The imperfective in Arabic
The next mode that we find in Arabic is the imperfective one, which is used to describe an action that has not yet been performed , or is being done. This mode thus welcomes two tenses: the indicative and the subjunctive. Thus, a prefix and a suffix are applied to the radical root depending on the person, the name and the gender of the noun phrase.
This is equivalent to our present indicative in Spanish. Below you can see how the verb drink ( charriba ) would be conjugated , for example:
I drink: achrrabou.
You drink, he drinks: tachrrabou .
We drink: nachrrabou .
Again, keep in mind that you have to distinguish between the imperfective modes by the vocalization of the last radical.
Like all Semitic languages, Arabic has an imperfective future, which is formed by adding the suffix “sa” (سَ) or ” sawfa ” (سَوْفَ) to the indicative. In this way, “he will write” is conjugated in these two ways:
Sayaktubu: سَيَكْتُ.
Sawfa yaktubu: سَوْفَ يَكْتُبُ.
Now we just need to talk about the imperative, right? Well, it is very simple because it is only conjugated in the second person (singular, dual or plural). In addition, it fulfills the same function as in Spanish: affirmative or negative. And finally, an example: the command «write (you)», is expressed as «uktub» in Arabic.