Levantine Arabic/Verbs
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Tenses[edit | edit source]
| Tense | Example | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| past tense | عمل ʕimel | he did / he has done |
|
| subjunctive | يعمل yaʕmel | he ... (to) do | - after another verb or pseudo-verb - after conjuctions introducing the subjunctive |
| present tense | بيعمل byaʕmel | he does / he is doing |
- general facts - habitual or recurring actions - ongoing actions (instead of present progressive) - future actions (instead of future tense) |
| progressive | عم يعمل ʕam yaʕmel | he is doing | - ongoing actions (not for verbs of motion) |
| future tense | رح يعمل raḥ yaʕmel حيعمل ḥa-yaʕmel |
he will do | |
| imperative | عمول ʕmōl (N) بيعمل 'aʕmel (S) |
do! | |
Participles[edit | edit source]
| Participle | Example | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| active participle | عامل ʕāmel | (is) doing | - ongoing actions for verbs of motion - current state for verbs of perception |
| passive participle | معمول maʕmūl | (is) done | - expressing the passive voice |
Compound tenses[edit | edit source]
| Formation | Example | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| كان (kān) + past tense | كان عمل kān ʕimel | he had done | |
| كان (kān) + subjuctive كان (kān) + active participle |
كان يعمل kān yaʕmel كان عامل kān ʕāmel |
he used to do / he was doing |
|
| كان (kān) + progressive | كان عم يعمل kān ʕam yaʕmel | he was doing | |
| كان (kān) + future tense | كان رح يعمل kān raḥ yaʕmel | he was going to do | |