For autodidact students of Sudanese Arabic, the second word on the frequency list is "be," and the first thing to learn about it is how often it is absent. English cannot say "I am Sudanese" without am. Sudanese Arabic says أنا سوداني (ana sūdāni), "I Sudanese," and nothing stands between the two words. In the present tense a noun, an adjective or a place is simply set beside the thing it describes: الشمس حارة (aš-šams ḥārra), "the sun is hot," word for word "the-sun hot." This "zero copula" is the most important fact in the lesson. Lesson 1 already used it, in البيت كبير (al-bēt kabīr), "the house is big," and the rest of this lesson is about the places where Sudanese Arabic does use a word.
There are five of them.
First, the verb كان (kān), "to be," from the root k-w-n. It is the true verb "be," and it works in the past: أخوي كان في السوق (akhūy kān fi s-sūg), "my brother was in the market." It is also the word for "had": Sudanese Arabic has no verb "to have," and says "at me" (عندي, ʿindi); in the past it adds كان, so كان عندنا بيت (kān ʿindna bēt) is "we had a house," literally "was at-us a house."
Second, the little word في (fī), which means "there is." You met it in Lesson 1: ما في موية (mā fī mōya), "there is no water." It is the same letters as the preposition في (fi), "in," and the script cannot tell them apart; the transliteration writes fī for "there is" and fi for "in." In the past, كان goes before it: كان في موية في البيت (kān fī mōya fi l-bēt), "there was water in the house."
Third, the future. "I will be" is حأكون (ḥakūn), "we will be" is حنكون (ḥankūn), "he will be" is حيكون (ḥayikūn): the future particle ح (ḥa-) joined to the present forms of كان.
Fourth, the participle قاعد (gāʿid), which means "sitting, staying, living." It is the Sudanese way to say that someone is somewhere for a while: الولد قاعد في الخرطوم (al-walad gāʿid fi l-kharṭūm), "the boy is in Khartoum," "the boy is staying in Khartoum." Remember that ق is pronounced g.
Fifth, the pronouns هو (huwwa) and هي (hiyya), which sometimes stand between a long subject and its predicate, as a kind of "is": الزول الفتح الباب هو أخوي (az-zōl al-fataḥ al-bāb huwwa akhūy), "the man who opened the door is my brother."
To say "is not" in the present, Sudanese Arabic puts ما (mā) before the predicate: أنا ما تعبان (ana mā taʿbān), "I am not tired."
Script note: كان is three letters, kaf ك, alif ا, nun ن. When an ending is added for "I," the alif of the stem is not written, so كان becomes كنت (kunt), "I was." The feminine "she was" keeps it: كانت (kānat). One alif is all that separates "I was" from "she was," so look for it. The short vowels of this verb, and of all Arabic words, are not written.
Key Takeaways: - Present "is, am, are" is nothing: أنا سوداني (ana sūdāni), "I am Sudanese"; هي دكتورة (hiyya duktōra), "she is a doctor" - كان (kān): the past. كنت (kunt) I was, كان (kān) he was, كانت (kānat) she was, كنا (kunna) we were, كانو (kānu) they were - كان عند- (kān ʿind-): "had": كان عندي صاحب (kān ʿindi ṣāḥib), "I had a friend" - في (fī): "there is"; ما في (mā fī): "there is not"; كان في (kān fī): "there was"; ما كان في (mā kān fī): "there was not" - ح- (ḥa-) plus كان: the future: حأكون (ḥakūn), حنكون (ḥankūn), حيكون (ḥayikūn) - قاعد (gāʿid): "staying, sitting," and so "is" for a place where someone stays - ما (mā) before the predicate: "is not": ما تعبان (mā taʿbān), ما موجود (mā mawjūd) - هو / هي (huwwa / hiyya): sometimes the "is" between a long subject and its predicate
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2.1a أنا I سوداني Sudanese
2.1b ana (A-na) I sūdāni (soo-DAA-nee) Sudanese-M.SG
2.2a هي she دكتورة doctor
2.2b hiyya (HEE-ya) she duktōra (duk-TOH-ra) doctor-F.SG
2.3a الشمس the-sun حارة hot
2.3b aš-šams (ash-SHAMS) the-sun.F ḥārra (HAAR-ra) hot-F.SG
2.4a نحنا we في in البيت the-house
2.4b niḥna (NIH-na) we fi (fee) in l-bēt (l-BAYT) the-house.M
2.5a إنت you صاحبي my-friend
2.5b inta (IN-ta) you.M.SG ṣāḥbi (SAAH-bee) friend-my
2.6a أنا I ما not تعبان tired
2.6b ana (A-na) I mā (maa) NEG taʿbān (taʿ-BAAN) tired-M.SG
2.7a الدكتور the-doctor ما not موجود present
2.7b ad-duktōr (ad-duk-TOHR) the-doctor.M mā (maa) NEG mawjūd (maw-JOOD) present-M.SG
2.8a أخوي my-brother كان was في in السوق the-market
2.8b akhūy (a-KHOOY) brother-my kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG fi (fee) in s-sūg (s-SOOG) the-market.M
2.9a كنت I-was تعبان tired
2.9b kunt (koont) be-PAST.1SG taʿbān (taʿ-BAAN) tired-M.SG
2.10a الولد the-boy قاعد staying في in الخرطوم the-Khartoum
2.10b al-walad (al-WA-lad) the-boy gāʿid (GAA-ʿid) staying-M.SG fi (fee) in l-kharṭūm (l-khar-TOOM) the-Khartoum
2.11a البت the-girl كانت was في in الدكان the-shop
2.11b al-bitt (al-BITT) the-girl.F kānat (KAA-nat) be-PAST.3F.SG fi (fee) in d-dukkān (d-dook-KAAN) the-shop.M
2.12a كان was في there-is موية water في in البيت the-house
2.12b kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG fī (fee) there-is mōya (MOH-ya) water.INDEF fi (fee) in l-bēt (l-BAYT) the-house.M
2.13a ما not كان was في there-is شاي tea
2.13b mā (maa) NEG kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG fī (fee) there-is šāy (shaay) tea.INDEF
2.14a بكرة tomorrow حنكون we-will-be في in بحري Bahri
2.14b bukra (BUK-ra) tomorrow ḥankūn (han-KOON) FUT-be-1PL fi (fee) in baḥri (BAH-ree) Bahri
2.15a الزول the-person الفتح who-opened الباب the-door هو he أخوي my-brother
2.15b az-zōl (az-ZOHL) the-person al-fataḥ (al-FA-taH) REL-open-PAST.3M.SG al-bāb (al-BAAB) the-door huwwa (HUW-wa) he.COP akhūy (a-KHOOY) brother-my
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2.1 أنا سوداني. (ana sūdāni) "I am Sudanese." 2.2 هي دكتورة. (hiyya duktōra) "She is a doctor." 2.3 الشمس حارة. (aš-šams ḥārra) "The sun is hot." 2.4 نحنا في البيت. (niḥna fi l-bēt) "We are in the house." 2.5 إنت صاحبي. (inta ṣāḥbi) "You are my friend." 2.6 أنا ما تعبان. (ana mā taʿbān) "I am not tired." 2.7 الدكتور ما موجود. (ad-duktōr mā mawjūd) "The doctor is not here." 2.8 أخوي كان في السوق. (akhūy kān fi s-sūg) "My brother was in the market." 2.9 كنت تعبان. (kunt taʿbān) "I was tired." 2.10 الولد قاعد في الخرطوم. (al-walad gāʿid fi l-kharṭūm) "The boy is staying in Khartoum." 2.11 البت كانت في الدكان. (al-bitt kānat fi d-dukkān) "The girl was in the shop." 2.12 كان في موية في البيت. (kān fī mōya fi l-bēt) "There was water in the house." 2.13 ما كان في شاي. (mā kān fī šāy) "There was no tea." 2.14 بكرة حنكون في بحري. (bukra ḥankūn fi baḥri) "Tomorrow we will be in Bahri." 2.15 الزول الفتح الباب هو أخوي. (az-zōl al-fataḥ al-bāb huwwa akhūy) "The man who opened the door is my brother."
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2.1 أنا سوداني. 2.2 هي دكتورة. 2.3 الشمس حارة. 2.4 نحنا في البيت. 2.5 إنت صاحبي. 2.6 أنا ما تعبان. 2.7 الدكتور ما موجود. 2.8 أخوي كان في السوق. 2.9 كنت تعبان. 2.10 الولد قاعد في الخرطوم. 2.11 البت كانت في الدكان. 2.12 كان في موية في البيت. 2.13 ما كان في شاي. 2.14 بكرة حنكون في بحري. 2.15 الزول الفتح الباب هو أخوي.
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These are the grammar rules for كان (kān), "be."
The present: no verb. A sentence whose subject is a noun or pronoun and whose predicate is a noun, an adjective or a place needs no word for "is." The predicate has no article: أنا سوداني (2.1), هي دكتورة (2.2), الشمس حارة (2.3), نحنا في البيت (2.4). The pronoun can be left out when the context is clear: سوداني can answer "where are you from?" As in Lesson 1, the article on the predicate changes the meaning: الشمس حارة is "the sun is hot," and الشمس الحارة is "the hot sun."
Negation: ما before the predicate. ما (mā) is the Sudanese Arabic negative; it stands before the word it negates: أنا ما تعبان (2.6), الدكتور ما موجود (2.7). The same ما negates verbs, as in Lesson 1: ما بنوم (mā banūm), "I do not sleep." Sudanese Arabic has no second word that must follow it.
كان, the past of "be." The forms used in this lesson: - كنت (kunt), "I was": كنت تعبان (2.9) - كان (kān), "he / it was": أخوي كان في السوق (2.8) - كانت (kānat), "she / it was": البت كانت في الدكان (2.11) - كنا (kunna), "we were": كنا في الحوش (2.24, Genre Section) - كانو (kānu), "they were"
The forms for "you" exist as well; this course will come to them in the lessons where "you" is the headword. Notice the long ā of كان, which shortens to u before the ending for "I" and "we": كان, but كنت and كنا. This happens in every verb with a long middle vowel, and Lesson 1's جاب (jāb), "he brought," and جبت (jibt), "I brought," are the same case with a different vowel.
كان with a noun, an adjective or a place means "was": البت كانت في الدكان (2.11), كنت تعبان (2.9). The subject may come before كان (أخوي كان في السوق) or after it (كان في موية).
"Had": عند + كان. To have is expressed with عند (ʿind), "at," and a pronoun ending: عندي (ʿindi), "at me, I have"; عندنا (ʿindna), "we have." In the present the sentence is verbless: عندي صاحب, "I have a friend." In the past كان is added: كان عندنا بيت (2.16), "we had a house."
في, "there is." The word في (fī) says that something exists. Its negative is ما في (mā fī): ما في موية (Lesson 1.11), "there is no water." The past puts كان before it: كان في موية في البيت (2.12); the negative past puts ما before كان: ما كان في شاي (2.13). Do not mix this up with the preposition: for a person or thing that is somewhere, say its place alone, الولد في البيت, "the boy is in the house," without a second في.
The future: ح + the present of كان. The particle ح (ḥa-) put before the present tense gives the future. The present tense of كان has a- for "I," n- for "we" and yi- for "he": ḥakūn, ḥankūn, ḥayikūn. In writing the particle is joined to the verb: حنكون (2.14), حأكون (2.28), حيكون (2.29). Sudanese Arabic has no official spelling, and this course writes the future of "I" with the hamza, حأكون, as the Sudanese texts consulted do.
قاعد, "staying." The participle قاعد (gāʿid) takes gender and number: قاعد (M), قاعدة (gāʿida, F), قاعدين (gāʿdīn, PL). It means "sitting" (جدي كان قاعد تحت الشجرة, 2.18) and "staying, living": الولد قاعد في الخرطوم (2.10). Before a verb it marks an action in progress, "is doing": هو قاعد يشرب الشاي (huwwa gāʿid yišrab aš-šāy), "he is drinking tea" (an example made by the Institute, not quoted).
هو and هي as "is." When the subject is long, or when the point is who someone is, a pronoun may stand between the subject and the predicate: الزول الفتح الباب هو أخوي (2.15). It agrees with the subject: هو for a man, هي for a woman.
كان as "if." In Sudanese Arabic كان (kān) is also a word for "if," before a verb: اهلك كان اكلو لحمك, "your people, if they eat your flesh." This is not the same use as the past of "be," but it is the same word. Section F is built on it.
Common Mistakes: - Putting a verb in the present where English has "am, is, are": *أنا بكون سوداني. Say أنا سوداني. - Using كان for the present: كان means "was" in a main clause. For "is" with a place, say the place alone or use قاعد. - Writing كنت for "she was." It is كانت, with the alif and the ending -at. - Using ما في for "is not" with an adjective: *ما في تعبان. Say ما تعبان. ما في is only for "there is not." - Negating with a second word, as other dialects do. Sudanese Arabic needs only ما. - Forgetting كان in the past of "have": عندنا بيت is "we have a house." For "we had a house" add كان: كان عندنا بيت. - Putting the article on the predicate when you mean a sentence: الشمس الحارة is "the hot sun," not "the sun is hot."
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In everyday Sudanese speech, "to be" is mostly not said, and so a great deal of Sudanese Arabic is built from nouns and adjectives side by side. The sentence أنا سوداني (ana sūdāni) is the opening of the title of a patriotic song, أنا سوداني أنا (ana sūdāni ana), with words by Muhammad Othman Abdel-Rahim, sung by Hassan Khalifa al-Atbarawi and by other singers since. The greeting is no different: asked how they are, a Sudanese answers الحمد لله (al-ḥamdu lillāh), "praise be to God," with no verb.
Standard Arabic also leaves out the present "is" in such sentences, and uses a form of كان when it speaks of the past. Standard Arabic gives the predicate a case ending after كان and writes كان البيت كبيراً; Sudanese Arabic, which has no case endings, says كان البيت كبير (kān al-bēt kabīr) and nothing more.
Sudanese also use ما في (mā fī) as a sentence on its own. ما في مشكلة (mā fī muškila), "there is no problem," is said many times a day to wave away an apology, a delay or a favour, and the answer to a request for something that is not available is simply ما في (mā fī), "there isn't any." The tea lady of Lesson 1 would say it of sugar that has run out.
Where someone lives is a question of staying: قاعد (gāʿid) is the word, and the place is the name of a town or a district: الخرطوم (al-kharṭūm), بحري (baḥri, Khartoum North), أم درمان (umm durmān, Omdurman). The three towns face one another at the meeting of the Blue and White Niles and together make up the capital. The Genre Section below takes place in the second of them, Bahri, in the memory of a house that is no longer there. Since the war that began in April 2023, millions of Sudanese have left their homes, and a house remembered in the past and a return spoken of in the future, with كان and ح-, is a story that many of them could tell.
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A Sudanese proverb, anonymous, as printed in online collections of Sudanese proverbs
The Sudanese proverb below uses the other كان, the word for "if." It was found, in the same words, in two online collections of Sudanese proverbs. It has no known author. It reads:
اهلك كان اكلو لحمك ما بكسرو عظمك
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a اهلك your-people كان if اكلو they-ate لحمك your-flesh
F.1b ahlak (AH-lak) people-your.M kān (kaan) if akalu (A-ka-loo) eat-PAST.3PL laḥmak (LAH-mak) flesh-your.M
F.2a ما not بكسرو they-break عظمك your-bone
F.2b mā (maa) NEG bikasru (bi-KAS-roo) PRES-break-3PL ʿaḍmak (ʿAD-mak) bone-your.M
F-B: Original and Translation
اهلك كان اكلو لحمك / ما بكسرو عظمك
"Your own people: if they eat your flesh, they will not break your bone." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
اهلك كان اكلو لحمك ما بكسرو عظمك
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The Institute reads the proverb in this sense: your relatives, even when they live off you or wrong you, will not ruin you. The text is spoken language, and Sudanese Arabic has no official spelling (see the Course Introduction); the words above are as the two collections print them, and the vowels in the transliteration are the Institute's reading of them.
The first line is the "if" clause, and the proverb opens with the people it is about, اهلك, "your people," before the clause begins: the subject comes first, and then the conditional. كان "if" is followed by the past form اكلو (akalu), "they ate," which here means "if they eat." It is the use of كان described in Section D, in the same spelling as the "was" of this lesson: nothing in the script tells the two apart, and the clause tells you.
The second line is the result: ما (mā) with the present بكسرو (bikasru), "they break," the same ما and the same prefix ب- as in Lesson 1 (ما بنوم, "I do not sleep"). The endings -ak in اهلك, لحمك and عظمك are the "your" of a man spoken to, and as Lesson 1 noted, a noun with a possessive ending never takes ال. The word for "bone" is written with ظ in print, عظم; as Lesson 1 said, ظ is pronounced ḍ in inherited Sudanese words, so the course writes ʿaḍmak.
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A man remembers his grandparents' house in Bahri. The narrative is told in the past, with كان throughout, and ends in the future. The numbering continues from Section A.
2.16a زمان long-ago كان was عندنا at-us بيت house في in بحري Bahri
2.16b zamān (za-MAAN) long-ago kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG ʿindna (ʿIND-na) at-us bēt (bayt) house.INDEF fi (fee) in baḥri (BAH-ree) Bahri
2.17a البيت the-house كان was كبير big والحوش and-the-yard كان was واسع wide
2.17b al-bēt (al-BAYT) the-house.M kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG kabīr (ka-BEER) big-M.SG w-al-ḥōš (wal-HOHSH) and-the-yard.M kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG wāsiʿ (WAA-siʿ) wide-M.SG
2.18a جدي my-grandfather كان was قاعد sitting تحت under الشجرة the-tree
2.18b jiddi (JID-dee) grandfather-my kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG gāʿid (GAA-ʿid) sitting-M.SG taḥt (taHt) under aš-šajara (ash-SHA-ja-ra) the-tree.F
2.19a حبوبتي my-grandmother كانت was في in المطبخ the-kitchen
2.19b ḥabbōbti (hab-BOHB-tee) grandmother-my kānat (KAA-nat) be-PAST.3F.SG fi (fee) in l-maṭbakh (l-MAT-bakh) the-kitchen.M
2.20a ما not كان was في there-is تلفزيون television لكن but كان was في there-is راديو radio
2.20b mā (maa) NEG kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG fī (fee) there-is talfizyōn (tal-fiz-YOHN) television lākin (LAA-kin) but kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG fī (fee) there-is rādyō (RAAD-yoh) radio
2.21a أنا I كنت was صغير small وأخوي and-my-brother كان was كبير big
2.21b ana (A-na) I kunt (koont) be-PAST.1SG ṣaghīr (Sa-GHEER) small-M.SG w-akhūy (wa-KHOOY) and-brother-my kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG kabīr (ka-BEER) big-M.SG
2.22a كان was عندي at-me صاحب friend اسمو name-his محمد Muhammad
2.22b kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG ʿindi (ʿIN-dee) at-me ṣāḥib (SAA-Hib) friend.INDEF ismu (IS-moo) name-his muḥammad (mu-HAM-mad) Muhammad
2.23a محمد Muhammad كان was جاري my-neighbour
2.23b muḥammad (mu-HAM-mad) Muhammad kān (kaan) be-PAST.3M.SG jāri (JAA-ree) neighbour-my
2.24a كنا we-were في in الحوش the-yard كل every يوم day
2.24b kunna (KUN-na) be-PAST.1PL fi (fee) in l-ḥōš (l-HOHSH) the-yard.M kull (kull) every yōm (yohm) day
2.25a الحبوبة the-grandmother كانت was فرحانة happy شديد very
2.25b al-ḥabbōba (al-hab-BOH-ba) the-grandmother.F kānat (KAA-nat) be-PAST.3F.SG farḥāna (far-HAA-na) happy-F.SG šadīd (sha-DEED) very
2.26a هسع now البيت the-house ما not موجود present
2.26b hassaʿ (has-SAʿ) now al-bēt (al-BAYT) the-house.M mā (maa) NEG mawjūd (maw-JOOD) present-M.SG
2.27a بس but الشجرة the-tree قاعدة staying في in مكانها her-place
2.27b bas (bas) but aš-šajara (ash-SHA-ja-ra) the-tree.F gāʿida (GAA-ʿi-da) staying-F.SG fi (fee) in makānha (ma-KAAN-ha) place-her
2.28a بكرة tomorrow حأكون I-will-be في in بحري Bahri
2.28b bukra (BUK-ra) tomorrow ḥakūn (ha-KOON) FUT-be-1SG fi (fee) in baḥri (BAH-ree) Bahri
2.29a أخوي my-brother كمان also حيكون he-will-be هناك there
2.29b akhūy (a-KHOOY) brother-my kamān (ka-MAAN) also ḥayikūn (ha-yi-KOON) FUT-be-3M.SG hināk (hi-NAAK) there
2.30a كلنا all-of-us حنكون we-will-be هناك there
2.30b kullina (KUL-li-na) all-our ḥankūn (han-KOON) FUT-be-1PL hināk (hi-NAAK) there
2.16 زمان كان عندنا بيت في بحري. (zamān kān ʿindna bēt fi baḥri) "Long ago we had a house in Bahri." 2.17 البيت كان كبير والحوش كان واسع. (al-bēt kān kabīr w-al-ḥōš kān wāsiʿ) "The house was big and the yard was wide." 2.18 جدي كان قاعد تحت الشجرة. (jiddi kān gāʿid taḥt aš-šajara) "My grandfather was sitting under the tree." 2.19 حبوبتي كانت في المطبخ. (ḥabbōbti kānat fi l-maṭbakh) "My grandmother was in the kitchen." 2.20 ما كان في تلفزيون لكن كان في راديو. (mā kān fī talfizyōn lākin kān fī rādyō) "There was no television, but there was a radio." 2.21 أنا كنت صغير وأخوي كان كبير. (ana kunt ṣaghīr w-akhūy kān kabīr) "I was small and my brother was big." 2.22 كان عندي صاحب اسمو محمد. (kān ʿindi ṣāḥib ismu muḥammad) "I had a friend called Muhammad." 2.23 محمد كان جاري. (muḥammad kān jāri) "Muhammad was my neighbour." 2.24 كنا في الحوش كل يوم. (kunna fi l-ḥōš kull yōm) "We were in the yard every day." 2.25 الحبوبة كانت فرحانة شديد. (al-ḥabbōba kānat farḥāna šadīd) "Grandmother was very happy." 2.26 هسع البيت ما موجود. (hassaʿ al-bēt mā mawjūd) "Now the house is not there." 2.27 بس الشجرة قاعدة في مكانها. (bas aš-šajara gāʿida fi makānha) "But the tree is still in its place." 2.28 بكرة حأكون في بحري. (bukra ḥakūn fi baḥri) "Tomorrow I will be in Bahri." 2.29 أخوي كمان حيكون هناك. (akhūy kamān ḥayikūn hināk) "My brother will be there too." 2.30 كلنا حنكون هناك. (kullina ḥankūn hināk) "All of us will be there."
2.16 زمان كان عندنا بيت في بحري. 2.17 البيت كان كبير والحوش كان واسع. 2.18 جدي كان قاعد تحت الشجرة. 2.19 حبوبتي كانت في المطبخ. 2.20 ما كان في تلفزيون لكن كان في راديو. 2.21 أنا كنت صغير وأخوي كان كبير. 2.22 كان عندي صاحب اسمو محمد. 2.23 محمد كان جاري. 2.24 كنا في الحوش كل يوم. 2.25 الحبوبة كانت فرحانة شديد. 2.26 هسع البيت ما موجود. 2.27 بس الشجرة قاعدة في مكانها. 2.28 بكرة حأكون في بحري. 2.29 أخوي كمان حيكون هناك. 2.30 كلنا حنكون هناك.
Telling a story in the past (2.16–2.25). A past scene is set with كان, one for each thing described: the house, the yard, the people. In 2.17 كان is repeated for each of the two nouns: البيت كان كبير والحوش كان واسع. It agrees with its subject: كان for the masculine house and yard, كانت for the grandmother (2.19, 2.25).
كان عند- (2.16, 2.22). "Had" is كان plus عند and a pronoun ending: كان عندنا بيت, كان عندي صاحب. In 2.22 the noun after it has no article, because it is new to the story: "a friend," not "the friend." The next sentence, 2.23, uses the name.
ما كان في ... لكن كان في (2.20). The two halves of the sentence use the same words, one negative and one positive: "there was no television, but there was a radio." The negative ما goes before كان, not before في.
كان + قاعد (2.18). Together they mean "was sitting." The past of "be" is added to the participle, which tells the position, not the time.
كنا (2.24). "We were": the long vowel of كان shortens before the ending, as in كنت. Written without the alif, the two words كنت and كنا differ only in the last letter.
The turn from past to present (2.26, 2.27). With هسع, "now," the story returns to the verbless present: البيت ما موجود, "the house is not there"; الشجرة قاعدة في مكانها, "the tree is staying in its place." ما is placed before موجود, as in 2.7. قاعدة is feminine, to agree with الشجرة (F).
The future (2.28–2.30). Three persons of the future of كان: حأكون (ḥakūn, I), حيكون (ḥayikūn, he), حنكون (ḥankūn, we). بكرة (bukra), "tomorrow," makes the time clear, and the future of "be" is also used where English says "will be there." كمان (kamān), "also," comes after the subject it adds to. كلنا (kullina), "all of us," is كل (kull), "all," with the ending for "us," and it comes before the verb.
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كان (kān) — IPA: /kaːn/ — The long ā is held about twice as long as the short a of كنت. كنت (kunt) — IPA: /kunt/ — The vowel is short, as in "put." كانت (kānat) — IPA: /kaːnat/ — The first vowel is long, the second short. في (fī) / (fi) — IPA: /fiː/ "there is," /fi/ "in" — The two are spelled alike; "there is" is longer. قاعد (gāʿid) — IPA: /gaːʕid/ — ق is a hard g, as in "go." ع is the throat sound of Lesson 1, between the two vowels. عندنا (ʿindna) — IPA: /ʕindna/ — Begin with the throat consonant ع, and say the short i quickly. حنكون (ḥankūn) — IPA: /ħanˈkuːn/ — ح is the whispered h of Lesson 1; the stress falls on the long ū. هو (huwwa) — IPA: /huwwa/ — The w is doubled: hold it. الحوش (al-ḥōš) — IPA: /alħoːʃ/ — ō is a long, pure o, as in Scottish "go." جدي (jiddi) — IPA: /ɟiddi/ — The ج is the palatal stop of Lesson 1, and the d is doubled. مطبخ (maṭbakh) — IPA: /matˤbax/ — ط is an emphatic t, with the tongue drawn back; خ is the rough sound of Scottish "loch." صغير (ṣaghīr) — IPA: /sˤaɣiːr/ — ص is an emphatic s; غ is a gargled r from the back of the throat. عظم (ʿaḍm) — IPA: /ʕadˤm/ — The letter ظ is pronounced as the emphatic d. Vowel length: long vowels (aa, ee, oo, ay, oh in the respellings) are held about twice as long as short ones, and length can change meaning, as with كان and كنت. Stress usually falls on a long vowel or on the syllable before the last.
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