Common Verb Conjugation: دَرَسَ (to study)

Arabic verbs are like Lego sets. You start with a root. Then you add pieces to the front or back. These pieces tell us who is doing the action. They also tell us when it happened. In English, we say "I study" or "She studies." In Arabic, the verb itself changes more significantly. You do not always need the word for "I" or "You." The verb ending tells the whole story. It is efficient and logical. Once you learn the pattern for دَرَسَ, you know thousands of other verbs. It is like a master key for the language.

1. 1To conjugate دَرَسَ in the past tense, follow these steps:
2. 2Start with the root دَرَسَ.
3. 3Remove the last vowel sound.
4. 4Add the specific suffix for the person.
5. 5For "I": Add تُ to get دَرَسْتُ (da-ras-tu).
6. 6For "You" (male): Add تَ to get دَرَسْتَ (da-ras-ta).
7. 7For "You" (female): Add تِ to get دَرَسْتِ (da-ras-ti).
8. 8For "He": Keep it as دَرَسَ (da-ra-sa).
9. 9For "She": Add تْ to get دَرَسَتْ (da-ra-sat).
10. 10To conjugate in the present tense, follow these steps:
11. 11Add a prefix to the start.
12. 12Change the middle vowel to a "u" sound.
13. 13Add a suffix if needed.
14. 14For "I": Add أَ to get أَدْرُسُ (ad-ru-su).
15. 15For "You" (male): Add تَ to get تَدْرُسُ (tad-ru-su).
16. 16For "He": Add يَ to get يَدْرُسُ (yad-ru-su).
17. 17For "We": Add نَ to get نَدْرُسُ (nad-ru-su).

Use دَرَسَ when you are talking about formal learning. Use it for school subjects like math or history. It works perfectly for university degrees. You can use it when preparing for a big exam. Imagine you are in a job interview. You want to say "I studied engineering." You would use دَرَسْتُ الهَنْدَسَة. Or imagine you are meeting a new friend. You ask, "What do you study?" That is ماذا تَدْرُسُ؟. It implies effort and focus. It is not just a quick glance. It is deep engagement with a subject. Even native speakers use this constantly in daily life.

Do not use دَرَسَ for casual reading. If you are just looking at a magazine, use قَرَأَ (to read). Do not use it for "studying" a person's face. That would be تَأَمَّلَ (to contemplate). It is also not for "learning" a simple fact. For that, use عَرَفَ (to know). Think of دَرَسَ as the "academic" verb. If there is no book, pen, or teacher involved, think twice. It is like a grammar traffic light. Green means school or deep study. Red means casual observation.

Many people mix up the "T" sounds. دَرَسْتُ (with a 'u' sound) means "I studied." دَرَسَتْ (with no vowel on the 't') means "She studied." This is a classic beginner trap. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes in fast speech! Another mistake is forgetting the middle vowel change. In the present tense, the middle letter ر gets a "u" sound (يَدْرُسُ). Some people try to keep the "a" sound from the past tense. That would sound very strange to an Arabic ear. It is like saying "I seed" instead of "I saw."

Compare دَرَسَ with قَرَأَ. قَرَأَ is just the act of reading words. You can read a text message, but you do not "study" it unless you are a detective! Compare it also with تَعَلَّمَ (to learn). تَعَلَّمَ is the result of the process. You study (دَرَسَ) so that you can learn (تَعَلَّمَ). One is the journey; the other is the destination. If you tell a teacher دَرَسْتُ كَثيراً (I studied a lot), they will be happy. If you say تَعَلَّمْتُ كَثيراً (I learned a lot), they will be even happier!