Verb tenses in Egyptian Arabic

• The past tense
  • Uses the perfect (الماضي) conjugation
  • Negated with the prefix-suffix combination ما...ـش
• The simple present tense
  • Uses the imperfect (المضارع) conjugation
  • Rarely used outside a few situations
• The present continuous tense*
  • Uses the prefix b- attached to imperfect (المضارع) verb
  • Frequently used for habitual actions, permanent conditions, and present continuous actions
  • Negated with the prefix-suffix combination ما...ـش
• The future tense
  • Uses the prefix ha- attached to imperfect (المضارع) verb
  • Negated with مش

* What I've labeled here as the present continuous tense is frequently used in the same way as the simple present tense in English; I've used the "simple present" and "present continuous" labels here merely for purposes of simplicity.

The past tense

For the appropriate verb conjugations, see the perfect (الماضي) conjugations here. Usage of the past tense in Egyptian Arabic is fairly simple; you use it much as you would in English.

The past tense is negated by adding the prefix ما and the suffix ـش to the beginning and end of the verb. Here's an example, using the verb عمل - يعمل (3amal - yi3mel), "to do/make."

Note that with the first-person and second-person masculine conjugations, a "helping vowel" is added before the final ـش. A three-consonant cluster (like "ma3amaltš") is not allowed in Egyptian Arabic, so a vowel is added to make "ma3amalteš." Also note that with weak and geminate/doubled verbs with a long -ei sound in the first- and second-person conjugations, the long -ei is shortened to a short -i sound for the negation. See the following example for the verb نسي - ينسى (nisi - yinsa), "to forget."

A simple example of negated past tense:

You can also say عمري ما followed by the perfect (الماضي) conjugation of a verb to say that you've never done that in your life.

The simple present tense

For the appropriate verb conjugations, see the imperfect (المضارع) conjugations here. The simple present tense is rarely used in Egyptian Arabic outside a few set situations.

It is used to ask somebody if they would like to do something.

It is used with modals and words like عشان and عايز.

The present continuous tense

In Egyptian Arabic, when you talk about anything happening in the present, you usually need to add a b- prefex to the imperfect verb conjugations. Here's an example, again using عمل - يعمل.

If you want to express a habitual meaning (that you do something regularly), you have to use this tense. And if you want to express a present continuous meaning (that you "are doing" something right now), you often use this tense, although sometimes you must use the active participle instead.

This is a general statement referring to a permanent or constant condition (like a preference or favorite activity). The b- prefix is always used for this.

This is a habit, something the person does regularly. The b- prefix is also always used for this.

Here a present continuous meaning is being expressed to describe something that is happening right now. However, for some verbs, the active participle must be used to express this meaning. More on this here.

Negation of this tense is exactly the same as negation of the past tense: add the prefix ما and the suffix ـش to the beginning and end of the verb. (It is also possible to simply use مش before the verb, as in مش بعمل, but it's pretty uncommon.)

A few examples of usage:

The future tense

To form the future tense, you add the prefix ha- to the imperfect verb conjugation. Here's an example of this conjugation, again using عمل - يعمل.

The usage of this tense is fairly straightforward; as you might suppose, you use it to talk about something that will happen in the future.

You could also use the active participle here (gayy instead of hatiigi) if you were about to go to the theater. This would translate as "Are you coming with us to the theater?"

To negate this tense, you simply put مش before the verb:

A quick example of usage:

Note: If you use a past-tense conjugation of كان, followed by a future-tense verb, it means that the subject almost did ___, or was going to do ___ (but didn't). It can also express a "would" meaning.

And you can also say عمري ما followed by a future-tense verb to say that you'll never do that.