Lesson 25 · كَانَ
Was and were: كَانَ
To move a sentence like الْجَوُّ حَارٌّ (the weather is hot) into the past, put كَانَ (kaana, was) in front of it. The describing word then ends in -an instead of -un: كَانَ الْجَوُّ حَارًّا (the weather was hot).
Learn with pictures
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Examples
كَانَ الْجَوُّ حَارًّاkaana l-jawwu ḥaarranThe weather was hot.
كُنْتُ مَرِيضًا أَمْسِkuntu mariiḍan amsiI was ill yesterday.
كَانَتِ الْمَدْرَسَةُ مُغْلَقَةًkaanati l-madrasatu mughlaqatanThe school was closed.
أَيْنَ كُنْتَ؟ayna kunta?Where were you?
كُنْتُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِkuntu fil-masjidiI was in the mosque.
كُنَّا طُلَّابًا فِي الْجَامِعَةِkunnaa ṭullaaban fil-jaamiʿatiWe were students at the university.
سَيَكُونُ الْجَوُّ بَارِدًا غَدًاsa-yakuunu l-jawwu baaridan ghadanThe weather will be cold tomorrow.
Key points
- كُنْتُ I was · كُنْتَ you were (m) · كُنْتِ you were (f) · كَانَ he was · كَانَتْ she was · كُنَّا we were · كَانُوا they were.
- The second part takes -an: كَانَ الْمُدَرِّسُ مَرِيضًا (the teacher was ill). Places with فِي do not change: كُنْتُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.
- For the future use سَيَكُونُ (will be): سَيَكُونُ الْجَوُّ بَارِدًا (the weather will be cold).
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “The door was open.”
كَانَ الْبَابُ مَفْتُوحًا kaana l-baabu maftuuḥan
Say “She was a teacher.”
كَانَتْ مُدَرِّسَةً kaanat mudarrisatan
Say “We were at home.”
كُنَّا فِي الْبَيْتِ kunnaa fil-bayti