A2Unit 5 · Out and about · Lesson 47 of 100
Was, were: kan, and the negative past
kunt · kān fī · ma akaltish
Goal: Say where you were, what there was and what you had, and say what you did not do.
Dialogue
Yesterday there was knafeh in the fridge. This morning the plate is empty, and Imm Khalil wants to know who ate it. You will learn kān "was, were", kān fī "there was", kān ʿindi "I had", and how to say "I didn't" in the past.
Sunday morning in the Khalil kitchen. The knafeh plate is empty.
- Imm Khalilmbāreḥ kān fī knāfe fit-tallāje. hallaʾ iṣ-ṣaḥn fāḍi! mīn akal il-knāfe?Yesterday there was knafeh in the fridge. Now the plate is empty! Who ate the knafeh?
- Khalilmish ana! ana ma kuntish hōn mbāreḥ. kunt ʿind aṣḥābi.Not me! I wasn't here yesterday. I was at my friends' place.
- Ranaw ana kān ʿindi drūs kull il-yōm. ma akaltish wala ishi!And I had classes all day. I didn't eat a thing!
- Linaana akalt shwayy bass, baʿd il-ʿasha. kānat zākye ktīr!I only ate a little, after dinner. It was really delicious!
- Imm Khalilya Abu Khalīl! inte akalt il-knāfe?Abu Khalil! Did you eat the knafeh?
- Abu Khalilana? laʾ! kunt shabʿān, w nimt bakkīr.Me? No! I was full, and I went to bed early.
- Imm Khalilṭayyib. w lēsh iṣ-ṣaḥn jamb kursīk?All right. So why is the plate next to your chair?
- Abu Khalilyimkin ḥada ḥaṭṭ iṣ-ṣaḥn hōn.Maybe somebody put the plate here.
- Ranaʾuṣṣa ḥilwe! bass ma ḥada biṣaddeʾ.Nice story! But nobody believes it.
- Abu Khalilṭayyib, ṭayyib! ana akalt il-knāfe. bass kān fī shwayy!OK, OK! I ate the knafeh. But there was only a little!
- Imm Khalilw il-usbūʿ il-māḍi kamān akalt il-būẓa!And last week you ate the ice cream too!
- Abu Khalilshu baʿmal? baḥibb il-ḥilwiyyāt ktīr!What can I do? I love sweets so much!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| kān | to be (was, were)kān / ykūn; b-present bakūn; kunt = I was |
| māḍi | last, pastfeminine māḍye; il-usbūʿ il-māḍi = last week |
| ākher | last; endbefore a noun: ākher marra = the last time; bil-ākher = finally |
| ḥada | someone, anyonewith ma = nobody: ma ḥada akal = nobody ate |
| knāfe | knafeh (sweet cheese pastry) |
| zāki | tasty, deliciousfeminine zākye |
| ḥilwiyyāt | sweets, desserts |
| būẓa | ice cream |
| ṣaḥn | plate, dishplural ṣḥūn |
| shabʿān | full (after eating)feminine shabʿāne, plural shabʿānīn |
| ṣaddaʾ | to believeṣaddaʾ / yṣaddeʾ; b-present baṣaddeʾ |
| kizib | to lie (tell a lie)kizib / yikzab; b-present bakzab; kzibt = I lied |
| ʾuṣṣa | storyplural ʾuṣaṣ |
| ḥilim | to dreamḥilim / yiḥlam; b-present baḥlam; a dream: ḥilm, plural aḥlām |
Grammar
1. kān "was, were"
In the present there is no "is" (lesson 6): ana shabʿān "I'm full". In the past you need kān. It works like rāḥ (lesson 46): kān → kunt.
| Person | was, were | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ana, inte | kunt | kunt fil-bēt. = I was at home. |
| inti | kunti | kunti fil-jāmʿa? = Were you at the university? |
| huwwe | kān | kān shabʿān. = He was full. |
| hiyye | kānat | kānat zākye. = It (f) was delicious. |
| iḥna | kunna | kunna ʿind Nūr. = We were at Nour's. |
| intu | kuntu | kuntu hōn? = Were you here? |
| humme | kānu | kānu mabsūṭīn. = They were happy. |
2. "There was", "I had"
Put kān before fī and ʿindi: kān fī knāfe "there was knafeh", kān ʿindi waʾt "I had time". With ʿindi, kān agrees with what you had: kānat ʿindi sayyāra "I had a car".
3. "I didn't": the negative past
Put ma before the verb and -sh after it, as in the present (lesson 24). After one consonant add -sh, after two consonants -ish. A final vowel becomes long.
| Positive | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| akal | ma akalsh | he didn't eat |
| akalt | ma akaltish | I didn't eat |
| akalu | ma akalūsh | they didn't eat |
| kunt | ma kuntish | I wasn't |
| kān fī | ma kānsh fī | there wasn't |
"Nobody" is ma ḥada: ma ḥada akal "nobody ate". Useful time words: mbāreḥ "yesterday", il-usbūʿ il-māḍi "last week", ʾabl yōmēn "two days ago".
Practice
1Complete the sentence
mbāreḥ ___ fil-jāmʿa. = Yesterday I was at the university.
il-knāfe ___ zākye. = The knafeh was delicious.
knāfe is feminine, so "it was" is kānat.
___ fī būẓa fit-tallāje. = There was ice cream in the fridge.
kān fī "there was" never changes.
ana ma ___ il-knāfe. = I didn't eat the knafeh.
ma akalsh is "he didn't eat"; ma akaltīsh is "you didn't eat" (to a woman).
intu ___ fil-bēt mbāreḥ? = Were you at home yesterday? (to several people)
2Choose the right answer
How do you say "Nobody ate the knafeh"?
ḥada akal is "someone ate"; ma akaltish is "I didn't eat".
Rana says kān ʿindi drūs kull il-yōm. She means:
How do you say "last week"?
il-usbūʿ il-jāy is "next week"; awwal mbāreḥ is "the day before yesterday".
3Match the Arabic and the English
shabʿān
zāki
ṣaḥn
ʾuṣṣa
ṣaddaʾ
kizib
4Put the words in order
I wasn't here yesterday.
Yesterday there was knafeh in the fridge.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I was full. (a man speaking)
kunt shabʿān.
There wasn't any ice cream.
ma kānsh fī būẓa.
6True or false?
Khalil was at home yesterday.
He says ana ma kuntish hōn mbāreḥ.
In the end, Abu Khalil says he ate the knafeh.
Summary
- You can say where you were: kunt fil-bēt, kānat zākye, kānu mabsūṭīn.
- You can say what there was and what you had: kān fī knāfe, kān ʿindi waʾt.
- You can say what you did not do: ma akaltish, ma kuntish hōn, ma kānsh fī.
- You can say "nobody" with ma ḥada and talk about mbāreḥ and il-usbūʿ il-māḍi.