يَوْمِي العَادِيDaily Routine
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Conjugate regular (sound) Form I imperfect verbs for أَنَا, أَنْتَ, أَنْتِ, هُوَ, and هِيَ.
- Describe a typical daily routine using productive imperfect verbs such as "go," "study," "work," "write," "drink," and "play."
- Ask and answer كَمِ السَّاعَة؟ ("What time is it?") and tell time on the hour.
- Use time-of-day expressions such as صَبَاحًا, ظُهْرًا, مَسَاءً, and كُلَّ يَوْم.
- Ask مَتَى؟ ("when?") and answer with a time or time-of-day expression.
- Recognize لَا before an imperfect verb as a present-tense negation pattern.
- Recycle demonstratives and adjective agreement from Chapter 6 while describing your home and routine.
- Write a short connected paragraph describing your typical day.
Communication Scenario
Tom has been living with a host family in Amman for several weeks now. At breakfast one morning, Ustādha Reem's cousin Sara, who is staying with the family for the summer, asks Tom to describe what a normal day looks like for him — what time he wakes up, when he goes to class, and what he does in the evening. Tom realizes this is the first time he has had to talk about his routine in Arabic using real verbs, rather than the fixed phrases he has relied on so far.
- Think about your own typical day. Could you already say when you go somewhere, when you study, or when you work, even with the limited Arabic you know?
- You can already introduce yourself, describe your home and family, and use a small number of fixed verb phrases. This chapter gives you the tools to build full present-tense sentences about routine actions on your own.
Core Vocabulary
أَفْعَال يَوْمِيَّة — Daily-routine verbs
| Arabic (هو form) | Root | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| يَذْهَب | ذ-ه-ب | yadhhab | he goes |
| يَدْرُس | د-ر-س | yadrus | he studies |
| يَعْمَل | ع-م-ل | yaʿmal | he works |
| يَسْكُن | س-ك-ن | yaskun | he lives |
| يَكْتُب | ك-ت-ب | yaktub | he writes |
| يَشْرَب | ش-ر-ب | yashrab | he drinks |
| يَلْعَب | ل-ع-ب | yalʿab | he plays |
These are all sound (regular) Form I verbs: every root letter is a plain consonant, so the imperfect stem does not change shape across persons. You will meet verbs with irregular roots — including يَنَام "he sleeps" and يَصْحُو "he wakes up," which you may already have heard from your instructor — beginning in Chapter 17. For now, treat any verb outside this list as receptive vocabulary only.
أَوْقَات اليَوْم — Times of day
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| صَبَاحًا | ṣabāḥan | in the morning |
| ظُهْرًا | ẓuhran | at noon |
| بَعْدَ الظُّهْر | baʿda l-ẓuhr | in the afternoon |
| مَسَاءً | masāʾan | in the evening |
| لَيْلًا | laylan | at night |
| كُلَّ يَوْم | kulla yawm | every day |
| عَادَةً | ʿādatan | usually |
Words like صَبَاحًا and مَسَاءً end in the accusative marker ـًا / ـً. Learn each one here as a fixed, whole expression; the case system behind this ending is analyzed beginning in Chapter 11.
السَّاعَة — Telling time
Arabic tells time using ordinal numbers after السَّاعَة ("the hour/clock"). Learn the pattern below as a fixed formula built on the ordinal numbers you began in Chapter 2.
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كَمِ السَّاعَة؟ | kam al-sāʿa? | What time is it? |
| السَّاعَة الوَاحِدَة وَالنِّصْف | al-sāʿa al-wāḥida wa-l-niṣf | half past one |
| مَتَى؟ | matā? | when? |
فِي البَيْت — Recycled from Chapter 6
| Arabic | Transliteration | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| البَيْت | al-bayt | the house, home |
| الغُرْفَة | al-ghurfa | the room |
These nouns, along with the demonstratives and adjective agreement patterns from Chapter 6, appear again in this chapter's reading and writing tasks.
Pronunciation
The imperfect prefix vowel
Each imperfect person-marker begins with a short vowel: أَ for أَنَا, تَ for أَنْتَ and أَنْتِ, and يَ or تَ for هُوَ and هِيَ. Keep this vowel short and light; do not stress it. The stress in an Arabic imperfect verb normally falls later in the word, close to the root.
- أَذْهَب — stress on the first syllable after the prefixadhhab — I go
- تَذْهَبِين — stress shifts toward the added endingtadhhabīn — you (f.) go
The ـِين ending for أَنْتِ
The feminine "you" ending ـِين adds a full extra syllable with a long ي vowel. Do not shorten it to a quick ـِ; the long vowel is what distinguishes the feminine "you" form from the plain stem.
ظ (ẓāʾ) is an emphatic interdental sound, produced with the tongue between the teeth as for ذ and ث from earlier chapters, but with the back of the tongue pulled back and raised, giving it a heavier, "darker" quality. Practice the contrast between ذَهَب (dhahab, "gold" — plain) and ظُهْر (ẓuhr, "noon" — emphatic).
تَدْرِيب — Practice: Read the seven daily-routine verbs from the vocabulary section aloud in the هُوَ form, then repeat each one in the أَنَا form, paying attention to the short opening vowel and the placement of stress.
Grammar Instruction
7.1 المُضَارِع — The imperfect verb (present tense)
Purpose: describe habitual, present, or ongoing actions using a productive verb system rather than fixed formulas.
Since Chapter 3, you have used a small number of verbs — أَسْكُن, يَسْكُن, تَسْكُن, أَتَكَلَّم, تَتَكَلَّم — as supported, whole-word formulas. This chapter opens the system behind them: the Arabic imperfect, which expresses present and habitual action.
Every imperfect verb is built from a bare stem plus a person-marking prefix, and sometimes a suffix as well. For a sound Form I verb like ذهب ("go"), the stem is ذْهَب. The chart below shows how the five singular persons you already know attach to this stem.
| Person | Prefix/suffix | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | أَ + stem | أَذْهَب | adhhab | I go |
| أَنْتَ | تَ + stem | تَذْهَب | tadhhab | you (m.) go |
| أَنْتِ | تَ + stem + ـِين | تَذْهَبِين | tadhhabīn | you (f.) go |
| هُوَ | يَ + stem | يَذْهَب | yadhhab | he goes |
| هِيَ | تَ + stem | تَذْهَب | tadhhab | she goes |
Notice that أَنْتَ ("you," masc.) and هِيَ ("she") share the exact same verb form, تَذْهَب. Context and the subject pronoun — spoken or understood — tell them apart. This pattern holds for every sound Form I verb; only the stem changes.
Arabic grammar traditionally calls this verb form the imperfect (المُضَارِع) rather than the "present tense," because its time reference depends on context: alone, it usually describes present or habitual action, but combined with certain particles later in the volume it can also describe the future or other meanings. For now, treat it as your productive present-tense system.
7.2 تَصْرِيف الأَفْعَال اليَوْمِيَّة — Conjugating the daily-routine verbs
Purpose: apply the same person-marking pattern to every sound Form I verb in this chapter's vocabulary.
The same prefixes and suffix from 7.1 apply to every sound verb in the vocabulary list. Only the stem changes:
- أَدْرُس العَرَبِيَّة كُلَّ يَوْم.adrus al-ʿarabiyya kulla yawm. — I study Arabic every day.
- هُوَ يَعْمَل فِي المَكْتَب صَبَاحًا.huwa yaʿmal fī l-maktab ṣabāḥan. — He works at the office in the morning.
- هِيَ تَكْتُب رِسَالَة الآن.hiya taktub risāla al-ān. — She is writing a letter now.
- أَنْتِ تَشْرَبِين الشَّاي مَسَاءً.anti tashrabīn al-shāy masāʾan. — You (f.) drink tea in the evening.
7.3 مَتَى وَكَمِ السَّاعَة؟ — Asking when and what time
Purpose: ask about time using مَتَى and كَمِ السَّاعَة, extending the question-word system from Chapter 3.
- مَتَى تَذْهَب إِلَى الجَامِعَة؟ — أَذْهَب صَبَاحًا.matā tadhhab ilā l-jāmiʿa? — adhhab ṣabāḥan. — When do you go to the university? — I go in the morning.
- كَمِ السَّاعَة؟ — السَّاعَة السَّابِعَة.kam al-sāʿa? — al-sāʿa al-sābiʿa. — What time is it? — It's seven o'clock.
As with the question words in Chapter 3, no auxiliary word corresponding to English "do" appears before the verb.
You may hear or read a short sentence like لَا أَشْرَب القَهْوَة مَسَاءً ("I don't drink coffee in the evening"). لَا placed directly before an imperfect verb negates it. This chapter introduces the pattern only for recognition; you will study it and its full range of uses productively beginning in Chapter 8.
One pattern, many verbs. The real achievement of this chapter is not memorizing seven new words — it is recognizing that a single prefix-and-suffix pattern unlocks an entire class of verbs at once. Once you can conjugate يَذْهَب for all five singular persons, you already know how to conjugate يَدْرُس, يَعْمَل, يَكْتُب, يَشْرَب, and يَلْعَب the same way. This is the first time in the course that a single grammar pattern has generated this much new productive language at once.
Practice — Conjugate the verb
Give the correct imperfect form for the person and verb shown.
- (أَنَا / يلعب) ______ كُرَة القَدَم مَسَاءً.
- (هُوَ / يكتب) ______ رِسَالَة الآن.
- (أَنْتِ / يشرب) هَل ______ الشَّاي صَبَاحًا؟
- (هِيَ / يدرس) ______ العَرَبِيَّة فِي الجَامِعَة.
Practice — مَتَى؟
Answer each question with a complete sentence, using a time-of-day expression.
- مَتَى تَذْهَب/تَذْهَبِين إِلَى الصَّفّ؟
- مَتَى تَشْرَب/تَشْرَبِين القَهْوَة؟
- كَمِ السَّاعَة الآن؟
Model Dialogue
Setting: The breakfast table at the host family's home in Amman. Sara, Ustādha Reem's cousin, asks Tom about his daily routine.
السِّيَاق: طَاوِلَة الإِفْطَار فِي بَيْت العَائِلَة المُضِيفَة فِي عَمَّان. تَسْأَل سَارَة، اِبْنَة عَمّ الأُسْتَاذَة رِيم، تُوم عَنْ يَوْمِهِ العَادِيّ.
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- مَتَى يَذْهَب تُوم إِلَى المَعْهَد؟ (When does Tom go to the institute?)
- أَيْنَ يَدْرُس تُوم بَعْدَ الظُّهْر؟ (Where does Tom study in the afternoon?)
- What does Layla do in the evening, according to Tom?
- What negated sentence does Sara use, and what does it tell you about her evening habits?
Tom uses نَشْرَب ("we drink"), which follows the same stem-plus-prefix pattern as the forms in 7.1 but with a نَـ prefix. The plural persons of the imperfect are not a chapter target yet; recognize this one recurring form for now; the full plural and dual system is introduced later in the volume.
Listening
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following four short statements aloud at a moderate pace. Listen twice without reading along. Then answer the questions below.
١. أَنَا أَدْرُس العَرَبِيَّة صَبَاحًا، وَأَعْمَل فِي مَكْتَب بَعْدَ الظُّهْر.
٢. هُوَ يَذْهَب إِلَى الجَامِعَة السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَة، وَيَرْجِع إِلَى البَيْت مَسَاءً.
٣. هِيَ لَا تَشْرَب القَهْوَة، وَتَشْرَب الشَّاي كُلَّ يَوْم.
٤. مَتَى تَلْعَب كُرَة القَدَم؟ — أَلْعَب مَسَاءً مَعَ أَصْدِقَائِي.
مُهِمَّة الاسْتِمَاع — Listening task:
Listen and complete the table.
| Statement | Verb(s) heard | Time expression |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ______ | ______ |
| 2 | ______ | ______ |
| 3 | ______ | ______ |
| 4 | ______ | ______ |
Bonus question: Which statement uses a negated verb, and what is being negated?
Reading
Read the following short paragraph and message. Then answer the questions below.
Passage 1 — يَوْمِي العَادِيّ (a student's routine)
اِسْمِي نُور. أَنَا طَالِبَة، وَأَسْكُن فِي هَذَا البَيْت الجَمِيل مَعَ عَائِلَتِي. أَذْهَب إِلَى الجَامِعَة صَبَاحًا، السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَة. أَدْرُس اللُّغَة الإِنْجِلِيزِيَّة هُنَاك. بَعْدَ الظُّهْر، أَعْمَل فِي مَكْتَبَة صَغِيرَة قَرِيبَة مِنَ الجَامِعَة. مَسَاءً، أَرْجِع إِلَى البَيْت وَأَكْتُب وَاجِبِي فِي غُرْفَتِي. لَا أَشْرَب القَهْوَة كَثِيرًا؛ أَشْرَب الشَّاي فَقَط.
Message 2 — A text to a classmate
مَرْحَبًا! مَتَى تَذْهَب إِلَى الصَّفّ غَدًا؟ أَنَا أَذْهَب السَّاعَة التَّاسِعَة. هَل تَدْرُس مَعِي فِي المَكْتَبَة بَعْدَ الظُّهْر؟
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- مَتَى تَذْهَب نُور إِلَى الجَامِعَة؟ (When does Nūr go to the university?)
- أَيْنَ تَعْمَل نُور بَعْدَ الظُّهْر؟ (Where does Nūr work in the afternoon?)
- What does Nūr say about her coffee and tea habits, and what grammar pattern from this chapter does that sentence use?
- In the text message, what two questions is the classmate asking?
Notice how Passage 1 is organized around the time-of-day expressions from this chapter: صَبَاحًا, بَعْدَ الظُّهْر, and مَسَاءً. Organizing a description of routine around clear time markers, rather than a long unbroken list of actions, is a natural and common way to structure this kind of text in Arabic, just as it is in English.
Writing Workshop
In this chapter you will write a short connected paragraph describing your typical day, using the imperfect verbs and time expressions introduced above.
- Study the model. Look again at Passage 1 above. Notice how it moves through the day in order: morning, afternoon, evening.
- List your own routine. In English or Arabic notes, jot down three to five things you do at different times of day.
- Draft your paragraph. Write four to six connected sentences in Arabic describing your typical day, using at least four different verbs from this chapter's vocabulary and at least two time expressions.
- Check your conjugations. Confirm that each verb matches its subject: أَنَا takes أَ-, أَنْتَ and هِيَ take تَ-, أَنْتِ takes تَ-...ـِين, and هُوَ takes يَ-.
- Revise. Check your draft against the editing checklist below.
قَائِمَة المُرَاجَعَة — Editing checklist:
- Every verb has the correct person-marking prefix or suffix for its subject.
- I used at least two time-of-day expressions from this chapter.
- I organized my paragraph in a clear time order.
- I recycled at least one demonstrative or adjective from Chapter 6.
- I wrote all verbs and vocabulary with correct letter joining, right to left.
- If I used لَا before a verb, I placed it directly before the imperfect form.
Speaking Practice
تَدْرِيب مُوَجَّه — Controlled practice
With a partner, take turns asking and answering these four questions.
- مَتَى تَذْهَب/تَذْهَبِين إِلَى الصَّفّ؟
- مَاذَا تَعْمَل/تَعْمَلِين بَعْدَ الظُّهْر؟
- هَل تَشْرَب/تَشْرَبِين القَهْوَة أَوِ الشَّاي؟ مَتَى؟
- مَاذَا تَعْمَل/تَعْمَلِين مَسَاءً؟
مُهِمَّة تَوَاصُل — Communicative task: A day in the life
Interview a partner about their typical day, then present a short summary to the class or record it.
- Ask what time your partner goes to class or work.
- Ask what your partner does in the afternoon and evening.
- Ask whether your partner drinks tea or coffee, and when.
- Summarize your partner's routine aloud in three or four sentences using هُوَ or هِيَ.
لِلْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ المُسْتَقِلِّينَ — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing your typical day in four to six sentences, moving through morning, afternoon, and evening. Listen back and check that each verb matches its subject correctly.
Culture and Communication
Daily schedules vary widely across Arabic-speaking countries and even within a single country, depending on climate, profession, religious observance, and season. In many places, a longer midday break is common, and some businesses reopen in the early evening after the hottest part of the afternoon. These patterns are practical adaptations rather than a single fixed "Arab schedule," and they continue to change with modern work practices.
Tea and coffee both appear throughout this chapter because both are widely enjoyed across Arabic-speaking communities, often accompanying hospitality and conversation. Preferences, preparation styles, and the times of day associated with each vary a great deal by region, household, and individual, so avoid assuming any single pattern applies everywhere.
The imperfect verb forms in this chapter are correct, standard MSA and are understood everywhere. In everyday spoken interaction, many regional varieties use different verb prefixes, additional particles before the verb, or somewhat different vocabulary for common daily actions. As in earlier chapters, this textbook's productive forms remain MSA; regional equivalents will continue to be introduced and clearly labeled as the course progresses.
Common Mistakes
Error: Assuming تَذْهَب can only mean "you (m.) go" or only "she goes."
Correction: The form تَذْهَب is shared by أَنْتَ and هِيَ. Context or an explicit subject pronoun tells them apart: أَنْتَ تَذْهَب versus هِيَ تَذْهَب.
Error: Writing *أَنْتِ تَذْهَب for "you (f.) go."
Correction: The feminine "you" form requires the added ending: أَنْتِ تَذْهَبِين. Without it, the sentence reads as masculine or as "she."
Error: Trying to translate "What do you do in the evening?" word for word and inserting an extra word for "do."
Correction: As with earlier question words, Arabic needs no auxiliary: مَاذَا تَعْمَل مَسَاءً؟ places the question word directly before the verb.
Error: Trying to apply the sound-verb pattern from this chapter to a verb like "sleep" or "wake up," producing an incorrect form.
Correction: Verbs with a weak root letter follow different patterns that this course has not yet introduced. Use only the seven sound verbs from this chapter's vocabulary for now, and wait for Chapter 17 for weak-verb conjugation.
Chapter Review
Section A — المُفْرَدَات (Vocabulary)
1. Write the هُوَ form of the seven daily-routine verbs from this chapter, with their English meanings.
2. Write four time-of-day expressions in Arabic.
3. Write the Arabic for "What time is it?" and "When?"
Section B — القَوَاعِد (Grammar)
1. List the five imperfect person-markers presented in this chapter, with the pronoun each corresponds to.
2. Conjugate يَكْتُب for all five singular persons.
3. Correct the error: *أَنْتِ تَشْرَب الشَّاي.
4. Where does لَا go when negating an imperfect verb?
Section C — اسْتِيعَاب المَقْرُوء (Reading comprehension)
1. According to Passage 1, what time does Nūr go to the university, and where does she work in the afternoon?
2. What two questions does the classmate ask in Message 2?
Section D — الكِتَابَة (Writing)
1. Write a four-to-six-sentence paragraph describing your typical day, using at least four verbs from this chapter and at least two time expressions. Check your draft against the editing checklist in the Writing Workshop.
Section E — التَّعْبِير الشَّفَهِيّ (Speaking)
1. Without looking at the book, describe your typical day aloud to a partner, then ask your partner the same questions.
مُرَاجَعَة تَرَاكُمِيَّة — Cumulative review
Complete the short exchange below, combining Chapters 1-7 language.
أ: مَسَاء الخَيْر! مَنْ أَنْتَ، وَمِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟
ب: ______________________________________ (give your name and origin)
أ: أَيْنَ تَسْكُن الآن؟
ب: ______________________________________ (state your current residence)
أ: مَتَى تَذْهَب إِلَى الصَّفّ، وَمَاذَا تَعْمَل مَسَاءً؟
ب: ______________________________________ (describe part of your routine)
Chapter Performance Task
مُهِمَّة الأَدَاء
يَوْمِي — My Day
You have been asked to share a short account of your daily routine with a new classmate. Complete the following tasks:
- Written: Write a connected paragraph of at least five sentences in Arabic script describing your typical day, organized by time of day, using at least four verbs from this chapter.
- Written: Include at least one sentence using لَا to say something you do not do at a particular time.
- Spoken: Present your routine aloud to a partner, then ask about theirs and summarize it back to them using هُوَ or هِيَ.
- Reflection: Write one sentence in English identifying which verb form (masculine "you," feminine "you," "he," or "she") you find most difficult to produce quickly.
Assessment focus: correct imperfect person-marking for all five singular persons, accurate use of time-of-day expressions, correct word order in questions with مَتَى and مَاذَا, and intelligible pronunciation of ظ and the imperfect prefix vowels.
Answer Key
Practice — Conjugate the verb
1. أَنَا أَلْعَب كُرَة القَدَم مَسَاءً.
2. هُوَ يَكْتُب رِسَالَة الآن.
3. هَل أَنْتِ تَشْرَبِين الشَّاي صَبَاحًا؟
4. هِيَ تَدْرُس العَرَبِيَّة فِي الجَامِعَة.
Practice — مَتَى؟
Answers will vary. Check that the verb agrees with the speaker's own subject (أَنَا) and that a time-of-day expression is included, e.g. أَذْهَب إِلَى الصَّفّ صَبَاحًا.
Dialogue — Comprehension
- Tom goes to the institute in the morning, at eight o'clock.
- Tom studies at the library in the afternoon.
- Layla plays soccer with her friends in the evening.
- Sara says لَا أَشْرَب القَهْوَة مَسَاءً ("I don't drink coffee in the evening"), showing she only drinks tea in the evening.
Listening
- 1 — أَدْرُس، أَعْمَل — صَبَاحًا، بَعْدَ الظُّهْر
- 2 — يَذْهَب، يَرْجِع — السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَة، مَسَاءً
- 3 — لَا تَشْرَب، تَشْرَب — كُلَّ يَوْم
- 4 — تَلْعَب، أَلْعَب — مَسَاءً
Bonus: Statement 3 uses a negated verb, لَا تَشْرَب القَهْوَة ("she doesn't drink coffee").
Reading — Comprehension
- Nūr goes to the university in the morning, at eight o'clock.
- Nūr works at a small library near the university in the afternoon.
- Nūr says لَا أَشْرَب القَهْوَة كَثِيرًا؛ أَشْرَب الشَّاي فَقَط, using the لَا + imperfect negation pattern introduced for recognition in this chapter.
- The classmate asks when the reader is going to class tomorrow, and whether the reader will study with them at the library in the afternoon.
Chapter Review — Section A
- يَذْهَب (goes) · يَدْرُس (studies) · يَعْمَل (works) · يَسْكُن (lives) · يَكْتُب (writes) · يَشْرَب (drinks) · يَلْعَب (plays)
- Any four of: صَبَاحًا، ظُهْرًا، بَعْدَ الظُّهْر، مَسَاءً، لَيْلًا، كُلَّ يَوْم
- كَمِ السَّاعَة؟ · مَتَى؟
Chapter Review — Section B
- أَ- (أَنَا) · تَ- (أَنْتَ) · تَ-...ـِين (أَنْتِ) · يَ- (هُوَ) · تَ- (هِيَ)
- أَكْتُب، تَكْتُب، تَكْتُبِين، يَكْتُب، تَكْتُب
- *أَنْتِ تَشْرَب الشَّاي → أَنْتِ تَشْرَبِين الشَّاي
- لَا is placed directly before the imperfect verb, with no other word between them.
Chapter Review — Section C
- Nūr goes to the university at eight o'clock in the morning, and she works at a small library in the afternoon.
- The classmate asks when the reader is going to class tomorrow, and whether the reader will study with them at the library after noon.
Chapter Review — Section D, model answer
أَذْهَب إِلَى الصَّفّ صَبَاحًا. أَدْرُس العَرَبِيَّة هُنَاك. بَعْدَ الظُّهْر، أَعْمَل فِي المَكْتَبَة. مَسَاءً، أَكْتُب وَاجِبِي وَأَشْرَب الشَّاي. لَا أَشْرَب القَهْوَة لَيْلًا. Other well-formed, accurate answers using the student's own real routine are equally acceptable. Check against the editing checklist in the Writing Workshop.
Cumulative Review — Model responses for Speaker B
ب: أَنَا [name]، وَأَنَا مِنْ [country].
ب: أَسْكُن فِي [city].
ب: أَذْهَب إِلَى الصَّفّ صَبَاحًا، وَأَعْمَل / أَدْرُس مَسَاءً.
Exact wording will vary. Check that verb conjugation matches the speaker's own person and that nationality/pronoun agreement remains consistent with Chapter 3.
Looking Ahead
مَا الَّذِي تَسْتَطِيعُ فِعْلَهُ الآن — What you can do now
You can conjugate regular imperfect verbs for five singular persons, describe your daily routine using productive verbs rather than fixed formulas, tell time on the hour, use time-of-day expressions, and ask مَتَى؟ and كَمِ السَّاعَة؟. You can also recognize لَا before an imperfect verb as a present-tense negation pattern.