Lesson 44 · صَارَ
Became, still: the sisters of كَانَ
Like كَانَ (lesson 25), these verbs make the second part end in -an: صَارَ became · أَصْبَحَ became (also: was in the morning) · مَا زَالَ is still · لَيْسَ is not (lesson 14).
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
صَارَ الْمَاءُ ثَلْجًاṣaara l-maa’u thaljanThe water became ice.
أَصْبَحَ الْجَوُّ حَارًّاaṣbaḥa l-jawwu ḥaarranThe weather became hot.
صَارَ أَخِي طَبِيبًاṣaara akhii ṭabiibanMy brother became a doctor.
مَا زِلْتُ طَالِبًاmaa ziltu ṭaalibanI am still a student.
لَا يَزَالُ الْمَحَلُّ مَفْتُوحًاlaa yazaalu l-maḥallu maftuuḥanThe shop is still open.
لَيْسَ الطَّرِيقُ طَوِيلًاlaysa ṭ-ṭariiqu ṭawiilanThe road is not long.
Key points
- صَارَ الْمَاءُ ثَلْجًا (the water became ice) · أَصْبَحَ الْجَوُّ حَارًّا (the weather became hot).
- مَا زَالَ means “is still”: مَا زَالَ مَرِيضًا (he is still ill). In the present it is لَا يَزَالُ.
- They change like any past verb: صِرْتُ I became · أَصْبَحْنَا we became · مَا زِلْتُ I am still.
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “The sky became dark.”
أَصْبَحَتِ السَّمَاءُ مُظْلِمَةً aṣbaḥati s-samaa’u muẓlimatan
Say “I became a teacher.”
صِرْتُ مُدَرِّسًا ṣirtu mudarrisan
Say “He is still ill.”
مَا زَالَ مَرِيضًا maa zaala mariiḍan