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The Levantine verb has only two tenses: past (perfect) and present (also called imperfect, b-imperfect, or bi-imperfect). The future tense is an extension of the present tense. The negative imperative is the same as the negative present with helping verb (imperfect).
There are three tenses in Arabic: the past tense (اَلْمَاضِي al-māḍī), the present tense (اَلْمُضَارِع al-muḍāriʿ) and the future tense.The future tense in Classical Arabic is formed by adding either the prefix سَـ sa-or the separate word سَوْفَ sawfa onto the beginning of the present tense verb, e.g. سَيَكْتُبُ sa-yaktubu or ...
Since Arabic lacks a verb meaning "to have", constructions using li-, ‘inda, and ma‘a with the pronominal suffixes are used to describe possession. For example: عنده بيت (ʿindahu bayt) – literally: At him (is) a house. → He has a house. For the negation of Arabic verbs, see Negation in Arabic.
The past tense is used in the case of verbs as it is more distinctive and has been traditionally used in Arabic lexicons. Canonically, these verbs are pronounced with the final 'a' (marker of the past tense in Classical Arabic). This notation is preserved the table below. However, the relation between Libyan and Classical Arabic verbs can be ...
In Modern Standard Arabic, the main way to negate past-tense verbs is to add the negative particle لَمْ lam "not" before the verb, and to put the verb in the jussive mood. [3] In more colloquial usage, it is possible to give the verb in the present indicative mood (which is largely identical in form to the jussive). [4]
The past tenses of the verbs قعد /gaʕad/ ('he sat/remained') or جلس /d͡ʒalas/ ('he sat') can be used before present verbs to express a past continuous tense which is similar to the English usage of "kept" as in قعد يكتب عنه /gaʕad jiktub ʕanːu/ ('he kept writing about him').
Each particular lexical verb is specified by two stems, one used for the past tense and one used for non-past tenses along with subjunctive and imperative moods. To the former stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number, and gender, while to the latter stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added.
Many others have also suggested similar analyses and this may even be becoming the more-accepted view among linguists specializing in Arabic. Although the topic-comment structure in all Arabic varieties is widely recognized, the articles on Arabic only mention VSO vs. SVO and increased usage subject initial sentences in MSA and dialects.