Attached Subject Pronouns with the Regular Imperfective Verbs

This lesson is about the attached subject pronouns with the regular imperfective verbs. The attached subject pronoun ضَمِيْر فَاعِل مُتَّصِل, as its name suggests, functions as the verb subject. In the previous lesson, you learned about the attached subject pronouns that we add to the perfective verb الفِعْل المَاضِي. In this lesson, we focus on those that we attach to the regular imperfective verb الفَعْل المُضَارِع. At the start of the imperfective verb الفِعْل المُضارِع, there are four single-letter prefixes: أَ ، نَـ ، يـَ ، تَـ. For now, let’s say that they indicate that the verb (i.e. the action) is / takes place in the present. Unlike the perfective form, not every personal pronoun shows as an attached pronoun at the end of the imperfective verb. That is, half of the them are covert مُسْتَتِر. Since repetition speeds up learning and helps with vocabulary retention, let’s change verbs in last lessons into the imperfective form.
Separate Attached Imperfective Form Examples Explanation
أنَا أَ .. أَكْتُب رِسَالَةً – I am writing a letter

أَشْرَب كُوبًا مِنَ الشَّاي – I am drinking a cup of tea

أرْقُد عَلَى الكَنَبَة – I am sleeping on the sofa

أَ indicates the 1st person singular, نـ indicates the 1st person plural. The subject of both verbs is covert مُسْتَتِر that can be deduced from أ and نـ as أَنَا and نَحْنُ, respectively.
نَحْنُ نـ .. نَـذْهَب إِلَى السُّوْق – we are going to the market

نُـشَاهِد التِّلْفَاز – we are watching the TV

نُـنَظِّف البَيْت – we are cleaning the house

أَنْتَ تـ .. تَــقْرَأ رُوَايَة جَدِيْدَة – you are reading a new novel

تَـضْحَك مَعَهُم – you are laughing with them

تَــفْتَح البَاب – you are opening the door

تـ at start of the verbs indicates the 2nd person, so it occurs with all verb forms. The verb form with أَنْتَ is the default form (i.e. the form from which all others are derived), so its subject is covert understood from يـ as أَنْتَ. The ـين is the attached subject pronoun for أَنْتِ. The ـون is the attached subject pronoun for أَنْتُم. And the ـن is the attached subject pronoun for أَنْتُنَّ.
أَنْتِ تـ .. ـين تَـخْرُجِـيْن مِنَ البَيْت – you are going out

تَـطْبُخِــيْن بَامِيَة – you are cooking okra

تَــغْـسِلِــيْن مَلابِسَكِ – you are washing your clothes

أَنْتُم تـ .. ـون تَـلْعَبُـون فِي الحَدِيْقة – you are playing in the garden

تَــقْـفِزُون إِلَى النَّهر – you are jumping to the river

تَـسْبَحُـون فِي النَّهْر – you are swimming in the river

أَنْتُنَّ تـ .. ـنَ تَـنْزُلْـنَ مِنَ السَّيَّارَة – you are getting off the car

تَـفْتَحْـنَ بَابَ السَّيَّارَة – you are opening the car door

تَــعْرِفْـنَ الإِجَابَة – you know the answer
هُوَ يـ .. يَـدْرُس التَّارِيْخ – he is studying history

يَـأخُذ الكِـتَاب – he is taking book

يَـحْمِل الشَّنْطَة – he is carrying the bag

يـ at the beginning of the verbs signifies the 3rd person, so it occurs with all verb forms. With هِيَ, the feminine marker تـ replaces the يـ. With both هُوَ and هِيَ, the subject is covert implied by the يـ and تـ as هُوَ and هِيَ, respectively. The ـون is the attached subject pronoun for هُم. And the ـنَ is the attached subject pronoun for هُنَّ.
هِيَ تـ .. تَـجْلِس عَلَى المَقْعَد – she is sitting on the bench

تَـذْهَب إِلَى الجَامِعَة – she is going to the university

تَـدْخُل إِلَى الغُرْفَة – she is coming in to the room

هُم يـ .. ـون يَـرْفُضُـون الفِكْرَة – they are rejecting the idea

يَــعْطُسُـون – they are sneezing

يَـرْجَعُـون إِلَى البَيْت – they are returning home

هُنَّ يـ .. ـنَ يَـلْبَسْـنَ مَلابِس جِدِيْدة – they are wearing new clothes

يُـسَافِرْنَ إِلَى القَرِيَة – they are travelling to the village

يَـطْبُخْـنَ العَشَاء – they are cooking dinner

Note: Besides signifying the present tense, أ, نـ, تـ, and يـ stand for persons. That is, أ is for the 1st person singular; نـ is for the 1st person plural; تـ is for the 2nd person (all forms); and يـ is for the 3rd person (again, all forms). The تـ with هِي replaces the يـ to distinguish between the 3rd person masculine singular and the 3rd person feminine singular.

There are no comments for this article at this moment. Add new comment .

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

@