Egyptian Arabic: The Past Tense
Practice past-tense endings, key irregular verbs, negation, and time words in Egyptian Arabic.
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Questions Covered in This Set
10 cards to master
What is the full string of past-tense endings (ana → humma)?
-t, -t, -ti, — (bare stem), -it, -na, -tu, -u
Which two forms of the past tense are identical?
ana (I) and inta (you m.) — both katabt
Conjugate raaḥ (went) for ana, hiyya, and iḥna
ruḥt (I went), raaḥit (she went), ruḥna (we went) — the long vowel shortens before consonant endings
How do you negate a past-tense verb?
The ma- ... -sh sandwich: ma + verb + sh, e.g. ma-ruḥtish (I didn't go)
How do you say 'I was very tired yesterday'?
kunt taʿbaan giddan imbaariḥ.
Conjugate the irregular verb gih/geh (came)
geet, geet, geeti, geh, gat, geena, geetu, gum
How do you say 'There was a crowd in the metro'?
kaan fiih zaḥma fi-l-mitro. (kaan fiih = there was)
How do you say 'I didn't have money'?
ma-kaan-sh ʿandi filuus. (kaan ʿandi = I had)
Translate: 'We saw the apartment yesterday.'
shufna il-shaʾʾa imbaariḥ.
Which past-tense form is the bare stem with no ending?
The huwwa (he) form — e.g. katab, raaḥ, shaaf
