Talking About the Present
Building the بـ Present
Meet the بـ present
Goal
By the end of this lesson, you can:
- build a basic Egyptian present verb;
- choose the correct form for each subject;
- speak correctly to one man, one woman, or a group;
- recognize the feminine and plural endings.
Observe the Pattern
Read these sentences:
أنا بكتب رسالة.
ana bakteb resaala
I write a message.
بba
هو بيكتب رسالة.
huwwa beyekteb resaala
He writes a message.
بيbeye
هي بتكتب رسالة.
heyya betekteb resaala
She writes a message.
بتbete
إحنا بنكتب رسالة.
e7na benekteb resaala
We write a message.
بنbene
The verb changes according to the subject.
Learn the Verb as a Pair
When you learn a new verb, do not learn only the past form. Learn these two forms together:
كتب — يكتب katab — yekteb to write
The first form is the pastكتب katab wrote
The second form is the basic presentيكتب yekteb write
You use the basic present to build the normal Egyptian present.
Add the Present Beginning
Look at the basic present: يكتب — yekteb. Change the beginning according to the subject:
بكتب
bakteb
I write.
بba
بتكتب
betekteb
You write or she writes.
بتbete
بيكتب
beyekteb
He writes.
بيbeye
بنكتب
benekteb
We write.
بنbene
Conjugation of كتب — يكتب
| Subject | Egyptian Arabic | Franco | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | بكتب | bakteb | I write |
| إنت | بتكتب | betekteb | You write — one man |
| إنتي | بتكتبي | betektebi | You write — one woman |
| هو | بيكتب | beyekteb | He writes |
| هي | بتكتب | betekteb | She writes |
| إحنا | بنكتب | benekteb | We write |
| إنتوا | بتكتبوا | betektebu | You all write |
| هما | بيكتبوا | beyektebu | They write |
bold at the start — the beginningbold at the end — the endingplain — the basic present stays the same
The Subject Pattern
| Subject | Beginning | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بـ | — |
| إنت | بتـ | — |
| إنتي | بتـ | ـي |
| هو | بيـ | — |
| Subject | Beginning | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| هي | بتـ | — |
| إحنا | بنـ | — |
| إنتوا | بتـ | ـوا |
| هما | بيـ | ـوا |
Use this same pattern with many Egyptian verbs.
إنت and هي
The forms for إنت and هي are often identical.
إنت بتكتب.
enta betekteb
You write. — speaking to one man
هي بتكتب.
heyya betekteb
She writes.
The subject or the situation tells you the meaning.
يا أحمد، إنت بتكتب بسرعة.
ya A7mad, enta betekteb besor3a
Ahmed, you write quickly.
سارة بتكتب بسرعة.
Sara betekteb besor3a
Sara writes quickly.
Speaking to One Woman
When you speak to one woman, many verbs add ـي.
إنت بتكتب.
enta betekteb
You write. — speaking to one man
إنتي بتكتبي.
enti betektebi
You write. — speaking to one woman
إنت بتشرب.
enta beteshrab
You drink. — speaking to one man
إنتي بتشربي.
enti beteshrabi
You drink. — speaking to one woman
إنت بتشتغل.
enta beteshtaghal
You work. — speaking to one man
إنتي بتشتغلي.
enti beteshtaghali
You work. — speaking to one woman
Some verbs already end in an ee sound.
إنت بتمشي.
enta betemshi
You walk. — speaking to one man
إنتي بتمشي.
enti betemshi
You walk. — speaking to one woman
The two forms sound the same.
Speaking to a Group
With إنتوا and هما, most verbs end in ـوا.
إنتوا بتكتبوا.
entu betektebu
You all write.
واu
هما بيكتبوا.
humma beyektebu
They write.
واu
إنتوا بتشربوا.
entu beteshrabu
You all drink.
واu
هما بيشربوا.
humma beyeshrabu
They drink.
واu
Essential Verb Pairs
Learn every new verb as a pair.
| Past | Basic Present | Franco | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| كتب | يكتب | katab — yekteb | write |
| شرب | يشرب | shereb — yeshrab | drink |
| فتح | يفتح | fata7 — yefta7 | open |
| لعب | يلعب | le3eb — yel3ab | play |
| فهم | يفهم | fehem — yefham | understand |
| Past | Basic Present | Franco | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| سكن | يسكن | sakan — yeskon | live |
| اشتغل | يشتغل | eshtaghal — yeshtaghal | work |
| راح | يروح | raa7 — yeroo7 | go |
| قال | يقول | 2aal — ye2ool | say |
| شاف | يشوف | shaaf — yeshoof | see |
The vowel inside the present form is not always predictable. Learn the two forms together.
Practice
1. Practice 1
Choose the Correct Form — choose the correct answer.
- أنا ______ رسالة. ana ______ resaala.
- إنتي ______ قهوة؟ enti ______ 2ahwa?
- هو ______ المحل الساعة تسعة. huwwa ______ el-ma7al el-saa3a tes3a.
- إحنا ______ كلامك. e7na ______ kalaamak.
- إنتوا ______ كورة كل أسبوع؟ entu ______ koora kol osboo3?
- هما ______ من البيت. humma ______ men el-beet.
2. Practice 2
Complete the Verb — use the basic present in brackets.
- أنا ______ قهوة. ana ______ 2ahwa.cue: يشرب yeshrab
- إنتي ______ هنا؟ enti ______ hina?cue: يشتغل yeshtaghal
- هو ______ مصري. huwwa ______ masri.cue: يفهم yefham
- هي ______ في القاهرة. heyya ______ fil-2aahera.cue: يسكن yeskon
- إحنا ______ الجيم كل يوم. e7na ______ el-gym kol yoom.cue: يروح yeroo7
- هما ______ أصحابهم كل أسبوع. humma ______ as7abuhum kol osboo3.cue: يشوف yeshoof
3. Practice 3
Change the Subject — rewrite each sentence with the new subject. Write both Arabic and Franco.
- أنا بكتب كل يوم. ana bakteb kol yoomcue: هي heyya
- هو بيشرب قهوة. huwwa beyeshrab 2ahwacue: إحنا e7na
- إنت بتشتغل هنا. enta beteshtaghal hinacue: إنتي enti
- هي بتفهم مصري. heyya betefham masricue: هما humma
- إحنا بنلعب كورة. e7na benel3ab kooracue: إنتوا entu
4. Practice 4
Write About Yourself — write every answer in Arabic and Franco.
- Write one sentence with أنا.
- Write one sentence about one woman using هي.
- Write one sentence with إحنا.
- Write one sentence with هما.
Quick Check
Before you continue, make sure you can:
- choose the correct beginning for each subject;
- add ـي when you speak to one woman;
- add ـوا with إنتوا and هما;
- recognize that إنت and هي may have the same verb form;
- learn a new verb as a past–present pair.
Remember
Start with the basic present:
يكتب yekteb
Then choose the correct subject form:
أنا بكتب.
ana bakteb
إنتي بتكتبي.
enti betektebi
هو بيكتب.
huwwa beyekteb
إحنا بنكتب.
e7na benekteb
هما بيكتبوا.
humma beyektebu