The present has no "to be", the past does
أَنَا طَالِبٌ. needs no verb. To move the same sentence into the past you add كَانَ:
- أَنَا طَالِبٌ. — I am a student.
- كُنْتُ طَالِبًا. — I was a student.
| Pronoun | Form | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | كُنْتُ | kuntu |
| أَنْتَ | كُنْتَ | kunta |
| أَنْتِ | كُنْتِ | kunti |
| هُوَ | كَانَ | kāna |
| هِيَ | كَانَتْ | kānat |
| نَحْنُ | كُنَّا | kunnā |
| أَنْتُمْ | كُنْتُمْ | kuntum |
| هُمْ | كَانُوا | kānū |
| هُنَّ | كُنَّ | kunna |
The long ا shortens to ـُ whenever an ending beginning with a consonant is added. The present يَكُونُ exists but is used for the future and after أَنْ, not for plain "is": سَيَكُونُ الطَّقْسُ جَمِيلًا. — The weather will be nice.
The predicate becomes accusative
كَانَ leaves the subject nominative and puts the predicate into the accusative:
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| الْجَوُّ جَمِيلٌ. The weather is nice. | كَانَ الْجَوُّ جَمِيلًا. |
| الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ. The house is big. | كَانَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا. |
| هِيَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. She is a teacher. | كَانَتْ مُعَلِّمَةً. |
| هُمْ مُهَنْدِسُونَ. They are engineers. | كَانُوا مُهَنْدِسِينَ. |
The sisters
The same pattern, with different meanings:
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| أَصْبَحَ | to become | أَصْبَحَ الْجَوُّ بَارِدًا. The weather became cold. |
| صَارَ | to become | صَارَ مُهَنْدِسًا. He became an engineer. |
| مَا زَالَ | to still be | مَا زَالَ الطَّقْسُ حَارًّا. The weather is still hot. |
| لَيْسَ | not to be | لَيْسَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا. The house is not big. |
كان plus a present verb
This is how Arabic says "used to" and "was doing":
- كُنْتُ أَدْرُسُ فِي الْجَامِعَةِ. — I used to study at the university.
- كَانَتْ تَعْمَلُ فِي الْمُسْتَشْفَى. — She was working in the hospital.
- كَانُوا يَلْعَبُونَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ. — They used to play every day.
Both verbs agree with the same subject.
Watch out as an English speaker
- Do not add كَانَ to a present sentence. ✗ أَنَا كُنْتُ طَالِبٌ الْآنَ. / ✓ أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
- The predicate takes fatha. ✗ كَانَ الْجَوُّ جَمِيلٌ. / ✓ كَانَ الْجَوُّ جَمِيلًا.
- كَانَ agrees with its subject. ✗ كَانَ لَيْلَى مُعَلِّمَةً. / ✓ كَانَتْ لَيْلَى مُعَلِّمَةً.
- "I was writing" is not كُنْتُ كَتَبْتُ. ✓ كُنْتُ أَكْتُبُ.
Example dialogue
أَيْنَ كُنْتَ أَمْسِ؟ — Where were you yesterday?
كُنْتُ فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ. كُنْتُ أَدْرُسُ. — I was in the library. I was studying.
وَكَيْفَ كَانَ الْجَوُّ؟ — And how was the weather?
كَانَ بَارِدًا فِي الصَّبَاحِ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحَ جَمِيلًا. — It was cold in the morning and then became nice.
أُمِّي كَانَتْ مُعَلِّمَةً هُنَاكَ. — My mother was a teacher there.