Arabic Verb Akala – Arabic Beginner Lesson- Learn Arabic Free Online
The most important fi’l (fee-al; verb) you should know relating to Ta’aam is the
verb ‘akala (ah-kah-lah), which means “ate” in the maaDii. In the muDaari’, it’s
conjugated as ya’kulu (yah-koo-loo; to eat).
Here is the verb ‘akala conjugated in the maaDii form:
90 Part II: Arabic in Action
Form Pronunciation Translation
‘anaa ‘akaltu ah-nah ah-kal-too I ate
‘anta ‘akalta ahn-tah ah-kal-tah You ate (MS)
‘anti ‘akalti ahn-tee ah-kal-tee You ate (FS)
huwa ‘akala hoo-wah ah-kah-lah He ate
hiya ‘akalat hee-yah ah-kah-lat She ate
naHnu ‘akalnaa nah-noo ah-kal-nah We ate
‘antum ‘akaltum ahn-toom ah-kal-toom You ate (MP)
‘antunna ‘akaltunna ahn-too-nah ah-kal-too-nah You ate (FP)
hum ‘akaluu hoom ah-kah-loo They ate (MP)
hunna ‘akalna hoo-nah ah-kal-nah They ate (FP)
antumaa ‘akaltumaa ahn-too-mah ah-kal-too-mah You ate (dual/MP/FP)
humaa ‘akalaa hoo-mah ah-kah-lah They ate (dual/MP)
humaa ‘akalataa hoo-mah ah-kah-lah-tah They ate (dual/FP)
Because “to eat” is a regular verb, you conjugate it using the form ya’kulu in
the muDaari’:
Form Pronunciation Translation
‘anaa ‘a’kulu ah-nah ah-koo-loo I am eating
‘anta ta’kulu ahn-tah tah-koo-loo You are eating (MS)
‘anti ta’kuliina ahn-tee tah-koo-lee-nah You are eating (FS)
huwa ya’kulu hoo-wah yah-koo-loo He is eating
hiya ta’kulu hee-yah tah-koo-loo She is eating
naHnu na’kulu nah-noo nah-koo-loo We are eating
‘antum ta’kuluuna ahn-toom tah-koo-loo-nah You are eating (MP)
‘antunna ta’kulna ahn-too-nah tah-kool-nah You are eating (FP)
hum ya’kuluuna hoom yah-koo-loo-nah They are eating (MP)
hunna ya’kulna hoo-nah yah-kool-nah They are eating (FP)
antumaa ta’kulaani ahn-too-mah tah-koo-lah-nee You are eating (dual/
MP/FP)
humaa ya’kulaani hoo-mah yah-koo-lah-nee They are eating
(dual/MP)
humaa ta’kulaani hoo-mah tah-koo-lah-nee They are eating
(dual/FP)