Language/South-levantine-arabic/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be

South Levantine Arabic Grammar - How to Use "Be"

Hi South Levantine Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the verb "be" in South Levantine Arabic. We will cover the present tense, past tense, and future tense. We will also dive into some interesting cultural details as we explore this verb. So, let's get started. Don't forget that to improve your South Levantine Arabic Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Present Tense

The verb "be" in South Levantine Arabic is usually translated to "كان" (kan). In the present tense, you will use the same form for all three persons: "ana kan", "anta kan", "anti kan", "huwa kan", "hiya kan", "huma kan", "hunna kan". This is similar to the way that the verb "be" is used in English, where the same form "am/is/are" is used for all the persons.

Let's see some examples:

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أنا كان	ana kan	I am
أنت كان	anta kan	You are (masculine)
أنتِ كان	anti kan	You are (feminine)
هو كان	huwa kan	He is
هي كان	hiya kan	She is
هما كانوا	huma kanu	They are (dual masculine)
هنّ كانوا	hunna kanu	They are (dual feminine)

Examples

• Person 1: شو إسمك ؟ (Shu ismak?) - What's your name?
• Person 2: أنا كان إسمي علي. (Ana kan ismi Ali.) - My name is Ali.

• Person 1: عفواً، هل يمكنك مساعدتي ؟ (Afwan, hal yumkinuk musaa'dati?) - Excuse me, can you help me?
• Person 2: أنا كان مستعدّ للمساعدة. (Ana kan musta'edd lil-musa'adati.) - I am ready to help.

Past Tense

In the past tense, the verb "be" in South Levantine Arabic is conjugated differently for each person. The form "كان" (kan) is used for the first and third persons (singular and plural), while the form "كنت" (kunt) is used for the second person (singular and plural). Here are the different forms:

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أنا كنت	ana kunt	I was
أنت كنت	anta kunt	You were (masculine)
أنتِ كنت	anti kunt	You were (feminine)
هو كان	huwa kan	He was
هي كانت	hiya kunt	She was
هم كانوا	hum kanu	They were (masculine)
هنّ كَنَّ	hunna kanu	They were (feminine)

Let's see some examples:

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أنا كنت حزيناً	ana kunt hazinan	I was sad
أنت كنت مشغولاً	anta kunt mashghoolan	You were (masculine) busy
أنتِ كنت مشغولةً	anti kunt mashghoolatan	You were (feminine) busy
هو كان شبعان	huwa kan shaba'an	He was full
هي كانت مريضة	hiya kunt maree'eda	She was sick
هم كانوا متعبين	hum kanu mata'beenan	They were (masculine) tired
هنّ كَنَّ سعيدات	hunna kanu sa'eedatan	They were (feminine) happy

Examples

• Person 1: شو عملت بالأمس ؟ (Shu 'amilt bil-ams?) - What did you do yesterday?
• Person 2: كنت بالبيت طوال اليوم. (Kunt bil-beit tawwal el-yom.) - I was at home the whole day.

• Person 1: في وقت الحرب، كان الناس يعيشون بصعوبة. (Fee waqt el-harb, kan el-naas ya'eeshoona bsa'ba.) - In times of war, people were living difficultly.
• Person 2: نعم، كانت الأمور صعبة جداً. (Na'am, kunt el-omoor sa'bah jiddan.) - Yes, things were very difficult.

Future Tense

In the future tense, the verb "be" in South Levantine Arabic is formed by adding the particle "هل" (hal) before the present tense form. Let's see some examples:

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أنا هل كان	ana hal kan	I will be
أنت هل كان	anta hal kan	You will be (masculine)
أنتِ هل كان	anti hal kan	You will be (feminine)
هو هل كان	huwa hal kan	He will be
هي هل كان	hiya hal kan	She will be
هما هل كانوا	huma hal kanu	They will be (dual masculine)
هنّ هل كانوا	hunna hal kanu	They will be (dual feminine)

Let's see some examples:

South Levantine Arabic	Pronunciation	English
أنا هل رح أكون مشغولاً غداً	ana hal rah akoon mashghoolan ghadan	I will be busy tomorrow
أنت هل تكون متفائلاً في المستقبل ؟	anta hal takoon mutafa'lan fel-mostaqbal?	Will you be optimistic about the future?
أنتِ هل تكونين مسؤولة عن هذا المشروع ؟	anti hal takooniin mas'oola 'an haadha el-mashroo'?	Will you be responsible for this project?
هو هل يكون حاضراً الليلة ؟	huwa hal ykoon haadheran el-layla?	Will he be present tonight?
هي هل تكون متعبة بعد العمل الشاق ؟	hiya hal tkoon mata'ba ba'd el-'aml el-shaag?	Will she be tired after hard work?
هما هل يكونان متفهمين ؟	huma hal ykono matafhmeen?	Will they (dual masculine) be understanding ?
هنّ هل يكون اختياركم سليماً ؟	hunna hal ykoon ekhtiyarakum saleeman?	Will they (dual feminine) make the right choice?

Examples

• Person 1: رح تكون الجو عاصف جداً خلال الأيام القادمة. (Rah tkoon el-jaw 'aasif jiddan khalal el-ayyam el-gadimah.) - The weather will be very stormy in the coming days.
• Person 2: يجب علينا أن نحضّر أنفسنا للجو العاصف. (Yajeb 'aleinaa an nahdhar anfasna lil-jaw el-'aasif.) - We need to prepare ourselves for the stormy weather.

• Person 1: هل ستكون المدينة مكتظة بالسّيّاح هذا الصّيف ؟ (Hal satekoon el-madeenah mukatza bessayyah hatha el-sayif?) - Will the city be crowded with tourists this summer?
• Person 2: نعم، هيّ الأرقام تشير إلى ذلك. (Na'am, hiyy el-arqaam tashiru ila dhalik.) - Yes, the numbers indicate that.

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Other Lessons

• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Negation
• Questions
• Give your Opinion
• How to Use Have
• Gender
• Adjectives
• Conditional Mood