THE MEANINGS OF THE PRESENT TENSE

1. Means an activity that happens in the present (the duration does not matter), eg أَنَا أُحِبُّكَ وَلَا أُحِبُّ سِوَاكَ – “I love you and I love no one but you.”
2. Expresses an action that relates to the moment of speaking, e.g. وَأَنْتَ لِمَا لَا تَتَكَلَّمُ؟ – “Why don’t you talk?”
3. It expresses activities that happen on a regular basis, eg إِنَّهُ رَجُل طَيِّب ، يَزُورُنَا بَيْن أَوِنَة وَأُخْرَى – “He’s a good man, he visits us from time to time.”
4. It always expresses true facts and general statements, such as يُولَدُ جَمِيع النَّاس أَحْرَاراً – “All people are born free.”
5. It is often used to express the future, eg أَنْتَ اليَوْم حَبِيبِي وَغَداً تَكُونُ زَوْجِي – “Today you are my lover, tomorrow you will be my husband.”

DENIAL OF THE PRESENT TENSE

1. The present tense is negated by using لا, e.g. أَلا تُحِبِّينَ مِصْرَ؟ – “Don’t you love Egypt?”
2. With verbs expressing feelings, judgments, opinions, the verb لَيْسَ is used for negation, e.g. لَسْتُ أَدْرِي – “I don’t know / I have no idea.”
3. To negate the future tense, use لَنْ together with a subjunctive, eg لَنْ أُغَادِرَ مِصْرَ – “I will not leave Egypt.”

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