The verb ‘be’ (the past, singular)
If you look carefully at these sentences below, you will see that was and were (past forms of the verb be) have different Arabic equivalents.
| (ana) kuntu fi-l-madeena. | I was in town. |
| hal kunta (anta) fi-l-madeena? | Were you (male) in town? |
| hal kunti (anti) fi-l-madeena? | Were you (female) in town? |
| (huwa) kaana fi-l-madeena. | He was in town. |
| (hiya) kaanat fi-l-madeena. | She was in town. |
| kaana al-maTaar kabeer. | The airport was big. |
| kaanat sayyaaratha jameela. | Her car was nice. |
Remember: When addressing a female, you need a different form than for a male. Here you can see all the forms for the singular:
ana kuntu
I was
anta kunta
you (male) were
anti kunti
you (female) were
huwa kaana
he was
hiya kaanat
she was
