Getting started
With a regular verb such as “write”, the present tense uses a prefix and sometimes an ending, while the past tense uses endings. A common future form uses ghadi followed by the personal verb form without ka- . Some verbs also change their stem.
Writing: a first regular model
The table shows common forms of kteb ("write"). The little e helps here to read consonant groups; some resources write ktb . Latin spellings are not completely uniform.
| Person | Darija — present | Darija — past |
|---|---|---|
| I | kankteb | ktebt |
| You — masculine singular | katkteb | ktebti |
| You — feminine singular | katketbi | ktebti |
| He | kaykteb | kteb |
| She | katkteb | ketbat |
| We | kanketbu | ktebna |
| You — plural | katketbu | ktebtu |
| They | kayketbu | ketbu |
In the present tense, katkteb can correspond to “you write” in the masculine or to “she writes”. The context specifies the person. In the past tense, the two forms of the singular “tu” are identical in this model.
Forming a common future tense
Keep the person marker and remove ka- before adding ghadi : kankteb becomes ghadi nkteb (“I will write”). This pattern is a starting point; other regional future forms exist.
| English | Darija |
|---|---|
| I will write tomorrow. | Ghadi nkteb ghdda. |
| He's going to write tomorrow. | Ghadi ykteb ghdda. |
| We will write tomorrow. | Ghadi nketbu ghdda. |
A word of time helps to construct a personal sentence. Lbare7 means "yesterday", daba "now" and ghdda "tomorrow". To complete, see days and time expressions.
Going and saying: the verb stem changes
| Meaning | Darija — I, present | Darija — I, past | Darija — I, future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | kanmshi | mshit | ghadi nmshi |
| Say | kangul | gelt | ghadi ngul |
Do not automatically apply all letters of “write” to these verbs. Learn the shapes in a short sentence, then change just the person or moment. The present tense can express a habit or an action in progress depending on the verb and the context.
Switch to negation
For the simple verb forms in this guide, the negation is often constructed with ma- and -sh around the verb: ma ktebtsh means “I did not write”. In the present tense, ma kanktebsh means “I don’t write”. The spelling can also separate these elements.
Do not make this observation a rule for all sentences. The negation of identity, of certain states or of more complex constructions requires other benchmarks.
Four exercises with answers
Hide the fix. Complete the sentences with a shape from the table:
- “We write”: choose the form of “write”.
- “I wrote yesterday”: complete ___ lbare7 .
- “He will write tomorrow”: complete ghadi ___ ghdda .
- Transform “I wrote” into “I did not write”.
See the correction
- Kanketbu.
- Ktebt lbare7.
- Ghadi ykteb ghdda.
- Ma ktebtsh.
Then take a sentence from your day. Say it in the present tense, then tell what you did yesterday. This limited variation helps to find useful form during a conversation.
Source and variations
The templates follow the chapters on the past, present and future of Peace Corps Morocco darija manual, 2011 edition . The transcription is adapted to that of the site and the exercises are original. In particular, you may hear variations of the present tense prefix depending on the region; also work with the shapes of your interlocutors.