Learn Levantine Arabic: Lesson 4 – Mastering the Past Tense (الماضي)
Beginner-friendly guide to speaking natural Levantine Arabic – with full conjugations, everyday vocabulary, example sentences, and easy practice tips
Are you learning Levantine Arabic (also called Shami or dialects from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine) and want to talk about what happened yesterday? This lesson focuses on the past tense in Levantine Arabic – one of the most useful skills for real conversations.
Whether you’re chatting with friends in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, or Jerusalem, being able to say “I went,” “I made dinner,” or “Life was hard in the past” will make you sound much more natural.
Let’s dive in!
Why Learn the Past Tense in Levantine Arabic?
The past tense (الماضي) lets you share stories, describe your day, and talk about memories. In Levantine dialects, many common verbs have similar patterns, so once you learn a few, you’ll recognize dozens more.
In this lesson, we’ll cover:
- Everyday vocabulary from real conversations
- Full conjugations of four super-common verbs
- Natural example sentences
- Simple practice tips
Key Vocabulary for Daily Life
Here’s useful vocab that came up in class – perfect for beginners:
| Arabic | Transliteration | English | Example Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ممطر | mumtir | it’s raining | اليوم ممطر (Today it’s raining) |
| فطور | ftoor | breakfast | ساويت فطور (I made breakfast) |
| غدا | ghada | lunch | |
| عشا | 3asha | dinner | |
| مسبح | masba7 | swimming pool | رحت عالمسبح (I went to the pool) |
| حفلة | 7afle | party | |
| لحالي | la-7aali | alone / by myself | بحب ضل لحالي (I like staying alone) |
| برا | barra | outside | ضلينا برا (We stayed outside) |
| شهر | shahr | month | الشهر الجاي (next month) |
| السنة الجاي | is-sine ij-jaay | next year | |
| الأسبوع الجاي | il-usbuu3 ij-jaay | next week | |
| صعب | sa3b | difficult | في الماضي كان صعب (It was hard) |
| سهل | sahel | easy | هلق حياتي سهل (Now life is easy) |
| هلق | halla2 | now | |
| في الماضي | fi l-maadi | in the past | |
| نفس الشي | nafs ish-shi | the same thing | |
| أغلى | aghla | more expensive | |
| هدية | hadiyye | gift |
Past Tense Verb Conjugations (الماضي)
Here are four very common verbs with full conjugations. Practice saying them out loud!
1. راح / روح – to go
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (m/f) | رحت | ri7t | I went |
| You (m) | رحت | ri7t | you went |
| You (f) | رحتي | ri7ti | you went |
| He | راح | raa7 | he went |
| She | راحت | raa7at | she went |
| We | رحنا | ri7na | we went |
| You (pl) | رحتو | ri7tu | you all went |
| They | راحو | raa7oo | they went |
2. ساوى – to do / make
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (m/f) | ساويت | sawwayt | I did/made |
| You (f) | ساويتي | sawwayti | you did/made |
| You (m) | ساويت | sawwayt | you did/made |
| He | ساوى | sawa | he did/made |
| She | ساوت | sawat | she did/made |
| We | ساوينا | sawwayna | we did/made |
| You (pl) | ساويتو | sawwaytu | you all did |
| They | ساوو | sawwu | they did/made |
3. حب – to like / love
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (m/f) | حبيت | 7abbeit | I liked/loved |
| You (f) | حبيتي | 7abbeeti | you liked/loved |
| You (m) | حبيت | 7abbeit | you liked/loved |
| He | حب | 7abb | he liked/loved |
| She | حبت | 7abbat | she liked/loved |
| We | حبينا | 7abbayna | we liked/loved |
| You (pl) | حبيتو | 7abbaytu | you all liked |
| They | حبو | 7abboo | they liked/loved |
4. ضل – to stay / remain
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (m/f) | ضليت | dalleet | I stayed |
| You (f) | ضليتي | dalleeti | you stayed |
| You (m) | ضليت | dalleet | you stayed |
| He | ضل | dall | he stayed |
| She | ضلت | dallet | she stayed |
| We | ضلينا | dallayna | we stayed |
| You (pl) | ضليتو | dallaytu | you all stayed |
| They | ضلو | dallu | they stayed |
Real-Life Example Sentences
- راحو عالحفلة بدوني – raa7oo 3al-7afle bedooni They went to the party without me.
- رحت لحالي – ri7t la-7aali I went by myself.
- ساويت العشا للكل – sawwayt il-3asha lil-kull I made dinner for everyone.
- حياتي سهل هلق بس في الماضي صعب – 7ayaati sahel halla2 bas fi l-maadi sa3b My life is easy now, but in the past it was hard.
- بحب ضل لحالي بالمسا – ba7ibb dall la-7aali bil-masa I love staying alone in the evening.
- ضلينا كل اليوم برا – dallayna kill il-yoom barra We stayed outside all day.
How to Practice Levantine Arabic Past Tense
- Repeat each conjugation table aloud 3 times.
- Make 5 sentences about your day yesterday (e.g., “رحت عالمسبح” – I went to the pool).
- Compare now and the past: “في الماضي كان صعب، هلق سهل” – In the past it was hard, now it’s easy.
Keep practicing these verbs – they appear in almost every conversation!
Want more free Levantine Arabic lessons? Subscribe, share with friends learning Arabic, and let me know in the comments what topic you’d like next (present tense? Questions? Food vocab?).
شكراً وبالتوفيق في التعلم! 😊 (Thanks and good luck with your learnin
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