كَانَ (kāna) · he wasكَانَتْ (kānat) · she wasكُنْتُ (kuntu) · I wasكُنْتَ (kunta) · you (m.) wereكُنْتِ (kunti) · you (f.) wereكُنَّا (kunnā) · we wereكَانُوا (kānū) · they (m.) were
Explanation
In the present Arabic has no word for “is”. In the past we use كَانَ for “was” and “were”. It works like any past verb: كُنْتُ is “I was”, كَانَ is “he was” and كَانَتْ is “she was”. Before the endings ـْتُ، ـْتَ، ـْتِ، ـْنَا the long vowel is shortened, so كَانَ becomes كُنْ-: كُنْتُ; with ـنَا the two ن join: كُنَّا. For “he”, “she” and “they” it stays كَانَ، كَانَتْ، كَانُوا. After كَانَ a place word does not change, and a describing word without ة takes ـًا: كَانَ الْفَطُور جَيِّدًا, but كَانَتْ سَلْمَى مُتْعَبَة.
Who
Was / were
Example
أَنَا
كُنْتُ
كُنْتُ فِي الْبَيْت
أَنْتَ
كُنْتَ
كُنْتَ مُتْعَبًا
أَنْتِ
كُنْتِ
كُنْتِ فِي الْمَكْتَبَة
هُوَ
كَانَ
كَانَ الْفَطُور جَيِّدًا
هِيَ
كَانَتْ
كَانَتْ سَلْمَى هُنَا
نَحْنُ
كُنَّا
كُنَّا مَعًا
هُمْ
كَانُوا
كَانُوا فِي السُّوق
Worked examples
Where were you yesterday?
Dina
أَيْن كُنْتَ أَمْس؟
Hassan
كُنْتُ فِي السُّوق.
Dina
وَأَيْن كَانَتْ سَلْمَى؟
Hassan
كَانَتْ فِي الْمَدْرَسَة.
Dina asks Hassan.
With a describing word: the ending -an.
Class activity
Where was everyone? Write six sentences about yesterday: where you were, where a friend was, and where your family was. Use كُنْتُ، كَانَ، كَانَتْ، كُنَّا and كَانُوا, and give a time such as فِي الصَّبَاح or فِي الْمَسَاء. Read them aloud.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Who is spoken to: one man, one woman or a group?
…
A group: كُنْتُم فِي الْمَطْعَم (kuntum fī l-maṭʿam), “you (pl.) were in the restaurant”.
2
Write in Arabic: “I was at home.”
كُنْتُ فِي الْبَيْت.
3
The picture shows a school. Write: “Omar was at school.”
كَانَ عُمَر فِي الْمَدْرَسَة.
4
The picture shows a woman. Ask her: “where were you?”.
أَيْن كُنْتِ؟
5
What happens to the long vowel of كَانَ in كُنْتُ?
It becomes short: كَانَ → كُنْ- before the endings ـْتُ، ـْتَ، ـْتِ، ـْنَا.
