How do I teach my child to talk about the past in Arabic, like “I wrote” or “we played”?

Question

Bloomtivo Academy · Accepted Answer

Past tense verbs change at the end, not the start. From كَتَبَ (he wrote): كَتَبْتُ (I wrote), كَتَبْتَ (you wrote, boy), كَتَبَتْ (she wrote), كَتَبْنَا (we wrote). Practise at bedtime with “What did you do today?”: لَعِبْتُ (I played), أَكَلْتُ (I ate), قَرَأْتُ (I read), ذَهَبْتُ (I went). Once children know present-tense verbs, the past tense lets them tell stories about their day.The patternPersonEndingExampleHe(base)كَتَبَ he wroteSheـَتْكَتَبَتْ she wroteIـْتُكَتَبْتُ I wroteYou (boy)ـْتَكَتَبْتَYou (girl)ـْتِكَتَبْتِWeـْنَاكَتَبْنَا we wroteCompare: present tense changes at the start (أَكْتُبُ); past changes at the end. See present-tense verbs.“What did you do today?”Ask at bedtime: مَاذَا فَعَلْتَ الْيَوْمَ؟لَعِبْتُ: I playedأَكَلْتُ: I ateقَرَأْتُ: I readذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ: I went to schoolصَلَّيْتُ: I prayedSpot it in the Quranخَلَقَ (He created) in Surah Al-’Alaq.أَنْعَمْتَ (You blessed) in Al-Fatihah: the “you” ending.Teacher’s tip: a daily “three things I did today” in Arabic at bedtime builds the past tense fast, and it’s a lovely way to end the day.Related: Al-Fatihah mistakes (including أَنْعَمْتَ).

Person	Ending	Example
He	(base)	كَتَبَ he wrote
She	ـَتْ	كَتَبَتْ she wrote
I	ـْتُ	كَتَبْتُ I wrote
You (boy)	ـْتَ	كَتَبْتَ
You (girl)	ـْتِ	كَتَبْتِ
We	ـْنَا	كَتَبْنَا we wrote

How do I teach my child to talk about the past in Arabic, like “I wrote” or “we played”?

The pattern

“What did you do today?”

Spot it in the Quran

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