أَتَى (atā) means to come. It is a defective and hamzated Form I verb from the root ء ت ي (ʾ-t-y): أَتَى (atā) in the past, يَأْتِي (yaʾtī) in the present and اِئْتِ (iʾti) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of atā on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for أَتَى, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Atā at a glance
| Root | ء ت ي (ʾ-t-y), starting with a hamza, written on the letter alif at the start of the word; the root ʾ-t-y in the Quran |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | defective and hamzated |
| Past, he | أَتَى (atā) |
| Present, he | يَأْتِي (yaʾtī) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِئْتِ (iʾti) |
| Active participle | آتٍ (ātin) |
| Passive participle | مَأْتِيّ (maʾtiyy) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | إِتْيَان (ityān), أَتْي (aty), مَأْتَاة (maʾtāh), مَأْتًى (maʾtan) |
Past tense of atā
The past tense (al-māḍī) of atā ends in a vowel in the he-form, أَتَى (atā). The weak last letter decides the rest: أَتَيْتُ (ataytu) for I, أَتَتْ (atat) for she, أَتَوْا (ataw) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَتَيْتُ | ataytu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | أَتَيْنَا | ataynā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | أَتَيْتَ | atayta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | أَتَيْتِ | atayti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | أَتَيْتُمَا | ataytumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | أَتَيْتُمْ | ataytum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | أَتَيْتُنَّ | ataytunna |
| he · هو huwa | أَتَى | atā |
| she · هي hiya | أَتَتْ | atat |
| they two m. · هما humā | أَتَيَا | atayā |
| they two f. · هما humā | أَتَتَا | atatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | أَتَوْا | ataw |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | أَتَيْنَ | atayna |
Present tense of atā
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of atā ends in a long vowel in the he-form, يَأْتِي (yaʾtī). Before the plural ending the weak letter disappears: يَأْتُونَ (yaʾtūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | آتِي | ātī |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَأْتِي | naʾtī |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَأْتِي | taʾtī |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَأْتِينَ | taʾtīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَأْتِيَانِ | taʾtiyāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَأْتُونَ | taʾtūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَأْتِينَ | taʾtīna |
| he · هو huwa | يَأْتِي | yaʾtī |
| she · هي hiya | تَأْتِي | taʾtī |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَأْتِيَانِ | yaʾtiyāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَأْتِيَانِ | taʾtiyāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَأْتُونَ | yaʾtūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَأْتِينَ | yaʾtīna |
Subjunctive and jussive of atā
After لن (lan, will not) the he-form of atā is يَأْتِيَ (yaʾtiya); after لم (lam, did not) its final long vowel shortens: يَأْتِ (yaʾti).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | آتِيَ (ātiya) | آتِ (āti) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَأْتِيَ (naʾtiya) | نَأْتِ (naʾti) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَأْتِيَ (taʾtiya) | تَأْتِ (taʾti) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَأْتِي (taʾtī) | تَأْتِي (taʾtī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَأْتِيَا (taʾtiyā) | تَأْتِيَا (taʾtiyā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَأْتُوا (taʾtū) | تَأْتُوا (taʾtū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَأْتِينَ (taʾtīna) | تَأْتِينَ (taʾtīna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَأْتِيَ (yaʾtiya) | يَأْتِ (yaʾti) |
| she · هي hiya | تَأْتِيَ (taʾtiya) | تَأْتِ (taʾti) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَأْتِيَا (yaʾtiyā) | يَأْتِيَا (yaʾtiyā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَأْتِيَا (taʾtiyā) | تَأْتِيَا (taʾtiyā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَأْتُوا (yaʾtū) | يَأْتُوا (yaʾtū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَأْتِينَ (yaʾtīna) | يَأْتِينَ (yaʾtīna) |
Imperative of atā
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَأْتِ (taʾti) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِئْتِ (iʾti) to one man, اِئْتِي (iʾtī) to one woman, اِئْتُوا (iʾtū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِئْتِ | iʾti |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِئْتِي | iʾtī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِئْتِيَا | iʾtiyā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِئْتُوا | iʾtū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِئْتِينَ | iʾtīna |
Passive of atā
The passive past of atā ends in -iya (أُتِيَ (utiya)) and the passive present in -ā (يُؤْتَى (yuʾtā)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُتِيتُ (utītu) | أُوتَى (ūtā) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | أُتِينَا (utīnā) | نُؤْتَى (nuʾtā) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | أُتِيتَ (utīta) | تُؤْتَى (tuʾtā) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | أُتِيتِ (utīti) | تُؤْتَيْنَ (tuʾtayna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | أُتِيتُمَا (utītumā) | تُؤْتَيَانِ (tuʾtayāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | أُتِيتُمْ (utītum) | تُؤْتَوْنَ (tuʾtawna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | أُتِيتُنَّ (utītunna) | تُؤْتَيْنَ (tuʾtayna) |
| he · هو huwa | أُتِيَ (utiya) | يُؤْتَى (yuʾtā) |
| she · هي hiya | أُتِيَتْ (utiyat) | تُؤْتَى (tuʾtā) |
| they two m. · هما humā | أُتِيَا (utiyā) | يُؤْتَيَانِ (yuʾtayāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | أُتِيَتَا (utiyatā) | تُؤْتَيَانِ (tuʾtayāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | أُتُوا (utū) | يُؤْتَوْنَ (yuʾtawna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | أُتِينَ (utīna) | يُؤْتَيْنَ (yuʾtayna) |
Participles and verbal noun of atā
The active participle ends in -in, the spelling of a noun whose last root letter is weak: آتٍ (ātin). The passive participle ends in a doubled weak letter: مَأْتِيّ (maʾtiyy). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists four for atā: إِتْيَان (ityān), أَتْي (aty), مَأْتَاة (maʾtāh), مَأْتًى (maʾtan). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under ʾ-t-y in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why atā conjugates this way
The last root letter of أَتَى (atā) is ي (y), which makes it a defective verb. At the end of the word it turns into a vowel: -ā in the past (أَتَى (atā), spelled with ى, the dotless ya, because the root letter is y) and -ī in the present (يَأْتِي (yaʾtī)). Before a consonant ending it comes back as a consonant (أَتَيْتُ (ataytu)), and before the plural -ū it disappears (أَتَوْا (ataw), يَأْتُونَ (yaʾtūna)).
The first root letter of أَتَى (atā) is a hamza, and it stays one through the whole conjugation: يَأْتِي (yaʾtī), أُتِيَ (utiya). Where the hamza of the I-prefix meets it, the two merge into a long ā written with madda: آتِي (ātī). Daʿā (to call) and banā (to build) are defective too, and change in the same places.
Atā in sentences
من أتى؟
Who came?
The verb: أَتَى (atā), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11688129 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
أتوا معا.
They came together.
The verb: أَتَوْا (ataw), past, they (m.pl.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 11688056 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of atā?
The present tense of أَتَى (atā) is يَأْتِي (yaʾtī) for he, آتِي (ātī) for I and تَأْتِي (taʾtī) for you (one man). The weak last letter turns into a long vowel at the end of the word.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of atā?
إِتْيَان (ityān), أَتْي (aty), مَأْتَاة (maʾtāh), مَأْتًى (maʾtan), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is آتٍ (ātin), and the passive participle مَأْتِيّ (maʾtiyy).
Is atā a regular verb?
It is regular for a defective verb: its last root letter turns into a vowel at the end of the word (أَتَى (atā), يَأْتِي (yaʾtī)) and returns before a consonant ending (أَتَيْتُ (ataytu)).