In Arabic, the verb كـانَ (kāna) ‘he/it was’ is often used to convey meanings similar to the progressive and perfect tenses in English.
Table of Contents
- Past Progressive Tense
- Past Perfect Tense
- Future Perfect Tense
- Hypotheticals
- Level V – Advanced I (C1)
Past Progressive Tense
To describe continuous actions in the past, we use the verb كـانَ (kāna) in the past tense, followed by the action verb in the present tense. Both verbs are conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject.
Here are some past progressive tense examples in Arabic:
| كـانَ يَـتَـنـاوَلُ الْـفَـطـورَ عِـنْـدَمـا رَأَيْـتُـهُ٠ kāna yatanāwalu -l-faṭūra ‘indamā ra’aytuh. He was having breakfast when I saw him. |
| كـانـوا يَـشْـرَبونَ الـشّـايَ٠ kānū yashrabūna -sh-shāy. They were drinking tea. |
| كُـنّـا نَـكْـتُـبُ الـرَّسـائِـلَ٠ kunnā naktubu -r-rasā’il. We were writing the letters. |
This formula in Arabic is not exactly equivalent to the past progressive tense in English. In Arabic, this formula expresses not only past actions, but also past knowledge and feelings. For example:
| لَـمْ يَـكُـنْ يَـعْـلَـمُ ذلِـكَ٠ lam yakun ya‘lamu dhālik. He didn’t know that. |
| كـانَ يَـشْـعُـرُ بِـالـثِّـقَـةِ أَثْـنـاءَ إِلْـقـاءِ الْـخِـطـابِ٠ kāna yash‘uru bi-th-thiqati ’athnā’a ’ilqā’i -l-khiṭāb. He felt confident while giving the speech. |
Past Perfect Tense
We can describe a past action that happened before another past action by using the verb كـانَ (kāna) in the past tense, followed by the action verb in the past tense as well. Both verbs are conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject.
Here are some past perfect tense examples in Arabic:
| كـان قَـد تَـنـاوَلَ الْـفَـطـورَ قَـبْـلَ أَنْ أَراهُ٠ kāna qad tanāwala -l-faṭūra qabla ’an ’arāh. He had had breakfast before I saw him. |
| كـانـوا قَـدْ شَـرِبـوا الـشّـايَ٠ kānū qad sharibū -sh-shāy. They had drunk the tea. |
| كُـنّـا كَـتَـبْـنـا الـرَّسـائِـلَ مُـنْـذُ مُـدَّةٍ٠ kunnā katabnā -r-rasā’ila mundhu muddah. We had written the letters a while ago. |
Note that using قَـد (qad) between كـانَ (kāna) and the action past verb is optional. It implies emphasis, completion, or certainty, and is often used in formal and written language.
Future Perfect Tense
To describe an action that will be completed before a specific time or event in the future, we use the future tense of the verb كـانَ (kāna), followed by the action verb in the past tense. Both verbs are conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject.
Here are some examples:
| سَـيَـكـونُ قَـد تَـنـاوَلَ الْـفَـطـورَ قَـبْـلَ أَنْ أَراهُ٠ sa–yakūnu qad tanāwala -l-faṭūra qabla ’an ’arāh. He will have had breakfast before I see him. |
| سَـيَـكـونـونَ قَـدْ شَـرِبـوا الـشّـايَ٠ sa–yakūnūna qad sharibū -sh-shāy. They will have drunk the tea. |
| سَـنَـكـونُ كَـتَـبْـنـا الـرَّسـائِـلَ غَـدًا٠ sa–nakūnu katabnā -r-rasā’ila ghadan. We will have written the letters by tomorrow. |
Note that using قَـد (qad) between the future tense of the verb كـانَ (kāna) and the action past verb is optional.
Hypotheticals
To describe a hypothetical event that would have happened in the past, we use the verb كـانَ (kāna) in the past tense followed by the action verb in the future tense. Both verbs are conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject. For example:
| كـان سَـيَـتَـنـاوَلُ الْـفَـطـورَ لَـوْ كـانَ الْـمَـطْـعَـمُ مَـفْـتـوحًـا٠ kāna sa-yatanāwalu -l-faṭūra law kāna -l-maṭ‘amu maftūḥan. He would have had breakfast if the restaurant were open. |
| كـانـوا سَـيَـشْـرَبـونَ الـشّـايَ٠ kānū sa-yashrabūna -sh-shāy. They were going to drink the tea. |
| كُـنّـا سَـوْفَ نَـرُدُّ عَـلـى الـرَّسـائِـلِ لَـو اسْـتَـلَـمْـنـاهـا٠ kunnā sawfa naruddu ‘alā -r-rasā’ili law istalamnāhā. We would have replied to the letters had we received them. |
Next: Nouns of Place, Instrument, & Intensity
Back to: Special-Use Particles, Nouns, & Pronouns
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