سآتي
The English phrase "i will come" is translated into Arabic as سآتي.
What does it mean word for word?
The word سآتي is composed of the prefix سـ, which is a future tense marker similar to the English word "will" and the verb part آتي, which is the first-person singular present tense form meaning "I come".
Did you know?
- Depending on the region, a person might replace the prefix سـ with راح to indicate the future, which literally means 'went' in the past tense.
- The letter آ in آتي is a 'madda', which is actually a long way of writing a combination of two 'alif' letters to show a continuous sound.
- While سآتي is grammatically perfect, using the prefix سـ can sometimes make a speaker sound like a news anchor or a character in a formal radio play.
Examples in context
- سأأتي إلى الاجتماع اليوم.I will come to the meeting today.
- سآتي إليكِ غداً.sa'ati ilayki ghadan.I will come to you tomorrow.
- سآتي إلى الحفلة لاحقاً.sa'ati ila al-hafla lahiqan.I will come to the party later.
Example conversation
Omar is talking to Maryam on the phone about a meeting.
- عمر Omarهل أنتِ في الطريق؟hal anti fi al-tariq?Are you on the way?
- مريم Maryamلا، سآتي بعد ساعة.la, sa'ati ba'da sa'ah.No, I will come after an hour.
- عمر Omarحسناً، سأنتظركِ هنا.hasanan, sa'antadhiruki huna.Okay, I will wait for you here.
- مريم Maryamشكراً لك يا عمر.shukran laka ya Omar.Thank you, Omar.
