D5Lesson 3 of 12◇ Core language

The Past Tense — Form I Regular Singular Verbs

الفِعل الماضي — أَفعال البَاب الأَوَّل المُنتَظِمة (المُفرَد)

Hobbies, Sport & Leisure · Personal and social life

10-minute rescue route
  1. Learn six key items.
  2. Read the grammar shortcut.
  3. Complete one quick check.
Keep it manageable. One completed section is useful revision. You can return later for the rest.
1

What you need to do

Focus on these outcomes rather than trying to memorise everything at once.

2

Key language

Tap each card to reveal the meaning.

3

Quick vocabulary check

Choose one answer. Mistakes are part of revision.

1. مُنذُ أُسبوع

2. في الإِجازة

3. الفِعل الماضي

4. لاحِقة

4

Grammar shortcut

Read it once, then explain the rule or strategy in your own words.

Past tense suffix system — ALL SINGULAR PERSONS: أنا → ـتُ (fatha+damma: فعَلتُ), أنتَ → ـتَ (fatha: فعَلتَ), أنتِ → ـتِ (kasra: فعَلتِ), هو → no suffix (فعَل), هي → ـَت (fatha+sukun: فعَلَت). Key insight: the ROOT stays constant (فعَل pattern) — only the SUFFIX changes the person. Regular Form I: CaCaC pattern (فعَل، لعِب note vowel variation — كسرة on middle consonant for فعِل pattern verbs like لعِب). You must learn both faCaLa and faCiLa sub-patterns.
5

Four skills practice

Short tasks for listening, reading, speaking and writing. Choose the skill you find hardest.

🎧 Listening

🎧 Audio coming soon

Listen for the sequence of events. Put what you hear in order: what happened first, next and last. Until the audio is ready, prepare by covering the English, reading each item below aloud twice, then saying the meaning from memory.

  1. الفِعل الماضي past tense verb
  2. لاحِقة suffix
  3. الجَذر root
  4. وَزن فَعَل CaCaCa pattern
  5. ذَهَب went
  6. لَعِب played

Exam link: in Paper 1 you hear each recording twice — use the first listening for the general idea and the second for detail.

📖 Reading

Scan the four items below and write the English meaning of each one without looking back at the Key language section. Then write one sentence in Arabic about something you did last weekend that uses two of them.

  • شاهَد
  • أَكَل
  • كَتَب
  • قَرَأ
Check your answers
  • شاهَد — watched
  • أَكَل — ate
  • كَتَب — wrote
  • قَرَأ — read — past

🗣️ Speaking

Answer aloud in full Arabic sentences. Record yourself if you can, then listen back for clear pronunciation.

  1. Talk about something you did last weekend for thirty seconds without stopping.
  2. Compare two things from this topic and say which you prefer.
  3. Ask a partner one question on this topic — then answer it yourself.

Exam link: Paper 3 is a role play and two topic conversations, with ten minutes of supervised preparation beforehand.

✍️ Writing

Task: Write 60–80 words about something you did last weekend. Use the language from this lesson, give one opinion with a reason, and check your agreement before you finish.

Your answer is saved in this browser.

6

Revision sprint

Three short stages based on the revision plan above.

1 · Review

Main 1 20 min

Past tense suffix system — systematic teaching Write the paradigm clearly: فعَل (he did — هو, no suffix), فعَلَت (she did — هي, ـَت suffix), فعَلتُ (I did — أنا, ـتُ suffix with damma), فعَلتَ (you did m. — أنتَ, ـتَ suffix with fatha), فعَلتِ (you did f. — أنتِ, ـتِ suffix with kasra).…

2 · Practise

Main 2 15 min

Time expressions and past tense sentences Present 6 past time expressions: أمس، الأسبوع الماضي، منذ أسبوع، في الإجازة، قبل شهر، في الصيف الماضي. You write 8 past tense sentences using different time expressions and different verbs. "أمس، لعِبتُ كرة القدم مع أصدقائي. الأسبوع الماضي،…

3 · Apply

Main 3 8 min

Three-tense drill — present, past, future Use 6 situations and produce the correct tense: "Every day, she swims" → تسبَح. "Yesterday, she swam" → سبَحَت. "Tomorrow, she will swim" → ستسبَح. You write the Arabic sentence for each. This three-tense contrast drill is the…

✓

Finish and reflect

Use the boxes as a final self-check.

What you should be able to show

Conjugation table (check suffix accuracy across all 5 persons). Past tense sentences with time expressions (check it yourself). Three-tense drill (self-marked).

Optional follow-up

Write 10 past tense sentences about last week: 4 using أنا، 3 using هو/هي، 2 using أنتَ/أنتِ (writing to a friend), 1 using a time expression منذ/قبل. Use a different verb in each sentence.

Confidence check

How secure do you feel after this lesson?