Session 19 — Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow¶

20-hour method — Cycle 2, Session 9/10
Total training: ~29/40 hours
Duration: ~2 hours

Session 18 gave you the foundations of the past tense. Today we connect the three essential time frames:

mbāre7 → yesterday
el-yōm → today
bokra → tomorrow

The goal is not to memorize a theoretical tense system. The goal is to talk about events across time.

By the end, you should be able to say:

Yesterday I went to work.
Today I'm working from home.
Tomorrow I'm going to the gym.

0:00–0:15 — Warm-up¶

Answer aloud.

Present¶

shu bta3mel kel yom?

What do you do every day?

shu 3am ta3mel halla2?

What are you doing now?

Past¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

wein re7et?

Where did you go?

Future¶

shu baddak ta3mel bokra?

What do you want/plan to do tomorrow?

Don't worry if the last question is difficult.

That's today's subject.

0:15–0:30 — The three time markers¶

You already know these.

Levantine	Transliteration	English
مبارح	mbāre7	yesterday
اليوم	el-yōm	today
هلق	halla2	now
بكرا	bokra	tomorrow
بعد بكرا	ba3d bokra	the day after tomorrow

The most important three:

mbāre7

yesterday

el-yōm

today

bokra

tomorrow

0:30–0:45 — Present vs past¶

Let's take one verb:

Go¶

Present:

brū7

I go / I'm going.

Past:

re7et

I went.

Now add time:

kel yom brū7 3ash-shoghol.

Every day I go to work.

halla2 brū7 3ash-shoghol.

I'm going to work now.

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Yesterday I went to work.

Notice the pattern:

present → past

brū7 → re7et

0:45–1:00 — Three timelines¶

Take another verb:

Eat¶

bākul

I eat.

akalet

I ate.

Now:

Yesterday¶

mbāre7 akalet.

Yesterday I ate.

Today¶

el-yōm bākul.

Today I eat / I'm eating.

Tomorrow¶

bokra bākul.

Tomorrow I'll eat.

For now, notice something important:

Levantine does not require a completely separate verb form just because the action is in the future.

The future can be expressed using context and/or future markers.

We're going to learn the most useful one now.

1:00–1:15 — The future with رَح¶

رح — ra7¶

ra7 is a very common future marker.

Think:

ra7 + verb

≈ I will...

Examples:

ra7 rou7.

I'll go.

ra7 ākol.

I'll eat.

ra7 eshtaghil.

I'll work.

ra7 نام.

I'll sleep.

The pronunciation of the verb can change slightly depending on the speaker/dialect, so don't obsess over it yet.

The important structure is:

ra7 + present-type verb

1:15–1:30 — Future examples¶

Go¶

ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol.

I'll go to work.

Eat¶

ra7 ākol 3asha.

I'll eat dinner.

Drink¶

ra7 eshrob ahwe.

I'll drink coffee.

Work¶

ra7 eshtaghil bokra.

I'll work tomorrow.

Sleep¶

ra7 nām بكير.

I'll sleep early.

1:30–1:45 — “I'm going to…”¶

There is another extremely useful structure:

baddi + verb

You already know:

baddi rou7.

I want to go.

Depending on context, this can naturally express a plan:

baddi rou7 3al-mat3am bokra.

I want / I'm planning to go to the restaurant tomorrow.

And:

ra7 rou7 3al-mat3am bokra.

I'll go to the restaurant tomorrow.

For now:

Desire / intention¶

baddi...

I want to / I'm going to...

Future prediction / decision¶

ra7...

I will...

You will hear both frequently.

1:45–2:00 — Future questions¶

What will you do?¶

shu ra7 ta3mel?

What will you do?

To a man:

shu ra7 ta3mel bokra?

What will you do tomorrow?

To a woman:

shu ra7 ta3mle bokra?

What will you do tomorrow?

Where will you go?¶

la-wēn ra7 trou7?

Where will you go?

To a woman:

la-wēn ra7 trou7i?

Where will you go?

When will you go?¶

emta ra7 trou7?

When will you go?

Part 2 — A three-day story¶

This is today's central exercise.

Yesterday¶

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol.

Yesterday I went to work.

ba3d esh-shoghol raje3et 3al-bēt.

After work I came home.

ṭabakhet 3asha.

I cooked dinner.

Today¶

el-yōm beshtaghil min el-bēt.

Today I work from home.

halla2 beshtaghil.

I'm working now.

ba3dēn baddi rou7 3al-gym.

Then I want to go to the gym.

Tomorrow¶

bokra ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol.

Tomorrow I'll go to work.

ba3d esh-shoghol ra7 erja3 3al-bēt.

After work I'll come home.

bil-lēl ra7 bṭobokh.

At night I'll cook.

This is already a useful narrative.

Part 3 — Present tense review¶

Let's reinforce the present before adding more future.

English	Levantine
I eat	bākul
I drink	bshrob
I go	brū7
I come	bji
I work	beshtaghil
I cook	bṭobokh
I sleep	bnām
I see	bshūf
I talk	b7ki
I do	b3mel

The basic present pattern is still your foundation.

Part 4 — Past review¶

English	Levantine
I ate	akalet
I drank	shribt
I went	re7et
I came	jiit
I worked	eshtaghlet
I cooked	ṭabakhet
I slept	nimt
I saw	shifet
I talked	7akeit
I did	3melt

Now combine:

mbāre7 re7et.

el-yōm brū7.

bokra ra7 rou7.

Same basic idea, three time frames.

Part 5 — Future conjugation¶

The future marker ra7 is followed by the appropriate present verb.

Let's use:

rou7

go

You masculine¶

ra7 trou7

you'll go.

You feminine¶

ra7 trou7i

you'll go.

She¶

ra7 trou7

she'll go.

They¶

ra7 yrū7o

they'll go.

Don't memorize the entire table yet.

Prioritize:

ra7 rou7 — I will go

ra7 trou7 — you will go

ra7 yrū7 — he will go

ra7 nrū7 — we will go

ra7 yrū7o — they will go

Part 6 — Future endings¶

You're starting to see something familiar.

The present/future verb changes according to the person:

rou7

I go

trou7

you go

yrū7

he goes

nrū7

we go

yrū7o

they go

This is different from the past.

Past¶

re7et

re7ti

re7

re7na

re7o

Present/future¶

brū7

trou7

yrū7

nrū7

yrū7o

This distinction is worth beginning to internalize.

Part 7 — “Tomorrow I'll…”¶

Build your own sentences.

bokra ra7 rou7...

Tomorrow I'll go...

bokra ra7 eshtaghil...

Tomorrow I'll work...

bokra ra7 ākol...

Tomorrow I'll eat...

bokra ra7 eshrob...

Tomorrow I'll drink...

bokra ra7 shūf...

Tomorrow I'll see...

bokra ra7 7ki ma3...

Tomorrow I'll talk with...

Part 8 — “Later”¶

بعدين — ba3dēn¶

You already know this as:

then / afterwards

It can also mean:

later

Example:

halla2 ma fīni. ba3dēn.

I can't now. Later.

You will hear this constantly in conversation.

Part 9 — Soon¶

قريب — qarīb¶

soon / near

ra7 erja3 qarīb.

I'll come back soon.

Don't spend too much time on this yet.

Just recognize it.

Part 10 — Later today¶

You can combine:

ba3dēn el-yōm

later today

Example:

ba3dēn el-yōm ra7 rou7 3al-mat3am.

Later today I'll go to the restaurant.

Part 11 — Tonight¶

الليلة — el-lēle¶

tonight

el-lēle ra7 bṭobokh.

Tonight I'll cook.

el-lēle baddi نام بكير.

Tonight I want to sleep early.

This is a useful distinction:

bil-lēl

at night / generally

el-lēle

tonight

Part 12 — Tomorrow morning¶

bokra es-sub7

tomorrow morning

bokra es-sub7 ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol.

Tomorrow morning I'll go to work.

Part 13 — Tomorrow evening¶

bokra bil-masa

tomorrow evening

bokra bil-masa ra7 erja3 3al-bēt.

Tomorrow evening I'll come home.

Part 14 — Plans¶

Now combine:

baddi

I want / I plan to

with:

bokra

tomorrow

Examples:

bokra baddi rou7 3al-bēt.

Tomorrow I want to go home.

bokra baddi shūf benti.

Tomorrow I want to see my daughter.

bokra baddi eshterī...

Tomorrow I want to buy...

el-weekend baddi rou7 3a...

This weekend I want to go to...

This is more immediately useful for conversation than a complicated future-tense lesson.

Part 15 — “I don't want to”¶

You already know:

ma baddi

I don't want to.

So:

ma baddi rou7.

I don't want to go.

ma baddi eshrob.

I don't want to drink.

ma baddi eshtaghil.

I don't want to work.

Future context:

bokra ma baddi eshtaghil.

Tomorrow I don't want to work.

Part 16 — “I have to tomorrow”¶

Review:

lāzem

I have to / must

bokra lāzem eshtaghil.

Tomorrow I have to work.

el-yōm lāzem rou7 3al-mat3am.

Today I have to go to the restaurant.

halla2 lāzem erja3 3al-bēt.

Now I have to go home.

Part 17 — “I can tomorrow”¶

Review:

fīni

I can

bokra fīni rou7.

Tomorrow I can go.

el-yōm ma fīni rou7.

Today I can't go.

halla2 ma fīni eshtaghil.

I can't work now.

This gives you a very powerful set:

baddi — I want to

lāzem — I have to

fīni — I can

ma baddi — I don't want to

mish lāzem — I don't have to

ma fīni — I can't

Part 18 — A real conversation¶

A:¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

B:¶

mbāre7 re7et 3ash-shoghol. ba3dēn raje3et 3al-bēt.

Yesterday I went to work. Then I came home.

A:¶

shu 3am ta3mel el-yōm?

What are you doing today?

B:¶

el-yōm beshtaghil min el-bēt.

Today I'm working from home.

A:¶

shu ra7 ta3mel bokra?

What will you do tomorrow?

B:¶

bokra ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol. ba3d esh-shoghol baddi shūf benti.

Tomorrow I'll go to work. After work I want to see my daughter.

This is the type of exchange you should now begin practicing repeatedly.

Part 19 — The three-question drill¶

Ask yourself:

Yesterday¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

Today¶

shu 3am ta3mel el-yōm?

Tomorrow¶

shu ra7 ta3mel bokra?

Answer each with 3–5 sentences.

This is one of the most useful drills of the entire course.

Part 20 — “What are you doing now?”¶

You previously learned:

halla2 beshtaghil.

I'm working now.

Today we're going to introduce another very common Levantine construction:

3am + present verb

This explicitly emphasizes an action currently in progress.

For example:

3am bākul.

I'm eating.

3am bshrob ahwe.

I'm drinking coffee.

3am beshtaghil.

I'm working.

3am b7ki ma3ak.

I'm talking to you.

This is useful because you previously asked about the English distinction:

“I am writing my résumé.”

Levantine can express that explicitly as:

3am biktob sīrti d-dhātiyye.

I'm writing my résumé.

Part 21 — Habit vs ongoing action¶

Now you have a very useful distinction.

Habit¶

kel yom bākul fṭūr.

Every day I eat breakfast.

Happening now¶

halla2 3am bākul fṭūr.

I'm eating breakfast now.

Past¶

mbāre7 akalet fṭūr.

Yesterday I ate breakfast.

Future¶

bokra ra7 ākol fṭūr.

Tomorrow I'll eat breakfast.

This is a major milestone.

You can now express:

habit → ongoing → completed → future

Part 22 — More examples¶

Work¶

kel yom beshtaghil.

I work every day.

halla2 3am beshtaghil.

I'm working now.

mbāre7 eshtaghlet.

I worked yesterday.

bokra ra7 eshtaghil.

I'll work tomorrow.

Eat¶

kel yom bākul.

I eat every day.

halla2 3am bākul.

I'm eating now.

mbāre7 akalet.

I ate yesterday.

bokra ra7 ākol.

I'll eat tomorrow.

Part 23 — Important note about “ra7”¶

There are two completely different things that look/sound similar:

Past verb:¶

re7

he went

Future marker:¶

ra7

will

Compare:

re7 3al-bēt.

He went home.

ra7 yrū7 3al-bēt.

He will go home.

The vowel and the grammatical function are different.

This distinction is worth practicing.

Part 24 — Reading practice¶

Read without transliteration:

مبارح رحت عالشغل.

اليوم عم بشتغل من البيت.

هلق عم بشتغل.

بكرا رح روح عالشغل.

بعد الشغل رح شوف بنتي.

Identify:

past
present
ongoing action
future

Part 25 — Translation challenge¶

Translate without looking back.

Part 26 — Speaking drill¶

You have four cards mentally:

CARD 1 — Habit¶

kel yom...

Tell me what you normally do.

CARD 2 — Now¶

halla2 3am...

Tell me what you're doing right now.

CARD 3 — Yesterday¶

mbāre7...

Tell me what you did yesterday.

CARD 4 — Tomorrow¶

bokra ra7...

Tell me what you'll do tomorrow.

Speak for 30 seconds per card.

Total:

2 minutes.

Don't stop to correct yourself.

Part 27 — Build a weekend plan¶

Imagine tomorrow is Saturday.

Say:

bokra...

Then describe your plan.

For example:

bokra bfii2 بكير.

Tomorrow I'll wake up early.

ba3dēn bshrob ahwe.

Then I'll drink coffee.

ra7 rou7 3al...

I'll go to...

ba3dēn baddi...

Then I want to...

bil-lēl ra7 erja3 3al-bēt.

At night I'll come home.

Now replace everything with your actual plan.

Part 28 — Listening-style exercise¶

Imagine you hear:

mbāre7 kent bil-bēt. ma re7et 3ash-shoghol. el-yōm 3am beshtaghil min el-bēt. halla2 3am bshrob ahwe. bokra ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol, w-ba3d esh-shoghol baddi shūf ṣā7bi.

You should understand:

Yesterday I was at home. I didn't go to work. Today I'm working from home. I'm drinking coffee now. Tomorrow I'll go to work, and after work I want to see my friend.

The important information is the timeline:

yesterday → today → now → tomorrow

Part 29 — Mini grammar map¶

At this point, don't think of Arabic as a list of isolated tenses.

Think:

Present / habitual¶

b-verb

bākul

I eat.

Ongoing now¶

3am + b-verb

3am bākul

I'm eating.

Past¶

past verb

akalet

I ate.

Future¶

ra7 + present-type verb

ra7 ākol

I'll eat.

This is your working system for everyday Levantine conversation.

Part 30 — Final conversation challenge¶

Answer these without notes.

1¶

shu bta3mel kel yom?

What do you do every day?

2¶

shu 3am ta3mel halla2?

What are you doing now?

3¶

shu 3melt mbāre7?

What did you do yesterday?

4¶

wein kent mbāre7?

Where were you yesterday?

5¶

shu ra7 ta3mel bokra?

What will you do tomorrow?

7¶

ma3 miin ra7 trou7?

Who will you go with?

8¶

emta ra7 ترجع 3al-bēt?

When will you come home?

Try to answer all eight as if this were a real conversation.

Part 31 — Final 3-minute task¶

Tell me about three days:

Yesterday¶

Start:

mbāre7...

Give 4 sentences.

Today¶

Start:

el-yōm...

Give 4 sentences.

Tomorrow¶

Start:

bokra...

Give 4 sentences.

Your goal:

12 sentences without English.

If you don't know a word, simplify.

For example, instead of:

“Tomorrow I'm going to pick up my daughter after work and we're going to have dinner together.”

Say:

bokra ra7 rou7 3ash-shoghol. ba3d esh-shoghol ra7 shūf benti. ba3dēn ra7 nākol sawa.

Simple Arabic is better than a complex sentence you cannot control.

Session 19 — Core vocabulary¶

Time¶

Arabic	Transliteration	English
مبارح	mbāre7	yesterday
اليوم	el-yōm	today
هلق	halla2	now
بكرا	bokra	tomorrow
بعد بكرا	ba3d bokra	day after tomorrow
الليلة	el-lēle	tonight
بعدين	ba3dēn	then / later

Future¶

ra7 — will

baddi — I want / I plan to

lāzem — I have to

fīni — I can

Ongoing action¶

3am + b-verb

3am bākul — I'm eating

3am beshtaghil — I'm working

3am b7ki — I'm talking

Session 19 — The key transformation¶

Memorize this sequence:

Every day¶

kel yom bākul fṭūr.

I eat breakfast every day.

Right now¶

halla2 3am bākul fṭūr.

I'm eating breakfast now.

Yesterday¶

mbāre7 akalet fṭūr.

Yesterday I ate breakfast.

Tomorrow¶

bokra ra7 ākol fṭūr.

Tomorrow I'll eat breakfast.

This is one of the most useful patterns you've learned so far.

Homework¶

1. Four-column exercise¶

Create four columns:

Habit	Now	Yesterday	Tomorrow
bākul	3am bākul	akalet	ra7 ākol
brū7	3am بروح	re7et	ra7 rou7
beshtaghil	3am beshtaghil	eshtaghlet	ra7 eshtaghil
bshrob	3am bshrob	shribt	ra7 eshrob
bnām	3am bnām	nimt	ra7 nām

Read each row aloud.

2. Your real timeline¶

Write:

5 things you did yesterday
5 things you're doing today
5 things you will do tomorrow

3. Speaking¶

Tell the entire story aloud:

mbāre7 → el-yōm → halla2 → bokra

without looking at your notes.

Session 19 checkpoint¶

You now have a practical four-way time system:

kel yom bākul
I eat every day.

halla2 3am bākul
I'm eating now.

mbāre7 akalet
I ate yesterday.

bokra ra7 ākol
I'll eat tomorrow.

And you can combine it with:

baddi — I want to

lāzem — I have to

fīni — I can

ma baddi — I don't want to

mish lāzem — I don't have to

ma fīni — I can't

That gives you enough grammar to start talking about what you normally do, what is happening now, what happened, and what you intend to do—without needing to know the entire Arabic grammar system.

Session 19 — Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow¶

0:00–0:15 — Warm-up¶

Present¶

Past¶

Future¶

0:15–0:30 — The three time markers¶

0:30–0:45 — Present vs past¶

Go¶

0:45–1:00 — Three timelines¶

Eat¶

Yesterday¶

Today¶

Tomorrow¶

1:00–1:15 — The future with رَح¶

رح — ra7¶

1:15–1:30 — Future examples¶

Go¶

Eat¶

Drink¶

Work¶

Sleep¶

1:30–1:45 — “I'm going to…”¶

Desire / intention¶

Future prediction / decision¶

1:45–2:00 — Future questions¶

What will you do?¶

Where will you go?¶

When will you go?¶

Part 2 — A three-day story¶

Yesterday¶

Today¶

Tomorrow¶

Part 3 — Present tense review¶

Part 4 — Past review¶

Part 5 — Future conjugation¶

I¶

You masculine¶

You feminine¶

He¶

She¶

We¶

They¶

Part 6 — Future endings¶

Past¶

Present/future¶

Part 7 — “Tomorrow I'll…”¶

Part 8 — “Later”¶

بعدين — ba3dēn¶

Part 9 — Soon¶

قريب — qarīb¶

Part 10 — Later today¶

Part 11 — Tonight¶

الليلة — el-lēle¶

Part 12 — Tomorrow morning¶

Part 13 — Tomorrow evening¶

Part 14 — Plans¶

Part 15 — “I don't want to”¶

Part 16 — “I have to tomorrow”¶

Part 17 — “I can tomorrow”¶

Part 18 — A real conversation¶

A:¶

B:¶

A:¶

B:¶

A:¶

B:¶

Part 19 — The three-question drill¶

Yesterday¶

Today¶

Tomorrow¶

Part 20 — “What are you doing now?”¶

Part 21 — Habit vs ongoing action¶

Habit¶

Happening now¶

Past¶

Future¶

Part 22 — More examples¶

Work¶

Eat¶

Part 23 — Important note about “ra7”¶