِيرًا هَذَا الْأُسْبُوعَ، مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ. أَنَا كَتَبْتُ كُلَّ الْوَاجِبَاتِ، وَأَنْتِ يَا أُخْتِي قَرَأْتِ دَرْسَيْنِ جَدِيدَيْنِ. نَحْنُ عَمِلْنَا مَعًا، وَسَمِعْنَا دُرُوسًا كَثِيرَةً. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي بَارَكَ فِي وَقْتِنَا.

1) مَاذَا فَعَلَ الْكَاتِبُ (أَنَا)؟

أ) لَا شَيْءَب) كَتَبَ كُلَّ الْوَاجِبَاتِج) نَامَ طَوَالَ الْيَوْمِد) سَافَرَ

2) كَمْ دَرْسًا قَرَأَتِ الْأُخْتُ؟

أ) دَرْسًا وَاحِدًاب) دَرْسَيْنِج) ثَلَاثَةَ دُرُوسٍد) لَا شَيْءَ

3) مَاذَا فَعَلُوا مَعًا؟

أ) لَعِبُوا فَقَطْب) عَمِلُوا وَسَمِعُوا دُرُوسًاج) نَامُواد) لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا شَيْئًا

Reveal answers

1. ب — كَتَبَ كُلَّ الْوَاجِبَاتِ 2. ب — دَرْسَيْنِ 3. ب — عَمِلُوا وَسَمِعُوا دُرُوسًا

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْكِتَابَةُWriting

On paper or in your notebook

Sentence building. Put these words in the correct order, then translate.

كَثِيرًا ذَاكَرْتَ أَنْتَ
الْوَاجِبَاتِ كُلَّ كَتَبْتُ
مَعًا عَمِلْنَا نَحْنُ

Guided writing. Write three sentences using أَنْتَ/أَنْتِ and نَحْنُ forms describing what you and someone else did together.

06 — CHAPTER EXERCISES

التَّدْرِيبَاتُExercises

1اخْتَرِ الْإِجَابَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَChoose the correct answer

1. The past-tense ending for ‘we’ is:

a) ‑تُb) ‑تَc) ‑نَاd) ‑تْ

2. “You (f.) wrote” is:

a) كَتَبْتَb) كَتَبْتِc) كَتَبْتُd) كَتَبْنَا

3. ذَاكَرَ means:

a) he wroteb) he studied/reviewedc) he heardd) he worked

4. The full past-tense paradigm you now know covers:

a) only he/sheb) he/she/I onlyc) he/she/I/you(m.)/you(f.)/wed) every possible pronoun

Reveal answers

1. c 2. b 3. b 4. c

2صِلْ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ بِمَعْنَاهَاMatch each item to its meaning

ذَاكَرَ
عَمِلَ
فَعَلَ
كَتَبْنَا
كَتَبْتِ

you (f.) wrote
he did
he worked
we wrote
he studied

Reveal answers

1–e, 2–b, 3–c, 4–d, 5–a

3تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِTranslate into English

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

هَلْ ذَاكَرْتَ دَرْسَكَ؟
كَتَبْتُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ.
نَحْنُ عَمِلْنَا كَثِيرًا.
بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمَا.

Reveal answers

1. Did you (m.) study your lesson?
2. I wrote everything.
3. We worked a lot.
4. May Allah bless you both.

4تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةِTranslate into Arabic

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

What did you (m.) do today?
We studied together.
I wrote all the homework.

Reveal answers

١) مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ الْيَوْمَ؟
٢) ذَاكَرْنَا مَعًا.
٣) كَتَبْتُ كُلَّ الْوَاجِبِ.

5أَكْمِلِ الْحِوَارَComplete the dialogue

Word bank: ذَاكَرْتِ — فَعَلْتَ — عَمِلْنَا — كَتَبْتُ

يوسف: هَلْ دَرْسَكِ يَا مَرْيَمُ؟
مريم: نَعَمْ، كُلَّ شَيْءٍ. وَأَنْتَ، مَاذَا ؟
يوسف: قَرَأْتُ وَسَمِعْتُ.
مريم: نَحْنُ كَثِيرًا الْيَوْمَ.

Reveal answers

ذَاكَرْتِ — كَتَبْتُ — فَعَلْتَ — عَمِلْنَا

6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)

مَرْيَمُ لَمْ تَكْتُبْ شَيْئًا.true / false

يُوسُفُ قَرَأَ وَسَمِعَ دَرْسًا جَدِيدًا.true / false

مَرْيَمُ وَأُخْتُهَا عَمِلَتَا كَثِيرًا الْيَوْمَ.true / false

Reveal answers

1. False — she wrote everything. 2. True. 3. True.

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.

Word Sentence

أَنْتَ كَتَبْتَ التَّمَارِينَ كُلَّهَا. وَأَنْتِ كَتَبْتِ رِسَالَةً جَمِيلَةً. نَحْنُ كَتَبْنَا فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ. ذَاكَرَ أَخِي وَعَمِلَ جِدًّا. مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ؟ فَعَلْتُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ؟ أَحْسَنْتَ بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكَ! هَذِهِ رِسَالَةٌ لِأُمَّةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ.

SKILLS PRACTICE — NEW

مُحَادَثَةٌ حُرَّةٌConversation Practice

Chat with Yūsuf or Maryam using only what you've learned so far — type it or say it out loud, your choice.

تَمَّ الدَّرْسُ الثَّامِنَ عَشَرَ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ

Chapter Eighteen complete — next chapter: Object Pronoun Suffixes (ضمائر النصب)

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