Arabic Pronouns and Sentences Without 'To Be'

English needs a verb in nearly every sentence: "I am a student", "She is tired". In present-tense Arabic, that verb simply disappears. It makes early sentences shorter, which is one of Arabic's friendlier features for beginners.

The independent pronouns

• أنا (ana) — I
• أنتَ (anta) — you (masculine singular)
• أنتِ (anti) — you (feminine singular)
• هو (huwa) — he
• هي (hiya) — she
• نحن (nahnu) — we
• أنتم (antum) — you (masculine plural)
• هم (hum) — they (masculine)

There are also feminine plural forms and dual forms in formal Arabic, but the list above is enough to get started. Note that "you" has separate masculine and feminine forms — a distinction English does not make.

Sentences with no verb

To say "I am a student", Arabic says, in effect, "I student": أنا طالب (ana talib). "She is a teacher" is هي معلمة (hiya mu'allima). "He is tired" is هو تعبان (huwa ta'ban) in many dialects. The meaning "is" is implied.

Definiteness changes the meaning

Compare الولد هنا (al-walad huna, "the boy is here") with ولد هنا (walad huna, "a boy is here"). With the article on the noun, the pair reads as a sentence about a specific boy.

Talking about the past

The verb "to be" does appear in past and future forms. كان (kana) means "was", as in كان طالباً (kana talib-an, "he was a student"). Its presence marks time; its absence in the present is the default.

"There is" and "I have"

Arabic has no direct equivalent of "I have". Instead, it uses a preposition: عندي ('indi, literally "at me") means "I have", as in عندي كتاب ('indi kitab, "I have a book"). The same logic applies in many Semitic languages.

Why this matters for dictionary use

When you look up an English sentence word by word, the missing "to be" can cause confusion. A learner should expect Arabic to drop it, and add it back only when translating into English.

Practice sequence

1. Learn the eight pronouns until you recognise each on sight.
2. Combine each with a noun or adjective you know.
3. Read each sentence aloud, resisting the urge to add "is".
4. Try changing the pronoun and see how the adjective must change too.

Look up any pronoun or noun with English Arabic Dictionary →