Categories: Lessons

Past Tense Verbs in Egyptian Arabic (1-10)

Today we are covering the most common past tense verbs in Egyptian Arabic.

10 of them, to be exact. We’ll be continuing with the most common 50 verbs in future posts.

For this post we will use the same words we did in our first post about present tense verbs in Egyptian Arabic.

Let’s get started!

A Quick Explanation Of Past Tense in Egyptian Arabic

The past tense in Egyptian Arabic isn’t as simple as the present tense.

Thankfully, you just have to learn a few conjugations. Once you do, verbs (or at least most of them) will become much easier.

Here is a verb conjugation table. On the left you have pronouns. On the right, the letter /s you put at the end of a verb to conjugate it in the past tense.

Keep in mind that verb conjugation in Egyptian Arabic isn’t always so simple, as you will sometimes have irregular verbs. Still, this verb table is the system do remember for the majority of Egyptian Arabic conjugations.

1) I أنا	T ت
2) You (masculine) أنت	T ت
3) You (fem) أنتي	Ti تي
4) He هو	–
5) She 5 هي	Et يت
6) They هما	U و
7) You people (You all) أنتو	Tu تو
8) We احنا	Na نا

Sometimes in Egyptian Arabic, you just conjugate the verb, sometimes you combine it with كان which means (was or were). For example, “shereb” vs. “kan byeshrab.” The difference is really simple
“Shereb” – شرب means: Drank 1

“Kan byshrab” – كان بيشرب means: Was drinking 2

Think about using it the same way you use it in English.

Example:

He drank the juice. : Hwa shereb el3aseer.

.هو شرب العصير

I saw him while he was drinking the juice. : Ana shofto lama kan byshrab el3aseer.

.انا شفته لما كان بيشرب العصير

Irregular verbs is a thing in Arabic. Like the verb “عايز”. usually comes only in the form kan 3ayz, or kont 3ayz. or if you want to say “I didn’t want to” it would be “makontsh 3ayz” – مكنتش عايز

The most common thing is getting rid of the alif in the middle.

For more information, check out this cool website.

Most Common Egyptian Arabic Verbs

Let’s move onto examples. Below you will see the 10 most common Egyptian Arabic verbs, as well as the “base form” of a conjugation.

You will then see a few examples of the verb in past tense with different pronouns.

1) Eat. : yakol.

.ياكل

Ate. : akal.

.اكل

She ate too much chocolate! : hya kalet shokolata kteer awy.

هي كلت شوكولاته كتير قوي

Why didn’t you eat this morning? : ma-aklt-sh leh elsob7?

ماكلتش ليه الصبح؟

To negate the past tense in Egyptian Arabic, you simply add “Ma” – ما in the beginning of the verb and “Sh” – ش at the end after using the proper conjunction.

Check out our post on making mish sandwiches for more background.

How to order at a restaurant in Egyptian Arabic.

2) Do. : ye3ml.

.يعمل

Did. : 3amal.

.عمل

We did something really funny last night. : 3amlna haga mod7eka awy embare7.

.عملنا حاجة مضحكة قوي امبارح

I did so many things when I was younger. : ana 3amlt hagat kteer awy w ana soghyar.

انا عملت حاجات كتير وانا صغير

When did they do their homework? : homa 3amalo elwageb bta3hom emta?

هما عملو الواجب بتاعهم امتى؟

What did you do last night? : 3amlt eh embare7 belil?

عملت ايه امبارح بليل؟

You didn’t do your homework, No TV for this week. : enta ma-3amlt-sh elwageb bta3ak, mafesh television el esbo3 da.

.انت ماعملتش الواجب بتاعك, مفيش تليفزيون الاسبوع ده

3) Say. : y2ol.

.يقول

Said. : 2al.

.قال

I said something important. : ana 2olt haga mohema.

.انا قلت حاجة مهمة

Did you guys say something during the lecture? : ento 2olto haga asna2 elmo7adra?

انتو قلتو حاجة اثناء المحاصرة؟

She didn’t say that! : hya ma-2alet-sh keda.

!هي ماقلتش كدهّ

4) Make. : ye3ml.

.يعمل

Made. 3amal

.عمل

They made pizza after school. : homa 3amalo pizza ba3d elmadrasa.

.هما عملو بيتزل بعد المدرسة

She made lunch after work. : hya 3amlt elghada ba3d elshoghl.

.هي عملت الغدا بعد الشغل

Did your father make dinner last night? : hwa babak 3amal 3asha embare7 belil?

هو باباك عمل عشا امبارح بليل؟

We didn’t do anything! : ehna ma-3amlna-sh 7aga!

.احنا ماعملناش حاجة

Using the word “mish” can be a bit difficult sometimes. Check out our post on making mish sandwiches for more background.

5) Go. : yerou7 / ray7.

.يروح

Went. : ra7.

.راح

I went to the beach last week. : ana ro7t elshate2 elesbo3 elfat.

.انا رحت الشاطئ الاسبوع اللي فات

We went to the cinema yesterday. : ehna ro7na el cinema embare7.

.احنا رحنا السنيما امبارح

Where did she go last Friday? : hya ra7et fen elgom3a elfatet?

هي راحت فين الجمعة اللي فاتت؟

They didn’t go at the end. : homa ma-ra7o-sh f elakher.

.هما ماراحوش في الاخر

For these examples, our posts on the summer and the cinema would be helpful.

6) See. : yshof/ shayf.

.يشوف/شايف

Saw. : shaf.

.شاف

She sees strange things while working at the hospital. : hya shafet hagat ghareba lama kant btshtghal f el mostashfa.

.هي شافت حاجات غريبة لما كانت بتشتغل في المستشفى

What have you seen so far today (Lit. You saw what until now today)? : shoft eh l7ad dlwa2ti elnharda?

شفت ايه لحد دلوقتي النهاردة؟

7) Want. : y3oz/3ayz.

.عايز

The verb “want” is one of the verbs that will usually be used with the word “kan” in Egyptian Arabic.

Wanted. : 3az (or usually kan 3ayz).

.كان عايز/عاز

We wanted to leave the party after the first 10 minutes. : kona 3ayzen nemshy mn el7afla ba3d awel 10 da2ye2.

.كنا عايزين نمشي من الحفلة بعد عشر دقايق

I wanted to stay at my friends house last night. : kont 3ayz abat 3and so7aby embare7.

.كنت عايز ابات عند صحابي امبارح

Did you guys want to learn Arabic after university or no? : ento konto 3ayzen tet3lamo 3arabi ba3d elgam3a wala la2?

انتو كنتو عايزين تتعلمو عربي بعد الجامعة ولا لا؟

8) Work. : yshtaghal.

.يشتغل

Worked. : eshtaghal.

.اشتغل

You worked until 3 AM last night! : enta eshtaghlt l7ad els3a 3 elfagr embare7!

!انت اشتغلت لحد الساعة 3 الفجر امبارح

He worked a lot! : hwa eshtaghal kteer awy!

.هو اشتغل كتير قوي

How long did they work for this company? : enta eshtaghalt ad eh f elsherka de?

انت اشتغلت قد ايه في الشركة دي؟

He didn’t work there before. : hwa ma-eshtaghal-sh henak abl keda.

.هي ماشتغلتش هناك قبل كده

Check how to talk about your job in Egyptian Arabic.

9) Drink. : yeshrab.

.يشرب

Drank. : shereb.

.شرب

She drank a lot of coffee when she was younger. : hya sherbet ahwa kter w hya soghyara / hya kant btshrab ahwa kteer w hya soghyara.

.هي شربت قهوة كتير وهي صغيرة

Did you drink alcohol at the wedding? : enta shrebt khamra f elfara7? / enta kont btshrab khamra f el fara7?

انت شربت خمرة في الفرح؟ انت كنت بتشرب خمرة في الفرح؟

I didn’t drink beer in years. : ana ma-shrebt-sh beera ba2ali sneen.

.انا ماشربتش بيرة بقالي سنين

Have you ever smoked before? : 3omrak shrebt sagayer 2abl keda?

عمرك شربت سجاير قبل كده؟

Like these examples?

Then go learn some more about ordering an ahwa and buying alcohol in Egyptian Arabic.

10) Think. : yefkar.

.يفكر

Thought. : fakkar.

.فكر

You thought of a lot of good ideas. : enta fakkart f afkar kwaissa kter.

.انت فكرت في افكار كويسة كتير

I thought of many things last night. : ana fakkart f hagat kteer embare7 belil.

.انا فكرت في حاجات كتير امبارح بليل

That’s a very smart idea, I didn’t think about it before. : De fekra zakia gedan, ana ma-fakkart-sh feha abl keda.

.دي فكرة ذكية جدا, انا مافكرتش فيها قبل كده

Note that the use of the verb think in Egyptian Arabic is used only when talking about the process of thinking about something/idea or when you think about someone.

When it comes to expressing opinions, Egyptians don’t use the verb “think” like in English.

For example:

What do you think about her? : eh ra2yak f el3arbya bta3tha? 61

ايه رأيك في العربية بتاعتها؟

For more information, check out our post on how to express opinion in Egyptian Arabic.

That’s it for now!

…

Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo

Past Tense Verbs in Egyptian Arabic (1-10)

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