The standard way to form the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic is by placing رَح (raḥ) or …حَــ (ḥa-) before the present verb in the subjunctive mood. To express the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic, one can also use the present indicative tense or the pseudo-verb بِــدّ (bidd) ‘to want.’
Table of Contents
- Expressing Future Tense Using Present Indicative
- Expressing Future Tense Using Pseudo-Verb بِــدّ (bidd-)
- Future Tense Using رَح (raḥ) or …حَــ (ḥa-)
- إِنْ شـاءَ الـلّـه (’in-shā’a-llah) ‘God willing’
- Summary
- Level IV – Intermediate II (B2)
Expressing Future Tense Using Present Indicative
To express the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic, one can use the present indicative tense—often with words indicating that the action is happening in the future, e.g., ‘tomorrow,’ ‘later,’ ‘next month,’ etc. For example:
| .بَــكْــتُــب رِسَــالِــة لَــصَــاحْــبِــيْ بُــكْــرَة baktub risāleh la-ṣāḥbi bukrah I (will) write a letter to my friend tomorrow. |
| .مْــنِــشْــرَب عَــصِــيْــر بَــعْــد شْــوَيّ mnishrab ‘aṣīr ba‘d (i) shwayy We (will) drink juice in a little while. |
Expressing Future Tense Using Pseudo-Verb بِــدّ (bidd-)
Another common way to express the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic is by using the pseudo-verb بِــدّ (bidd) ‘to want,’ suffixed with an attached pronoun and followed by a present verb in the subjunctive mood, as discussed in Level III, Lesson 2.
| .بِـــدِّيْ أَكْــتُــب رِسَــالِــة لَــصَــاحْــبِــيْ بُــكْــرَة biddi aktub risāleh la-ṣāḥbi bukrah I (want to = will) write a letter to my friend tomorrow. |
| .بِـــدْنَــا نِــشْــرَب عَــصِــيْــر بَــعْــد شْــوَيّ bidna nishrab ‘aṣīr ba‘d (i) shwayy We (want to = will) drink juice in a little while. |
Future Tense Using رَح (raḥ) or …حَــ (ḥa-)
The standard way to form the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic is by placing رَح (raḥ) or …حَــ (ḥa-) before the present verb in the subjunctive mood.
Here are some examples:
| .رَح اَكْــتُــب رِسَــالِــة لَــصَــاحْــبِـي raḥ aktub risāleh la-ṣāḥbi | = | .حَــكْــتُــب† رِسَــالِــة لَــصَــاحْــبِـي ḥa–ktub risāleh la-ṣāḥbi |
| I will write a message to my friend. | ||
| .رَح نِــشْــرَب عَــصِــيْــر raḥ nishrab ‘aṣīr | = | .حَــنِــشْــرَب عَــصِــيْــر ḥa-nishrab ‘aṣīr |
| We will drink juice. | ||
| .أَحْــمَــد رَح يِـــفْــتَــح اِلْــبَــاب ’aḥmad raḥ yiftaḥ il-bāb | = | .أَحْــمَــد حَــيِـــفْــتَــح اِلْــبَــاب ’aḥmad ḥa–yiftaḥ il-bāb |
| Ahmad will open the door. | ||
| .اِلْاَوْلَاد رَح يِــكْــبَــرُوْ بْــسُــرْعَــة il-awlād raḥ yikbaru b-sur‘ah | = | .اِلْاَوْلَاد حَــيِــكْــبَــرُوْ بْــسُــرْعَــة il-awlād ḥa–yikbaru b-sur‘ah |
| The boys will grow up quickly. | ||
† The prefix ا (a) of the first-person present subjunctive is often dropped when …حَــ (ḥa-) is used to express the future, i.e., حَــأَكْــتُــب (ḥa-aktub) حَــكْــتُــب (ḥa-ktub).
إِنْ شـاءَ الـلّـه (’in-shā’a-llah) ‘God willing’
The use of the expression إِنْ شـاءَ الـلّـه (’in-shā’a-llah) ‘God willing’ often accompanies talking about the future tense in Arabic discourse and culture. It is deeply rooted in the cultural, religious, and linguistic practices of Arabic-speaking communities.
In Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic, the expression إِنْ شـاءَ الـلّـه (’in-shā’a-llah) is often pronounced as a single word /inshāllah/.
Here are some examples:
| .رَح اَكْــتُــب رِسَــالِــة لَــصَــاحْــبِـي بُــكْــرَة إن شَـــاء الـلّـه raḥ aktub risāleh la-ṣāḥbi bukrah -nshāllah I will write a letter to my friend tomorrow, God willing. |
| .اِلْاَوْلَاد حَــيِــكْــبَــرُوْ بْــسُــرْعَــة إن شَـــاء الـلّـه il-awlād raḥ yikbaru b-sur‘ah -nshāllah The boys will grow up quickly, God willing. |
The expression conveys intention, plan, or expectation while emphasizing uncertainty or dependence on external factors. It reflects the belief that, while the speaker may plan an action or anticipate an outcome, its realization ultimately depends on God’s will.
Summary
Here is a summary of the four different ways to express the future tense in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic:
| I will travel tomorrow morning. | |
| Present Indicative | .بَـــسَـــافِـــر بُــكْــرَة الـــصُّـــبْـــح basāfir bukrah -ṣ-ṣub(i)ḥ |
| بِـــدّ (bidd-) + Attached Pronoun + Present Subjunctive | .بِـــدِّيْ أَسَـــافِـــر بُــكْــرَة الـــصُّـــبْـــح biddi ’asāfir bukrah -ṣ-ṣub(i)ḥ |
| رَح (raḥ) + Attached Pronoun + Present Subjunctive | .رَح أَسَـــافِـــر بُــكْــرَة الـــصُّـــبْـــح raḥ asāfir bukrah -ṣ-ṣub(i)ḥ |
| … حَــ (ḥa-) + Attached Pronoun + Present Subjunctive | .حَـــسَـــافِـــر بُــكْــرَة الـــصُّـــبْـــح ḥa-sāfir bukrah -ṣ-ṣub(i)ḥ |
Other lessons in Level IV: