Session 17 — Family, Possession & Talking About Yesterday¶

20-hour method — Cycle 2, Session 7/10
Total: ~27/40 hours
Duration: ~2 hours

Today has two objectives:

Talk naturally about family and possessions.
Start using the past tense to talk about what you did yesterday.

This is an important transition. Up to now, most of your productive Arabic has been in the present:

bākol — I eat
brū7 — I go
beshtaghil — I work

Today you'll begin saying:

akalet — I ate
re7et — I went
eshtaghlet — I worked

0:00–0:15 — Warm-up¶

Answer aloud.

1¶

shu bta3mel kel yom?

What do you do every day?

2¶

emta bfii2?

When do you wake up?

3¶

wein bteshtaghil?

Where do you work?

4¶

shu bta3mel ba3d esh-shoghol?

What do you do after work?

5¶

emta btenām?

When do you sleep?

Now:

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

Don't worry if you cannot answer yet. That's today's target.

0:15–0:30 — Family vocabulary¶

Start with the core family.

Arabic	Transliteration	English
أب	ab	father
بي	bayy	dad
أم	em	mother
ماما	māma	mum
أخ	akh	brother
أخت	ekht	sister
ابن	ibn	son
بنت	bent	daughter
زوج	zōj	husband
زوجة	zōjē	wife
عيلة	3ayle	family
ولد	walad	boy / son
بنت	bent	girl / daughter

For everyday conversation, you'll frequently hear:

bayy

Dad

māma

Mum

akhūye

my brother

ekhte

my sister

benti

my daughter

ibni

my son

0:30–0:45 — Possession: “my”¶

You've already encountered:

bēti — my house

sayyārti — my car

benti — my daughter

This is an extremely important Arabic structure.

Instead of saying:

my + noun

Arabic often attaches a possessive ending to the noun.

Examples¶

bēt + i → bēti

my house

sayyāra + ti → sayyārti

my car

bent + i → benti

my daughter

akh + i → akhūye

my brother

ekht + i → ekhte

my sister

The exact pronunciation changes with some nouns, so don't try to derive every form mechanically yet.

Learn the common forms as vocabulary chunks.

0:45–1:00 — Your family¶

Useful phrases:

hayda bayy.

This is my dad.

hayde māma.

This is my mum.

hayda akhūye.

This is my brother.

hayde ekhte.

This is my sister.

hayde benti.

This is my daughter.

hayda ibni.

This is my son.

1:00–1:15 — His and her¶

Now we add two extremely useful endings.

ـو / ـه¶

For his:

-o / -u / -eh

For example:

bēto

his house

sayyārto

his car

ـها¶

For her:

-ha

bēta

her house

sayyārta

her car

Pronunciation varies considerably by dialect and context, so focus on recognizing the pattern rather than perfecting every ending immediately.

1:15–1:30 — Possession drill¶

Translate aloud:

My house¶

bēti

Your house¶

bētak

His house¶

bēto

Her house¶

bēta

My car¶

sayyārti

His car¶

sayyārto

Her car¶

sayyārta

1:30–1:45 — Family questions¶

مين؟ — miin?¶

Who?

miin hayda?

Who is this?

miin hayde?

Who is this?

Answer:

hayda akhūye.

This is my brother.

hayde benti.

This is my daughter.

مين هيدا؟ — miin hayda?¶

Who is this?

This is a very useful conversational pattern.

1:45–2:00 — Age¶

You already have:

3omor

age

For asking someone's age:

2addeish 3omrak?

How old are you?

For a woman:

2addeish 3omrik?

How old are you?

You can say:

3omri 46.

I'm 46.

For someone else:

3omro 10.

He is 10.

3omra 10.

She is 10.

Don't worry about the exact number system yet. The structure is more important.

Part 2 — The Past Tense¶

Now the major new topic.

Arabic has a very common past-tense pattern where the verb itself changes.

Compare:

bākol
I eat / I'm eating

with:

akalet
I ate

Compare:

brū7
I go

with:

re7et
I went

Compare:

beshtaghil
I work

with:

eshtaghlet
I worked

This is your first real introduction to the perfect/past form.

Part 3 — Yesterday¶

You already know:

mbāre7

yesterday

Now:

mbāre7 akalet.

Yesterday I ate.

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Yesterday I went to work.

mbāre7 eshtaghlet.

Yesterday I worked.

This is how we'll initially learn the past: time expression + complete verb chunk.

Part 4 — Core past-tense verbs¶

Learn these as whole forms.

Present	Past — I	English
bākul	akalet	eat → ate
bshrob	shribt	drink → drank
brū7	re7et	go → went
barja3	raje3et	return → returned
beshtaghil	eshtaghlet	work → worked
bṭobokh	ṭabakhet	cook → cooked
bnām	nimt	sleep → slept
bshūf	shifet	see → saw
b7ki	7akeit	speak/talk → spoke
bākol	akalet	eat → ate

Some past forms are irregular, so don't try to construct them mechanically yet.

Part 5 — The “I” past ending¶

You'll notice several past-tense forms ending in:

-et

Examples:

re7et

akalet

eshtaghlet

ṭabakhet

shifet

This is a useful pattern for I.

But again: learn the verb as a whole.

Don't assume:

English verb → add -et

Arabic doesn't work that simply.

Part 6 — Yesterday morning¶

Let's build a complete sequence.

mbāre7 bfii2et es-sā3a sab3a.

Yesterday I woke up at seven.

b3dēn 2emet.

Then I got up.

te7ammamet.

I showered.

labbast.

I got dressed.

akalet fṭūr.

I had breakfast.

shribt ahwe.

I drank coffee.

ba3dēn re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Then I went to work.

Notice something:

The time expression tells us this is past:

mbāre7

And the verbs are past forms.

Part 7 — Past vs present¶

Compare carefully.

Present	Past
bākul	akalet
I eat	I ate
bshrob	shribt
I drink	I drank
brū7	re7et
I go	I went
beshtaghil	eshtaghlet
I work	I worked
bṭobokh	ṭabakhet
I cook	I cooked
bnām	nimt
I sleep	I slept

Read each pair aloud.

The goal is recognition first.

Part 8 — Yesterday evening¶

Continue:

ba3d esh-shoghol raje3et 3al-bēt.

After work I came home.

ṭabakhet 3asha.

I cooked dinner.

akalet.

I ate.

7akeit ma3...

I talked with...

b3dēn 7ḍaret TV.

Then I watched TV.

nimt es-sā3a 11.

I slept at 11.

Part 9 — With someone¶

مع — ma3¶

with

ma3 benti

with my daughter

ma3 akhūye

with my brother

ma3 ṣā7bi

with my friend

7akeit ma3 akhūye.

I talked with my brother.

re7et ma3 benti.

I went with my daughter.

This is an extremely useful preposition.

Part 10 — “I went with…”¶

Combine everything.

mbāre7 re7et ma3 benti.

Yesterday I went with my daughter.

re7et ma3 ṣā7bi.

I went with my friend.

re7et ma3 akhūye 3al-mat3am.

I went with my brother to the restaurant.

Part 11 — Where did you go?¶

لوين؟ — la-wēn?¶

Where to?

This is different from:

wein?

where?

Compare:

wein?

Where?

la-wēn?

Where to?

Examples:

la-wēn re7et?

Where did you go?

la-wēn baddak trou7?

Where do you want to go?

la-wēn بروح?

Where do I go?

Part 12 — Where were you?¶

وين كنت؟ — wein kent?¶

Where were you?

This introduces another very important past structure:

kent

I was / I were.

For now, memorize:

ana kent...

I was...

Examples:

ana kent bil-bēt.

I was at home.

kent 3ash-shoghol.

I was at work.

kent ma3 benti.

I was with my daughter.

Part 13 — I was tired¶

This gives you an immediate practical use.

kent ta3bān.

I was tired.

kent mabsūṭ.

I was happy.

kent za3lān.

I was upset.

For a female speaker:

ta3bāne

mabsūṭa

za3lāne

Part 14 — Yesterday's conversation¶

A:¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

B:¶

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Yesterday I went to work.

A:¶

ba3d esh-shoghol?

After work?

B:¶

raje3et 3al-bēt.

I came home.

A:¶

shu 3melt bil-lēl?

What did you do at night?

B:¶

ṭabakhet w-akalet. ba3dēn 7ḍaret TV.

I cooked and ate. Then I watched TV.

A:¶

emta nimt?

When did you sleep?

B:¶

nimt es-sā3a 11.

I slept at 11.

Part 15 — “What did you do?”¶

شو عملت؟ — shu 3melt?¶

What did you do?

This should become one of your core conversation questions.

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

shu 3melt el-yōm?

What did you do today?

shu 3melt bil-weekend?

What did you do at the weekend?

You can answer with several short past-tense sentences.

Part 16 — More useful past verbs¶

Add these gradually:

Arabic	Transliteration	English
شفت	shifet	I saw
حكيت	7akeit	I talked
سمعت	sme3et	I heard
اشتريت	eshterēt	I bought
أخدت	akhatet	I took
عطيت	3aṭēt	I gave
عملت	3melt	I did/made
رحت	re7et	I went
جيت	jiit	I came
أكلت	akalet	I ate
شربت	shribt	I drank
نمت	nimt	I slept

Prioritize:

3melt

re7et

jiit

akalet

shribt

nimt

Part 17 — “I bought”¶

اشتريت — eshterēt¶

I bought.

eshterēt telefon.

I bought a phone.

eshterēt akel.

I bought food.

mbāre7 eshterēt...

Yesterday I bought...

Very useful for everyday conversation.

Part 18 — “I saw”¶

شفت — shifet¶

I saw.

shifet ṣā7bi.

I saw my friend.

shifet benti.

I saw my daughter.

shifet film.

I saw a movie.

Part 19 — “I did”¶

عملت — 3melt¶

I did / I made.

shu 3melt?

What did you do?

3melt 3asha.

I made dinner.

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

This is one of the most useful past verbs in Levantine.

Part 20 — Negative past¶

You already know:

ma

as the basic verbal negation.

So:

re7et.

I went.

ma re7et.

I didn't go.

akalet.

I ate.

ma akalet.

I didn't eat.

shribt.

I drank.

ma shribt.

I didn't drink.

eshtaghlet.

I worked.

ma eshtaghlet.

I didn't work.

This is an important pattern.

Part 21 — Past vs present negative¶

Compare:

ma bākul.

I don't eat / I'm not eating.

ma akalet.

I didn't eat.

ma brū7.

I don't go / I'm not going.

ma re7et.

I didn't go.

The verb form tells you whether the action is present or past.

Part 22 — “Yesterday I didn't…”¶

Build these:

mbāre7 ma re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Yesterday I didn't go to work.

ma akalet fṭūr.

I didn't eat breakfast.

ma shribt ahwe.

I didn't drink coffee.

ma shifet 7ada.

I didn't see anyone.

You don't need to learn 7ada fully yet, but recognize it as:

anyone / somebody

Part 23 — Family + past¶

Now combine today's two themes.

mbāre7 shifet benti.

Yesterday I saw my daughter.

re7et ma3 benti.

I went with my daughter.

7akeit ma3 akhūye.

I talked with my brother.

māma 3milet 3asha.

Mum made dinner.

bayy re7 3ash-shoghol.

Dad went to work.

This is how your vocabulary starts becoming conversational rather than isolated.

Part 24 — My / your / his / her family¶

Learn these:

akhūye — my brother

akhūk — your brother

akhuu — his brother

akhūha — her brother

benti — my daughter

bentak — your daughter

bento — his daughter

benta — her daughter

bēti — my house

bētak — your house

bēto — his house

bēta — her house

The exact vowel quality can vary in Levantine speech. The important thing now is to understand the possessive system.

Part 25 — Who owns it?¶

Ask:

la-miin hayda?

Whose is this?

la- = belonging to / for

Examples:

la-miin hayda?

Whose is this?

la-i.

It's mine.

la-ak.

It's yours.

la-o.

It's his.

la-ha.

It's hers.

You don't need to master every form today.

Recognize:

la-miin?

Whose?

Part 26 — Mine / yours¶

Very useful:

eli

mine

elak

yours

elo

his

ela

hers

Examples:

hayda eli.

This is mine.

hayde elak?

Is this yours?

la, mish eli.

No, it's not mine.

Part 27 — Family conversation¶

A:¶

miin hayde?

Who is this?

B:¶

hayde benti.

This is my daughter.

A:¶

2addeish 3omra?

How old is she?

B:¶

3omra 10 snīn.

She's ten years old.

A:¶

shu bte7ebb ta3mel?

What does she like to do?

B:¶

bte7ebb el-mūsi2a.

She likes music.

This introduces something important: you don't need to describe every person with complicated grammar.

Short structures are enough.

Part 28 — Your family challenge¶

Talk for one minute about your family.

Try to include:

who is in your family
your daughter
one other family member
ages
where they live
something they like

Possible structure:

hayde benti.

3omra...

bte7ebb...

hayda akhūye.

3omro...

btesh...

Don't worry about missing vocabulary. Simplify.

Part 29 — Yesterday challenge¶

Now answer:

shu 3melt mbāre7?

Try to produce at least five past-tense sentences.

For example:

mbāre7 bfii2et es-sā3a 7.

akalet fṭūr.

shribt ahwe.

re7et 3ash-shoghol.

raje3et 3al-bēt.

ṭabakhet 3asha.

nimt es-sā3a 11.

Don't memorize this exact paragraph. Replace it with what you actually did.

Part 30 — Past-tense mini table¶

This is your first serious past-tense reference.

English	Present	Past
I eat	bākul	akalet
I drink	bshrob	shribt
I go	brū7	re7et
I come	bji	jiit
I work	beshtaghil	eshtaghlet
I cook	bṭobokh	ṭabakhet
I sleep	bnām	nimt
I see	bshūf	shifet
I talk	b7ki	7akeit
I buy	beshtre	eshterēt
I do/make	b3mel	3melt
I return	barja3	raje3et

Don't try to memorize the grammar behind all of this yet.¶

Memorize the pairs.

The grammatical system will become clearer in the next sessions.

Part 31 — Reading practice¶

Read without transliteration:

مبارح رحت عالشغل.

أكلت فطور وشربت قهوة.

بعد الشغل رجعت عالبيت.

طبخت عشا.

بعدين شفت فيلم.

نمت الساعة حداش.

Now read:

مبارح ما رحت عالشغل.

ما أكلت فطور.

وما شربت قهوة.

Try to identify the difference between:

رحت

and

ما رحت

Part 32 — Listening-style recognition¶

Imagine you hear:

مبارح رحت عالشغل، وبعد الشغل رجعت عالبيت. طبخت عشا وأكلت مع بنتي. بعدين حكيت مع أخوي ونمت الساعة حداش.

You should understand approximately:

Yesterday I went to work, and after work I came home. I cooked dinner and ate with my daughter. Then I talked with my brother and slept at eleven.

Don't try to translate every word individually.

Listen for the sequence:

mbāre7 → re7et → ba3d → raje3et → ṭabakhet → akalet → ma3 benti → 7akeit → nimt

That is how you begin understanding natural speech.

Part 33 — Conversation test¶

I'll ask you five questions.

Answer aloud.

1¶

miin hayde?

Who is this?

2¶

2addeish 3omra?

How old is she?

3¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

4¶

la-wēn re7et?

Where did you go?

5¶

shu 3melt ba3d esh-shoghol?

What did you do after work?

Try to answer without translating into English first.

Part 34 — Translation test¶

Translate into Levantine.

1¶

This is my daughter.

2¶

This is my brother.

3¶

My car is white.

4¶

His car is black.

5¶

Her house is big.

6¶

Yesterday I went to work.

7¶

Yesterday I ate breakfast.

8¶

Yesterday I drank coffee.

9¶

Yesterday I came home.

10¶

Yesterday I cooked dinner.

11¶

I didn't go to work.

12¶

I didn't eat.

13¶

Who is this?

14¶

Whose is this?

15¶

Where did you go?

16¶

What did you do yesterday?

17¶

I went with my daughter.

18¶

I talked with my brother.

19¶

I was tired.

20¶

I slept at eleven.

Part 35 — Production exercise¶

Now tell a real story about yesterday.

Use this structure:

mbāre7...

Then at least five things you actually did.

For example:

mbāre7 bfii2et...

ba3dēn...

ba3d...

bil-lēl...

nimt...

The important thing is that you are now talking about real events, rather than completing grammar exercises.

Part 36 — 20-minute immersion exercise¶

For the rest of today's practice, use this rule:

Don't translate words.¶

Instead, associate:

mbāre7 → yesterday

re7et → went

akalet → ate

shribt → drank

raje3et → came back

nimt → slept

And:

benti → my daughter

akhūye → my brother

bēti → my house

sayyārti → my car

You want these to become instant recognition units.

Session 17 — Final checkpoint¶

You can now begin talking about people, possessions and completed actions.

Family¶

benti — my daughter
ibni — my son
akhūye — my brother
ekhte — my sister
māma — mum
bayy — dad
3ayle — family

Possession¶

bēti — my house
sayyārti — my car
bēto — his house
bēta — her house
eli — mine
elak — yours

Questions¶

miin? — who?

la-miin? — whose?

shu 3melt? — what did you do?

la-wēn re7et? — where did you go?

2addeish 3omrak? — how old are you?

Past¶

re7et — I went

jiit — I came

akalet — I ate

shribt — I drank

eshtaghlet — I worked

ṭabakhet — I cooked

shifet — I saw

7akeit — I talked

3melt — I did/made

nimt — I slept

Negation¶

ma re7et — I didn't go

ma akalet — I didn't eat

ma shribt — I didn't drink

Your key sentence for Session 17¶

Memorize this pattern:

مبارح رحت عالشغل، وبعد الشغل رجعت عالبيت.

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol, w-ba3d esh-shoghol raje3et 3al-bēt.

Yesterday I went to work, and after work I came home.

You now have the basic machinery to talk about:

what you normally do → what you are doing now → what you did yesterday.

That three-way distinction is the foundation we'll build on in the next sessions.