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 1^st person singular, نـ indicates the 1^st 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 2^nd 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 3^rd 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 1^st person singular; نـ is for the 1^st person plural; تـ is for the 2^nd person (all forms); and يـ is for the 3^rd person (again, all forms). The تـ with هِي replaces the يـ to distinguish between the 3^rd person masculine singular and the 3^rd person feminine singular.