Levantine Arabic grammar

Levantine Arabic grammar is the set of rules by which Levantine Arabic creates statements, questions and commands. In many respects, it is quite similar to that of the other vernacular Arabic varieties.

Word order

Both VSO (verb before subject before object) and SVO (subject before verb before object) word orders are possible in Levantine Arabic. The verb is before the object (VO). ^[1] However, Classical Arabic tends to prefer VSO, whereas in Levantine SVO is more common. ^[2] Subject-initial order indicates topic-prominent sentences, while verb-initial order indicates subject-prominent sentences. ^[3]

In interrogative sentences, the interrogative particle comes first. ^[4]

Copula

There is no copula used in the present tense in Levantine. In other tenses, the verb kān (كان) is used. Its present tense form is used in the future tense. ^[5]

Definiteness

See also: Arabic definite article

There is no indefinite article in Levantine Arabic. Nouns (except proper nouns) are automatically indefinite by the absence of the definite article. ^[6]

The Arabic definite article ال (il) precedes the noun or adjective and has multiple pronunciations. Its vowel is dropped when the preceding word ends in a vowel. A helping vowel "e" is inserted if the following word begins with a consonant cluster. ^[7]

It assimilates with "Sun letters", basically all consonants that are pronounced with the tip of the tongue. Other letters are called "Moon letters". ^[7] The letter Jeem (ج) is a special case. It is usually a Sun letter for speakers pronouncing it as [ ʒ ] but not for those pronouncing it as [ d͡ʒ ]. ^{[6] [8]}

Definiteness in Levantine: Examples

Moon letter	البيت	il-bēt
Sun letter (assimilation)	الشمس	iš-šams
Letter Jeem (ج)	الجمعة	il-jumʕa[ɪl.ˈd͡ʒʊm.ʕa] / ij-jumʕa[ɪʒ.ˈʒʊm.ʕa]
Consonant cluster	الكتاب	le-ktāb

Nouns

Case

There is no case marking in Levantine (contrary to Classical Arabic). ^[9]

Gender

Nouns can be either masculine or feminine. In the singular, most feminine nouns end with Tāʼ marbūṭah (ـة). This is pronounced as –a or -e depending on the preceding consonant. Generally, -a after guttural (ح خ ع غ ق ه ء) and emphatic consonants (ر ص ض ط ظ), and -e after other consonants. ^[10]

Number

Nouns in Levantine can be singular, dual or plural. ^{[11] [10]}

The dual is invariably formed with suffix -ēn (ين-). ^{[12] [10]} The dual is often used in a non-exact sense, especially in temporal and spatial nouns:

• ‏ جمعة ‎, jumʕa, one week
• ‏ جمعتين ‎, jumʕatēn, a couple of weeks (lit. 'two weeks') ^[9]

For nouns referring to humans, the regular (also called sound) masculine plural is formed with the suffix -īn. The regular feminine plural is formed with -āt. The masculine plural is used to refer to a group with both gender. However, there are many broken plurals (also called internal plurals), ^{[13] [10]} in which the consonantal root of the singular is changed (nonconcatenative morphology). These plural patterns are shared with other varieties of Arabic and may also be applied to foreign borrowings: such as faːtuːra (plural: fwaːtiːr), from the Italian fattura, invoice. ^[9] The plural of loanwords may be sound or broken. ^[14] Several patterns of broken plurals exist and it is not possible to exactly predict them. ^[15]

Inanimate objects take feminine singular agreement in the plural, for verbs, attached pronouns, and adjectives. ^[16]

Some foreign words that designate weights and measures such as [sαnti] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 2) (help) (centimeter), šēkel (shekel), and kīlo (kilometer/kilogram) (but not mitr, meter, which behaves like other Arabic nouns) are invariable. The dual form is not used and numbers 3–10 don't lose their final vowel when followed by these nouns:

• šēkel: 1 shekel
• tnēn šēkel: 2 shekels
• talāte šēkel: 3 shekels
• ʕašara šēkel: 10 shekels ^[17]

The 12 most common broken plural patterns ^[15]

Pattern (Arabic)	Pattern (Latin)	Example	English meaning
ـَ و ا ـِ ـ	CawāCeC	‏ شارع ‎šāreʕ ‏ شوارع ‎šawāreʕ	street streets
أَ ـْ ـ ا ـ	ʔaCCāC	‏ شخص ‎šaḵṣ ‏ أشخاص ‎ʾašḵāṣ	person people
ـَ ـ ا ـِ ي ـ	CaCāCīC	‏ دكان ‎dukkān ‏ دكاكين ‎dakākīn	convenience store convenience stores
ـُ ـُ و ـ	CuCūC	‏ حرف ‎ḥarf ‏ حروف ‎ḥurūf	letter letters
ـُ ـَ ـ	CuCaC	‏ قصة ‎ʾuṣṣa ‏ قصص ‎ʾuṣaṣ	story stories
ـِ ـَ ـ	CiCaC	‏ فريق ‎farīq ‏ فرق ‎firaq	team teams
ـُ ـَ ـ ا	CuCaCa	‏ مدير ‎mudīr ‏ مدرا ‎mudara	manager managers
ـُ ـّ ا ـ	CuC2C2āC	‏ طالب ‎ṭāleb ‏ طلاب ‎ṭullāb	student students
أَ ـْ ـِ ـ ة	ʔaCCiCe	‏ جهاز ‎jihāz ‏ أجهزة ‎ʾajhize	electrical device electrical devices
ـُ ـُ ـ	CuCoC	‏ مدينة ‎madīne ‏ مدن ‎mudon	city cities
ـُ ـْ ـ ا ن	CuCCān	‏ قميص ‎ʾamīṣ ‏ قمصان ‎ʾumṣān	dress shirt dress shirts
أَ ـْ ـِ ـ ا ء	ʔaCCiCāʔ	‏ صديق ‎ṣadīq ‏ أصدقاء ‎ʾaṣdiqāʾ	friend friends

Nominal sentences

Phrasal word order is head-dependent: ^[1]

• Noun-Genitive
• Noun-Adjective
• Noun-Relative clause.

The genitive relationship is formed by putting the nouns next to each other, ^[18] this construct is called Iḍāfah (lit. 'addition'). The first noun is always indefinite. If an indefinite noun is added to a definite noun, it results in a new definite compound noun. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Besides possessiveness, the Iḍāfah construct can be used to specify or define the first term. ^[19]

Possession can also be expressed with تبع, taba^C, especially for loanwords:

• my dog: kalbi or il-kalb taba^Ci,
• the neighbors' house: [bēt il-jirᾱn] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 11) (help) or [il-bēt taba^C il-jirᾱn] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 31) (help)
• your radio: [ir-rᾱdyo taba^Ckom] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 5) (help). ^[22]

There is no limit to the number of nouns that can be strung together in an Iḍāfah. However, it is rare to have three or more words, except with very common or monosyllabic nouns. ^[18]

The Iḍāfah construct is different from the noun-adjective structure. In an Iḍāfah construct, the two nouns might be different in terms of their definiteness: the first is indefinite, the second is usually definite. Whereas adjectives always agree with nouns in definiteness. ^{[23] [19]}

The first term must be in the construct state: if it ends in the feminine marker (/-ah/, or /-ih/), it changes to (/-at/, /-it/) in pronunciation (i.e. ة pronounced as "t"). Whereas in a noun-adjective string, the pronunciation would remain (/-ah/, /-ih/). ^[19]

Iḍāfah and noun-adjective examples ^{[19] [23] [22]}

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English	Note
كتاب إستاذ	ktāb ʾistāz	a book of a/the teacher	Iḍāfah of two indefinite nouns
كتاب الإستاذ	ktāb il-ʾistāz	the book of the teacher	Iḍāfah of indefinite + definite noun
كتاب الإستاذ الجديد	ktāb il-ʾistāz le-jdīd	the new book of the teacher OR the book of the new teacher	The adjective is definite, because the Iḍāfah is definite. Both meanings are possible, to avoid confusion the preposition -la can be used to split the Iḍāfah.
الكتاب الجديد للإستاذ	le-ktāb le-jdīd l-il-ʾistāz	the new book of the teacher	Split Iḍāfah
الكتاب للإستاذ الجديد	le-ktāb l-il-ʾistāz le-jdīd	the book of the new teacher	Split Iḍāfah
الكتاب الجديد تبع الإستاذ	le-ktāb le-jdīd tabaC il-ʾistāz	the teacher's new book	Use of تبع, tabaC to avoid confusion.
كتاب إستاذ العربي	ktāb ʾistāz il-ʕarabi	the book of the teacher of Arabic	Chained Iḍāfah, only the last noun takes the definite article
مجلة جديدة	majalle jdīde	a new magazine	Noun-adjective: ة pronounced as "ih"
مجلة الإستاذ	majallet il-ʾistāz	the magazine of the teacher	ة pronounced as "t" in construct state
بيت خالد	bēt ḵālid	Khalid's house	With a proper noun: possessiveness
مدينة نيويورك	madīnet nyū-yōrk	New York City	First noun ends with ah (pronounced as "t"), second is a proper noun
مدينة زغيرة	madīne zḡīre	a small town/city	Noun-adjective, ة pronounced as "ah"
صحن حمص	ṣaḥen ḥummuṣ	hummus dish

Verbal nouns

Verbal nouns (also called gerunds or masdar ^[24] ) play an important role in Levantine. Derived from a verb root, they can be used as a noun ("food") or as a gerund ("eating"). ^[25] Verbal nouns do not exist as infinitives, they are not part of the verbal system but of the lexicon. ^[3]

Verbal nouns declension patterns for the ten verb forms ^{[a] [25]}

Form	Verb pattern	Verbal noun pattern		Example [26]
		Most common	Variants	Verb	Verbal noun
Form I	C1vC2vC3	C1vC2C3	Many variants	‏ ‏درس ‎ daras (to study, to learn)	‏ درس ‎ dars (a lesson)
Form II	C1aC2C2aC3	taC1C2īC3	taC1C2iC3a / tiC1C2āC3	‏ قدّم ‎ qaddam (to present, to offer)	‏ تقديم ‎ taqdīm (a presentation, presenting)
Form III	C1v̄C2aC3	muC1v̄C2aC3a	C1iC2v̄C3	‏ ساعد ‎ sāʕad (to help)	‏ مساعدة ‎ musāʕida (help, assistance)
Form IV	ʔaC1C2aC3	ʔiC1C2āC3		‏ أقنع ‎ ʾaqnaʿ (to convince)	‏ إقناع ‎ ʾiqnāʿ (convincing)
Form V	tC1aC2C2aC3	taC1aC2C2uC3		‏ تجنب ‎ tjannab (to avoid)	‏ تجنّب ‎ tajannub (avoiding, avoidance)
Form VI	tC1v̄C2aC3	taC1v̄C2uC3		‏ تجاهل ‎ tjāhal (to ignore)	‏ تجاهل ‎ tajāhul (ignoring)
Form VII	nC1aC2aC3 (North) inC1aC2aC3 (South)	inC1iC2v̄C3		‏ انبسط ‎ inbasaṭ (to be happy, to have fun)	‏ انبساط ‎ inbisāṭ (happiness)
Form VIII	C1tvC2vC3 (North) iC1tvC2vC3 (South)	iC1tiC2v̄C3		‏ اقترح ‎ iqtaraḥ (to suggest)	‏ اقتراح ‎ iqtirāḥ (a suggestion)
Form IX	C1C2aC3C3 (North) iC1C2aC3C3 (South)	iC1C2iC3āC3		‏ احمر ‎ iḥmarr (to blush, to turn red)	‏ احمرار ‎ iḥmirār (blushing, turning red)
Form X	staC1C2aC3 (North) istaC1C2aC3 (South)	istiC1C2āC3		‏ استعمل ‎ istaʕmal (to use)	‏ استعمال ‎ istiʕmāl (use, usage)

Numerals

Cardinal numbers

Number one and two have a masculine and feminine form. When used with a noun, they rather follow it like an adjective than precede it for emphasis. ^[27] An exception are uncountable nouns. ^[28] When the number 2 is accompanied by a noun, the dual form is usually used: waladēn, 2 boys. ^[27]

Numbers larger than 3 do not have gender but may have two forms, one used before nouns and one used independently. ^[29] In particular, numbers between 3 and 10 lose their final vowel before a noun. ^[27]

Numbers from 3 to 10 are followed by plural nouns. Numbers from 11 to 99 are followed by a singular. ^{[29] [30] [27]}

Numbers 100 and onwards follow the same rule as numbers 0–99 based on their last two digits. 100 and 101 are followed by a singular, 102 is followed by a dual (102 books: miyye u-ktābēn), 103–110 by a plural, and 111–199 is like 11–99, followed by a singular. ^[31]

Before a small set of nouns (e.g. ألف, ʾalf, "thousand") the independent form is used in construct state (ة pronounced as "t"). مية (miyye, "hundred") is always in construct state before nouns. ^[28]

Levantine cardinal numbers ^{[28] [27] [31]}

Number	Gender	Independent	Followed by noun	Number of noun
0 / ٠		‏ صفر ‎ṣifr	—	Plural
1 / ١	m	‏ واحد ‎wāḥad	—	Singular
	f	‏ واحدة‎ ‎waḥde	—
2 / ٢	m	‏ تنين ‎tnēn	—	Dual or plural
	f	‏ تنتين‎ ‎tintēn	—
3 / ٣		‏ تلاتة ‎talāte (South) ‏ تلاتة ‎tlēte (North)	‏ تلت‎ ‎talat/tlat (South) ‏ تلات‎ ‎tlēt/tlat (North)	Plural
4 / ٤		‏ أربعة ‎ʾarbaʕa	‏ أربع‎ ‎ʾarbaʕ
5 / ٥		‏ خمسة ‎ḵamse	‏ خمس‎ ‎ḵams
6 / ٦		‏ ستة ‎sitte	‏ ست‎ ‎sitt
7 / ٧		‏ سبعة ‎sabʕa	‏ سبع‎ ‎sabʕ
8 / ٨		‏ تمانية ‎tamānye (South) ‏ تمانة ‎tmēne (North)	‏ تمن‎ ‎taman/tman (South) ‏ تمن‎ ‎tman/tmin (North)
9 / ٩		‏ تسع ‎tisʕa	‏ تسع‎ ‎tisʕ
10 / ١٠		‏ عشرة ‎ʕašara	‏ عشر‎ ‎ʕašr
11 / ١١		‏ احدعش ‎(i)ḥdaʕš	‏ احدعشر‎ ‎(i)ḥdaʕšar	Singular
12 / ١٢		‏ تنعش ‎tnaʕš	‏ تنعشر‎ ‎tnaʕšar
20 / ٢٠		‏ عشرين ‎ʕišrīn
21 / ٢١		‏ واحد وعشرين ‎wāhad w-ʕišrīn
30 / ٣٠		‏ تلاتين ‎talatīn (South) / tlētīn (North)
100 / ١٠٠		‏ مية ‎miyye	‏ مية ‎mīt
101 / ١٠١		‏ مية وواحد ‎miyye u-wāḥad	‏ مية و- ‎miyye u- + Singular noun
102 / ١٠٢		‏ مية وتنين ‎miyye u-tnēn	‏ مية و- ‎miyye u- + Dual noun	Dual
103 / ١٠٣		‏ مية وتلاتة ‎miyye u-talāte	‏ مية وتلت‎ ‎miyye u-talat	Plural
200 / ٢٠٠		‏ ميتين ‎mītēn		Singular
300 / ٣٠٠		‏ تلتمية ‎t(a)lat-miyye	‏ تلتمية ‎t(a)lat-mīt
1000 / ١٠٠٠		‏ ألف ‎ʾalf
2000 / ٢٠٠٠		‏ ألفين ‎ʾalfēn
3000 / ٣٠٠٠		‏ تلتة آلاف ‎t(a)latt‿ālāf
10000 / ١٠٠٠٠		‏ عشرة آلاف ‎ʕašert‿ālāf
11000 / ١١٠٠٠		‏ إحدشر ألف‎ ‎ʾiḥdaʕšar ʾalf
100000 / ١٠٠٠٠٠		‏ مية ألف‎ ‎mīt ʾalf

Ordinal numbers and fractions

Ordinal numbers can either precede or follow the noun. If they precede the noun the masculine form is used and the definite article is dropped. ^[28]

Ordinal numbers above 10 do not exist, instead the cardinal numbers are used following the noun. ^[28]

Ordinal numbers in Levantine ^[28]

Ordinal number					Fraction
Number	Masculine or followed by noun	Feminine	Plural		Number	Singular	Plural
1 / ١	‏ أول ‎ʾawwal	‏ أولى‎ ‎ʾūla	‏ أوائل ‎ʾawāʾel or ‏ أولى ‎ʾuwala		—
2 / ٢	‏ تاني ‎tāni	‏ تانية‎ ‎tānye	‏ تانين ‎tānyīn		1⁄2 / ١⁄٢	‏ نص ‎nuṣṣ	‏ أنصاص ‎(ʾa)nṣāṣ
3 / ٣	‏ تالت ‎tālet	‏ تالتة ‎tālte	‏ تالتين ‎tāltīn		1⁄3 / ١⁄٣	‏ تلت ‎tult	‏ تلات ‎tlāt
4 / ٤	‏ رابع ‎rābeʕ	‏ رابعة ‎rābʕa	‏ رابعين ‎rābʕīn		1⁄4 / ١⁄٤	‏ ربع ‎rubʕ	‏ رباع ‎rbāʕ
5 / ٥	‏ خامس ‎ḵāmes	‏ خامسة ‎ḵāmse	‏ خامسين ‎ḵāmsīn		1⁄5 / ١⁄٥	‏ خمس ‎ḵums	‏ أخماس ‎(ʾa)ḵmās
6 / ٦	‏ سادس ‎sādes	‏ سادسة ‎sādse	‏ سادسين ‎sādsīn		1⁄6 / ١⁄٦	‏ سدس ‎suds	‏ أسداس ‎(ʾa)sdās
7 / ٧	‏ سابع ‎sābeʕ	‏ سابعة ‎sābʕa	‏ سابعين ‎sābʕīn		1⁄7 / ١⁄٧	‏ سبع ‎subʕ	‏ أسباع ‎(ʾa)sbāʕ
8 / ٨	‏ تامن ‎tāmen	‏ تامنة ‎tāmne	‏ تامنين ‎tāmnīn		1⁄8 / ١⁄٨	‏ تمن ‎tumn	‏ أتمان ‎(ʾa)tmān
9 / ٩	‏ تاسع ‎tāseʕ	‏ تاسعة ‎tāsʕa	‏ تاسعين ‎tāsʕīn		1⁄9 / ١⁄٩	‏ تسع ‎tusʕ	‏ أتساع ‎(ʾa)tsāʕ
10 / ١٠	‏ عاشر ‎ʕāšer	‏ عاشرة ‎ʕāšra	‏ عاشرين ‎ʕāšrīn		1⁄10 / ١⁄١٠	‏ عشر ‎ʕušr	‏ أشار ‎(ʾa)ʕšār

Adjectives

Form

Many adjectives have the pattern فعيل (fʕīl / CCīC or faʕīl / CaCīC) but other patterns are also possible. ^[20]

Adjectives derived from nouns by the suffix ـي (-i) are called Nisba adjectives. Their feminine form ends in ـية (-iyye) and the plural in ـيين (-iyyīn). ^[32]

Gender

Adjectives typically have three form: a masculine singular, a feminine singular, and a plural which does not distinguish gender. In most adjectives the feminine is formed through addition of -a/e, sometimes dropping an unstressed short vowel. ^[33]

Number

Nouns in dual have adjectives in plural. ^[20]

The plural of adjectives is either regular ending in ـين (-īn) or is an irregular "broken" plural. It is used with nouns referring to people. For non-human / inanimate / abstract nouns, adjectives can use either the plural or the singular feminine form regardless of the noun's gender. ^{[33] [20] [34] [16]}

Word order

Adjectives follow the noun they modify and agree with it in definiteness. Adjectives without an article after a definite noun express a clause with the invisible copula "to be". ^[35]

Examples

بيت كبيرbēt kbīr	a big house
البيت الكبيرil-bēt le-kbīr	the big house
البيت كبيرil-bēt kbīr	the house is big

There is no dominant order for degree words and adjectives: Adverbs of degree like ‏ كتير ‎ (ktīr, "very") and ‏ شوي ‎ (šwayy, "a little / a bit") can either precede or follow the adjective. ^[1]

Superlative and comparative

There are no separate comparative and superlative forms but the elative is used in both cases. ^[33]

The elative is formed by adding a hamza at the beginning of the adjective and replace the vowels by "a" (pattern: أفعلʾafʕal / aCCaC). ^[20] Adjective endings in ‏ ي ‎ (i) and ‏ و ‎ (u) are changed into ‏ ی ‎ (a). If the second and third consonant in the root are the same, they are geminated (pattern: أفلّʾafall / ʾaCaCC). ^[36]

Speakers who pronounce ‏ ق ‎ as hamza might pronounced the elative prefix as "h" in order to avoid two consecutive hamzas. ^[37]

Examples of elative adjectives

	Adjective	Elative
Regular	‏ كبير ‎kbīr	‏ أكبر ‎ʾakbar
	‏ سهل ‎sahl	‏ أسهل ‎ʾashal
	‏ قديم ‎ʾadīm	‏ أقدم ‎ʾaʾdam / haʾdam
Gemination	‏ جديد ‎jdīd	‏ أجدّ ‎ʾajadd
	‏ قليل ‎ʾalīl	‏ أقلّ ‎ʾaʾall / haʾall
Final i/u	‏ عالي ‎ʕāli	‏ أعلى ‎ʾaʕla
	‏ حلو ‎ḥilu	‏ أحلى ‎ʾaḥla
Irregular	‏ منيح ‎mnīḥ / ‏ كويس ‎kwayyes	‏ أحسن ‎'aḥsan (from ‏ حسن ‎ḥasan)

When an elative modifies a noun, it precedes the noun an no definite article is used. ^[38]

In order to compare two things, the word ‏ من ‎ (min, lit. 'from') is used in the sense of "than" in English. ^[38]

Examples of elative sentences

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
أحسن إشي	ʾaḥsan ʾiši	the best thing
هالإشي أحسن	ha-l-ʾiši ʾaḥsan	this thing is better / the best
هالإشي أحسن من إشي تاني	ha-l-ʾiši ʾaḥsan min ʾiši tāni	this thing is better than something else

Not all adjectives can form an elative, especially those that are participles or derived from nouns. In this case, ‏ أكتر ‎ (ʾaktar, "more, most") is used. ^[33]

Examples of comparative and superlative using ‏ أكتر ‎ (ʾaktar, "more, most")

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
‏ مجنون ‎	majnūn	crazy
مجنون أكتر	majnūn ʾaktar	crazier / craziest
هو مجنون أكتر منك	huwwe majnūn ʾaktar minnak	he is crazier than you
أكتر واحد مجنون	ʾaktar wāḥad majnūn	the craziest one

Prepositions

Prepositions must precede nominals in Levantine. ^[4]

Common prepositions ^[3]

Levantine	English
‏ بـ ‎bi-	with; in, at
‏ فِي ‎fī	in, at
‏ مَعَ ‎maʕ	with, along with
‏ مِن ‎min	from; than
‏ لـ ‎la-	to; for
‏ عـ ‎ʕa- / ‏ على ‎ʕāla	on, upon; to; about
‏ قبل ‎ʾabl	before
‏ بعد ‎baʕd	after
‏ قدّام ‎ʾuddām	in front of
‏ ورا ‎wara	behind
‏ فوق ‎fōʾ	above, over
‏ تحت ‎taḥt	below, under
‏ بين ‎bēn	between

Pronouns

Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found mostly in rural and Bedouin areas. They are not mentioned below. ^[39]

Personal pronouns

Levantine has eight persons, and therefore eight pronouns. Dual forms that exist in Modern Standard Arabic do not exist in Levantine, the plural is used instead. Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix and/or a suffix, independent subject pronouns are usually not necessary and are mainly used for emphasis. ^{[40] [41]}

Independent personal pronouns

Levantine independent personal pronouns [41] [42]
		Singular	Plural
1st person (m/f)		‏ أنا ‎ʾana	‏ احنا ‎ʾiḥna (South) / ‏ نحنا ‎niḥna (North)
2nd person	m	‏ انت ‎ʾinta	‏ انتو ‎ / ‏ انتوا ‎ʾintu
	f	‏ انتي ‎ʾinti
3rd person	m	‏ هو ‎huwwe	‏ هم ‎humme (South) / ‏ هن ‎hinne (North)
	f	‏ هي ‎hiyye

Direct object and possessive pronouns

Direct object pronouns are indicated by suffixes attached to the conjugated verb. Their form depends whether the verb ends with a consonant or a vowel. Suffixed to nouns, these pronouns express possessive. ^{[43] [41]}

Levantine enclitic pronouns, direct object and possessive [41]
		Singular		Plural
		after consonant	after vowel
1st person	after verb	‏ ـني ‎-ni		‏ ـنا ‎-na
	else	‏ ـِي ‎-i	‏ ـي ‎-y
2nd person	m	‏ ـَك ‎-ak	‏ ـك ‎-k	‏ ـكُن ‎-kun (North) ‏ ـكُم ‎-kom‏ ـكو ‎-ku (South)
	f	‏ ـِك ‎-ik	‏ ـكِ ‎-ki
3rd person	m	‏ و ‎-u (North) ‏ ـُه ‎-o (South)	‏ ـه ‎ (silent) [b]	‏ ـُن ‎-(h/w/y)un (North) ‏ ـهُم ‎-hom (South)
	f	‏ ـا ‎-a (North) ‏ ـها ‎-ha (South)	‏ ـا ‎-(h/w/y)a (North) ‏ ـها ‎-ha (South)

If a pronoun is already attached on the end of a word, the second pronoun is attached to ياyā (after a vowel) / iyā- (after a consonant), for instance: بدي ياكbeddi yaak (I want you (m)). ^{[44] [45]}

Indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns (dative) are suffixed to the conjugated verb. They are form by adding an ل (-l) and then the possessive suffix to the verb. ^[39] They precede object pronouns if present:

• jāb il-jarīde la-ʔabūy: he brought the newspaper to my father,
• jāb-ha la-ʔabūy: he brought it to my father,
• jab-lo il-jarīde: he brought him the newspaper,
• jab-lo yyā-ha: he brought him it. ^{[39] [45]}

Levantine indirect object pronoun suffixes [41]
		Singular	Plural
1st person (m/f)		‏ ـلي ‎-li	‏ ـلنا ‎-lna
2nd person	m	‏ لَك ‎-lak	‏ ـلكُن ‎-lkun (North) ‏ ـلكُم ‎-lkom, ‏ ـلكو ‎-lku (South)
	f	‏ ـِلك ‎-lik
3rd person	m	‏ لو ‎-lu (North) ‏ لُه ‎-lo (South)	‏ ـلُن ‎-lun (North) ‏ ـلهُم ‎-lhom (South)
	f	‏ ـلا ‎-la (North) ‏ ـلها ‎-lha (South)

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns have three referential types: immediate, proximal, and distal. The distinction between proximal and distal demonstratives is of physical, temporal, or metaphorical distance. The genderless and numberless immediate demonstrative article ‏ ها ‎ha is translated by "this/the", to designate something immediately visible or accessible. ^[46]

Levantine demonstrative pronouns
		Singular	Plural
Proximal (this, these)	m	‏ هادا ‎hāda / ‏ هاد ‎hād (South, Syria) ‏ هيدا ‎hayda (Lebanon)	‏ هدول ‎hadōl (South, Syria) ‏ هيدول ‎haydōl / ‏ هودي ‎hawdi (Lebanon)
	f	‏ هادي ‎hādi / ‏ هاي ‎hāy (South) ‏ هيّ ‎hayy (Syria) ‏ هيدي ‎haydi (Lebanon)
Distal (that, those)	m	‏ هداك ‎hadāk (South, Syria) ‏ هيداك ‎haydāk (Lebanon)	‏ هدولاك ‎hadōlāk (South) ‏ هدوليك ‎hadōlīk (Syria) ‏ هيدوليك ‎haydōlīk (Lebanon)
	f	‏ هديك ‎hadīk (South, Syria) ‏ هيديك ‎haydīk (Lebanon)

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns in Levantine ^[46]

Levantine	English
‏ مين ‎mīn	who
‏ لمين ‎la-mīn	whose
‏ شو ‎šū / ‏ إيش ‎ʾēš (South)	what
‏ لشو ‎la-šu	for what
‏ ليش ‎lēš / ‏ ليه ‎lē (Lebanon)	why
‏ أيّ ‎ʾayy	which
‏ إيمتى ‎ʾēmta / ‏ إمتى ‎ʾimta (Lebanon)	when
‏ وين ‎wēn	where
‏ لوين ‎la-wēn	where to
‏ من وين ‎min wēn / ‏ منين ‎mnēn	where from
‏ كيف ‎kīf / ‏ شلون ‎šlōn (Syria)	how
‏ قدّيش ‎ʾaddēš / ‏ قدّيه ‎ʾaddē (Lebanon)	how much
‏ كم ‎kam	how many
‏ كل قدّيش ‎kull/kill ʾaddēš / ‏ كم مرّة ‎kam marra	how often

Relative pronouns

The relative pronoun, invariable for number and gender, is ‏ اللي ‎ (illi). ^[47]

Verbs

Root

Like Arabic verbs, most Levantine verbs are based on a triliteral root (also called radical) made of three consonants (therefore also called triconsonantal root). The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb, e.g. k-t-b 'write', q-r-’ 'read', ’-k-l 'eat'. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as mood (e.g. indicative, subjunctive, imperative), voice (active or passive), and functions such as causative, intensive, or reflexive. ^[48]

Quadriliteral roots are less common, but often used to coin new vocabulary or to Arabicize foreign words. ^{[49] [50]}

The base form is the third-person masculine singular of the perfect (also called past) tense. ^[51]

Verb forms

For broader coverage of this topic, see Wiktionary:Template:ajp-conj/documentation.

Almost all Levantine verbs can be categorized in one of ten verb forms (also called verb measures, ^[52] stems, ^[53] patterns, ^[54] or types ^[55] ). Form I, the most common one, serves as a base for the other nine forms. Each form carries a different verbal idea, relative to the meaning of its root. Technically, 10 verbs can be constructed from any given triconsonantal root. However, all of those ten forms may not be used in practice by speakers. ^[48] After Form I, Forms II, V, VII, and X are the most common ones. ^[53]

Sound verb forms in Levantine ^{[52] [48] [53] [a]}

Form/Measure/Stem	Tendency of meaning	Perfect pattern	Imperfect pattern	Example	Root of the example	Note
Form I	Active or stative verb (base form)	C1vC2vC3	-C1vC2vC3	‏ عمل ‎ ʕimil (to do, to make)	‏ ع م ل ‎ ʕ-m-l (related to work)	—
Form II	Causes action (Causative), shows intensity (Augmentative), or may indicates continuing action	C1aC2C2aC3	-C1aC2C2eC3	‏ علّم ‎ ʕallam (to teach)	‏ ع ل م ‎ ʕ-l-m (related to knowledge)	Most productive form [20]
Form III	Active in meaning or shows attempt; focus is on one-sided action	C1v̄C2aC3	-C1v̄C2eC3	‏ عامل ‎ ʕāmal (to treat)	‏ ع م ل ‎ ʕ-m-l (related to work)	—
Form IV	Causes action, similar to Form II	ʔaC1C2aC3	-C1C2eC3	‏ أعلن ‎ ʔaʕlan (to announce)	‏ ع ل ن ‎ ʔ-l-n (related to publicity)	Rare, limited to borrowings from MSA
Form V	Reflexive/passive/mediopassive meaning for transitive Form II verbs	tC1aC2C2aC3	-tC1aC2C2aC3	‏ تعلّم ‎ tʕallam (to learn)	‏ ع ل م ‎ ʕ-l-m (related to knowledge)	Usually intransitive
Form VI	Reflexive/passive meaning for Form III or active in meaning	tC1v̄C2aC3	-tC1v̄C2eC3	‏ تعامل ‎ tʕāmal (to work or deal with)	‏ ع م ل ‎ ʕ-m-l (related to work)	Usually intransitive
Form VII	Reflexive/passive meaning for Form I or no particular tendency of meaning	nC1aC2aC3 (North) inC1aC2aC3 (South)	-nC1ǝC2eC3 -nC1aːC2 in medial glide roots	‏ انبسط ‎ inbasaṭ (to have fun, enjoy oneself)	‏ ب س ط ‎ b-s-ṭ (related to spreading and extending)	—
Form VIII	Active, reflexive, or passive in meaning	C1tvC2vC3 (North) iC1tvC2vC3 (South)	-C1tvC2vC3	‏ اعترف ‎ iʕtaraf (to confess)	‏ ع ر ف ‎ ʕ-r-f (related to awareness)	Not productive [20]
Form IX	Inchoative verbs from adjectives: Changing of color or physical handicap	C1C2aC3C3 (North) iC1C2aC3C3 (South)	-C1C2aC3C3	‏ اِبْيَضَّ ‎ ibyaḍḍa (to become white)	‏ ب ي ض ‎ b-y-ḍ (related to whiteness)	Very rare, replaced by ṣār "to become" + adjective [56]
Form X	Sought to do something or believe something to be big, close, etc. (Denominal or deadjectival)	staC1C2aC3 (North) istaC1C2aC3 (South)	-staC1C2eC3	‏ استعمل ‎ istaʕmal (to use)	‏ ع م ل ‎ ʕ-m-l (related to work)	Often transitive verbs [20]

Aldrich also defines verb forms XI (for verbs based on quadriliteral roots) and XII (for passive or intransitive version of form XI verbs). ^[52]

In addition to its form, each verb has a "quality":

• Sound (or regular): 3 distinct radicals, neither the second nor the third is w or y,
• Verbs containing the radicals w or y are called weak. They can be either:
  • Hollow: verbs with w or y as the second radical, which can become a long a in some forms, or
  • Defective: verbs with w or y as the third radical, treated as a vowel,
• Geminate (or doubled): the second and third radicals are identical, remaining together as a double consonant. ^[52]

Some irregular verbs do not fit into any of the verb forms. ^[52]

The initial i in verb forms VII, VIII, IX, X drops when the preceding word ends in a vowel or at the beginning of a sentence. ^[7]

Regular verb conjugation

The Levantine verb has only two tenses: past (perfect) and present (also called imperfect, b-imperfect, or bi-imperfect). The future tense is an extension of the present tense. The negative imperative is the same as the negative present with helping verb (imperfect). The grammatical person and number as well as the mood are designated by a variety of prefixes and suffixes. The following table shows the paradigm of a sound Form I verb, katab (كتب) 'to write'. ^[48]

The b-imperfect is usually used for the indicative mood (non-past present, habitual/general present, narrative present, planned future actions, or potential). The prefix b- is deleted in the subjunctive mood, usually after various modal verbs, auxiliary verbs, pseudo-verbs, prepositions, and particles. ^{[20] [56] [57] [58]}

In the following table, the accented vowel is in bold.

Conjugation of كتب, 'to write' (sound form I verb)
		North Levantine [59]				South Levantine [60] [61]
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Past [c]	Masc.	‏ كتبت‎ ‎katabit	‏ كتبت ‎katabit	‏ كتب ‎katab		‏ كتبت‎ ‎katabt	‏ كتبت‎ ‎katabt	‏ كتب‎ ‎katab
	Fem.		‏ كتبتي‎ ‎katabti	‏ كتبت‎ ‎katabit			‏ كتبتي‎ ‎katabti	‏ كتبت‎ ‎katbat
	Plural	‏ كتبنا‎ ‎katabna	‏ كتبتو‎ ‎katabtu	‏ كتبو‎‎ ‎katabu		‏ كتبنا‎ ‎katabna	‏ كتبتو‎‎ ‎katabtu	‏ كتبو‎‎ ‎katabu
Present [d]	Masc.	‏ بكتب‎ ‎biktub	‏ بتكتب ‎btiktub	‏ بيكتب‎ ‎byiktub		‏ بكتب‎ ‎baktob	‏ بتكتب‎ ‎btuktob	‏ بكتب‎ ‎buktob
	Fem.		‏ بتكتبي‎ ‎btiktbi	‏ بتكتب‎ ‎btiktub			‏ بتكتبي‎ ‎btuktobi	‏ بتكتب‎ ‎btuktob
	Plural	‏ منكتب‎ ‎mniktub	‏ بتكتبو‎ ‎btiktbu	‏ بيكتبو‎ ‎byiktbu		‏ منكتب‎‎ ‎mnuktob ‏ بنكتب‎‎ ‎bnuktob [62] [e]	‏ بتكتبو‎‎ ‎btuktobu	‏ بكتبو‎‎ ‎buktobu
Present with helping verb [f]	Masc.	‏ اكتب ‎iktub	‏ تكتب‎ ‎tiktub	‏ يكتب‎ ‎yiktub		‏ أكتب‎ ‎ʾaktob	‏ تكتب‎ ‎tuktob	‏ يكتب‎ ‎yuktob
	Fem.		‏ تكتبي‎ ‎tiktbi	‏ تكتب‎ ‎tiktub			‏ تكتبي‎ ‎tuktobi	‏ تكتب‎ ‎tuktob
	Plural	‏ نكتب‎ ‎niktub	‏ تكتبو‎ ‎tiktbu	‏ يكتبو‎ ‎yiktbu		‏ نكتب‎ ‎nuktob	‏ تكتبو‎ ‎tuktobu	‏ يكتبو‎ ‎yuktobu
Positive imperative [g]	Masc.	—	‏ كتوب‎ ‎ktūb	—		—	‏ أكتب ‎ʾuktob	—
	Fem.		‏ كتبي‎ ‎ktibi				‏ أكتب ‎ʾuktobi
	Plural		‏ كتبو‎ ‎ktibu				‏ أكتب ‎ʾuktobu
Active participle [h]	Masc.	‏ كاتب ‎kētib				‏ كاتب ‎kāteb
	Fem.	‏ كاتبة ‎kētbi				‏ كاتبة ‎kātbe
	Plural	‏ كاتبين ‎kētbīn				‏ كاتبين ‎kātbīn
Passive participle [i]	Masc.	‏ مكتوب ‎maktūb				‏ مكتوب ‎maktūb
	Fem.	‏ مكتوبة ‎maktūba				‏ مكتوبة ‎maktūba
	Plural	‏ مكتوبين ‎maktūbīn				‏ مكتوبين ‎maktūbīn

Table of prefixes, affixes, and suffixes added to the base form (for sound form I verbs with stressed prefixes) [63]
		Singular				Dual/Plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Past [c]	M	-it	-it	∅ (base form)		-na	-tu	-u
	F		-ti	-it (North) -at (South)
Present [d]	M	bi- (North) ba- (South)	bti-	byi- (North) [42] bi- (South)		mni-	bti- -u	byi- -u (North) [42] bi- -u (South)
	F		bti- -i	bti-
Present with helping verb [f]	M	i- (North) a- (South)	ti-	yi-		ni-	ti- -u	yi- -u
	F		ti- -i	ti-
Positive imperative [g]	M	—	∅ (Lengthening the present tense vowel, North) i- (Subjunctive without initial consonant, South)	—		—	-u (Stressed vowel u becomes i, North) i- -u (South)	—
	F		-i (Stressed vowel u becomes i, North) i- -i (South)
Active participle [h]	M	-ē- (North) or -ā- (South) after the first consonant				-īn (added to the masculine form)
	F	-e/i or -a (added to the masculine form)
Passive participle [i]	M	ma- and -ū- after the second consonant
	F	-a (added to the masculine form)

In the perfect tense, the first person singular and second person masculine singular are identical. For regular verbs, the third-person feminine singular is written identically but stressed differently. ^[64]

Depending on regions and accents, the -u can be pronounced -o and the -i can be pronounced -é. ^[65]

In Southern Levantine dialects, the vowel of the suffix in past tense 3rd person feminine as well as the prefix in the present tense 1st person singular is "a" instead of "i". It might be "u" in other persons of the present tense due to vowel harmony. ^[66]

Active participle

The active participle, also called present participle, is grammatically an adjective derived from a verb. Depending on the context, it can express the present or present continuous (with verbs of motion, location, or mental state), the near future, or the present perfect (past action with a present result). ^[67] It can also serve as a noun or an adjective. ^[68]

The active participle can be inflected from the verb based on its verb form. ^[68]

Active participle declension patterns for the ten verb forms ^{[a] [68]}

Form	Verb pattern	Active participle pattern	Example [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78]
			Verb	Active participle
Form I	C1vC2vC3	C1v̄C2vC3	‏ ‏مسك ‎ masak (to grab, to arrest)	‏ ماسك ‎ mɑ̄sik (is arresting, has arrested)
Form II	C1aC2C2aC3	mC1aC2C2eC3	‏ قدّم ‎ qaddam (to present, to offer)	‏ مقدّم ‎ mqaddem (has presented, a presenter)
Form III	C1v̄C2aC3	mC1v̄C2iC3	‏ ساعد ‎ sāʕad (to help)	‏ مساعد ‎ msāʕid (assistant, has helped)
Form IV	ʔaC1C2aC3	miC1C2iC3	‏ أقنع ‎ ʾaqnaʿ (to convince)	‏ مقنع ‎ miqniʿ (is convincing, has convinced)
Form V	tC1aC2C2aC3	mitC1aC2C2eC3	‏ تجنب ‎ tjannab (to avoid)	‏ متجنب ‎ mitjanneb (is avoiding)
Form VI	tC1v̄C2aC3	mitC1v̄C2aC3	‏ تجاهل ‎ tjāhal (to ignore)	‏ متجاهل ‎ mitjāhal (is ignoring)
Form VII	nC1aC2aC3 (North) inC1aC2aC3 (South)	minC1aC2eC3	‏ انبسط ‎ inbasaṭ (to be happy, to have fun)	‏ منبسط ‎ minbasiṭ (is happy)
Form VIII	C1tvC2vC3 (North) iC1tvC2vC3 (South)	minC1tvC2vC3	‏ اقترح ‎ iqtaraḥ (to suggest)	‏ مقترح ‎ miqtariḥ (has suggested)
Form IX	C1C2aC3C3 (North) iC1C2aC3C3 (South)	miC1C2aC3C3	‏ احمر ‎ iḥmarr (to blush, to turn red)	‏ محمر ‎ miḥmarr (is blushing, has turned red)
Form X	staC1C2aC3 (North) istaC1C2aC3 (South)	mistaC1C2iC3	‏ استعمل ‎ istaʕmal (to use)	‏ مستعمل ‎ imstaʕmil (user, has used)

Passive participle

The passive participle, also called past participle, ^[24] has a similar meaning as in English (i.e. sent, written, etc.). It is mostly used as an adjective but it can sometimes be used as a noun. It is inflected from the verb based on its verb form. ^[79] However, in practice, passive participles are largely limited to verb forms I (CvCvC) and II (CvCCvC), becoming maCCūC for the former and mCaCCaC for the latter. ^[3]

Passive participle declension patterns ^{[a] [79]}

Form	Verb pattern	Passive participle pattern	Example
			Verb	Passive participle
Form I	C1vC2vC3	maC1C2ūC3	‏ فتح ‎ fataḥ (to open)	‏ مفتوح ‎ maftūḥ (opened)
Form II	C1aC2C2aC3	mC1aC2C2aC3	‏ رتب ‎ rattab (to organize, to tidy up)	‏ مرتب ‎ mrattab (organized, neat)
Form III	C1v̄C2aC3	muC1v̄C2eC3	‏ فاجأ ‎ fājaʔ (to surprise)	‏ مفاجِئ‎ ‎ mufājaʔ (surprised)
Form IV	ʔaC1C2aC3	muC1C2eC3	‏ أعطى ‎ ʔaʕṭa (to give)	‏ معطى ‎ muʕṭa (given)
Form V	tC1aC2C2aC3	Very rarely used
Form VI	tC1v̄C2aC3	Very rarely used
Form VII	nC1aC2aC3 (North) inC1aC2aC3 (South)	Not used
Form VIII	C1tvC2vC3 (North) iC1tvC2vC3 (South)	muC1tvC2vC3	‏ اقترح ‎ iqtaraḥ (to suggest)	‏ مقترح ‎ muqtaraḥ (suggested)
Form IX	C1C2aC3C3 (North) iC1C2aC3C3 (South)	Not used
Form X	staC1C2aC3 (North) istaC1C2aC3 (South)	mustaC1C2eC3	‏ استعمل ‎ istaʕmal (to use)	‏ مستعمل ‎ mustaʕmel (used)

Future

There are various ways to express the future. One is by using the present tense (with b- prefix) on its own. Another one is by using ‏ بد ‎ (bidd-, lit. 'want'). ^[80]

The future tense is formed with the imperfect preceded by the particle ‏ رح ‎ (raḥ) or by the prefixed particle ‏ حـ ‎ (ḥa-). ^[81]

Expressing the future: examples

Way	Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
Present tense	بروح معك.	barūḥ maʕek.	I'll go with you.
bidd- (to want)	بدي أمرق لعنده بكرة.	biddi ʾamroʾ la-ʕindo bukra.	I'm going to go to his house tomorrow.
Future tense	رح شوفك بكرة.	raḥ šūfak bukra.	I'll see you tomorrow.
	حشوفك بكرة.	ḥa-šūfak bukra.

Present continuous

The present continuous is formed with the progressive particle ‏ عم ‎ (ʕam) followed by the imperfect, with or without the initial b/m depending on the speaker. ^{[82] [83]}

Examples of the present continuous

Without b-/m- prefix		With b-/m- prefix		English
Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)
شو عم تعمل؟	šū ʕam tiʕmel?	شو عم بتعمل؟	šū ʕam(ma) btiʕmel?	What are you doing?
عم أشرب قهوة.	ʕam ʾašrab ʾahwe.	عم بشرب قهوة.	ʕam bašrab ʾahwe.	I'm drinking coffee.

It is also common to use the b- prefix only in those forms starting with a vowel (e.g. 1st person singular). ^[84]

Mixed usage (b- prefix before vowels)

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
عم بعمل	ʕam baʕmel	I'm doing
عم تعمل	ʕam tiʕmel	you're doing / she's doing
عم بعمل / عم يعمل	ʕam biʕmel / ʕam yiʕmel	he's doing

Helping verbs

After helping verbs (may also be called modal verbs, pseudo-verbs, auxiliary verbs, or prepositional phrases) the imperfect form (also called subjunctive) ^[f] is used, that is, the form without the initial b/m. ^[83]

Common components followed by the subjunctive ^{[f] [83] [20] [56] [85]}

Levantine	English
‏ بد ‎bidd- / badd-	to want
‏ ممكن ‎mumkin, ‏ قدر ‎qider	to can
‏ قدر ‎qider / ‏ فيـ ‎fī- (North) / ḥəsen	to be able to
‏ لازم ‎lazim	to must, it is necessary to
‏ حب ‎ḥabb	to like
‏ بلكي ‎balki / ‏ بركي ‎berki	may
‏ ممنوع ‎mamnūʿ	it's forbidden to
‏ مفروض ‎mafrūḍ / ‏ المفروض ‎il-mafrūḍ	should
‏ صار ‎ṣār	to start to, to got used to doing
‏ بلش ‎ballaš	to begin to
‏ فضل ‎fiḍel / bəʾi	to end up
‏ ضل ‎ḍall / ‏ تم ‎tamm	to keep doing
‏ رجع ‎rijeʕ	to start doing again
‏ كان ‎kān	used to doing

Compound tenses

The verb ‏ كان ‎ (kān) can be followed by another verb, forming compound tenses. Both verbs are conjugated with their subject. ^[86]

Compound tenses with the example of the verb ʕimil (to do) ^{[86] [87] [80]}

	kān in the past tense		kān in the present tense
Followed by	Levantine	English	Levantine	English
Past tense	كان عملkān ʕimel	he had done	بكون عملbikūn ʕimel	he will have done
Active participle	كان عاملkān ʕāmel	he had done	بكون عاملbikūn ʕāmel	he will have done
Subjunctive	كان يعملkān yiʕmel	he used to do / he was doing	بكون يعملbikūn yiʕmel	he will be doing
Progressive	كان عم يعملkān ʕam yiʕmel	he was doing	بكون عم يعملbikūn ʕam yiʕmel	he will be doing
Future tense	كان رح يعملkān raḥ yiʕmel كان حيعملkān ḥa-yiʕmel	he was going to do	—
Present tense	كان بعملkān biʕmel	he would do

Passive voice

Form I verbs often correspond to an equivalent passive form VII verb, with the prefix n-. Form II and form III verbs usually correspond to an equivalent passive on forms V and VI, respectively, with the prefix t-. ^{[52] [88]}

Examples of passive forms

Active			Passive
Verb form	Levantine	English	Verb form	Levantine	English
I	‏ مسك ‎masak	to catch	VII	‏ انمسك ‎inmasak	to be caught
II	‏ غيّر ‎ḡayyar	to change	V	‏ تغيّر ‎tḡayyar	to be changed
III	‏ فاجأ ‎fājaʾ	to surprise	VI	‏ تفاجأ ‎tfājaʾ	to be surprised

While the verb forms V, VI and VII are common in the simple past and compound tenses, the passive participle (past participle) is preferred in the present tense. ^[89]

Examples of the passive voice ^[89]

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English	Verb form	Tense
الكتاب مكتوب.	le-ktāb maktūb	The book is written.	I	passive participle
الكتاب عم بنكتب.	le-ktāb ʕam binkateb	The book is being written.	VII	progressive
الكتاب انكتب.	le-ktāb inkatab	The book has been written. / The book was written.	VII	past tense
الكتاب كان مكتوب.	le-ktāb kān maktūb	The book was written.	I	kān + passive participle
الكتاب رح ينكتب.	le-ktāb raḥ yinkateb	The book will be written.	VII	future

To have

Levantine does not have a verb "to have". Instead, possession is expressed using the prepositions عند (ʕind, lit. 'at', meaning "to possess") and مع (maʕ, lit. 'with', meaning "to have on oneself"), followed by personal pronoun suffixes. The past indicator ken and the future indicator raH are used to express possession in the past or the future, respectively. ^{[90] [91]}

Inflected forms of عند (ʕind, "at", "to possess, to have")
Base form					‏ عند ‎ʕind
Personal-pronoun- including forms		singular		plural
		m	f
1st person		‏ عندي ‎ʕindi		‏ عنّا ‎ʕinna
2nd person		‏ عندك ‎ʕindak	‏ عندك ‎ʕindek	‏ عندكم ‎ʕindkom (South) / ‏ عندكن ‎ʕindkun (North)
3rd person		‏ عنده ‎ʕindo (South) / ‏ عندو ‎ʕindu (North)	‏ عندها ‎ʕindha (South) / ‏ عندا ‎ʕinda (North)	‏ عندهم ‎ʕindhom (South) / ‏ عندن ‎ʕindun (North)

Inflected forms of مع (maʕ, "with", "to have on oneself")
Base form					‏ مع ‎maʕ
Personal-pronoun- including forms		singular		plural
		m	f
1st person		‏ معي ‎maʕi		‏ معنا ‎maʕna
2nd person		‏ معك ‎maʕak	‏ معك ‎maʕek	‏ معكم ‎maʕkom (South) / ‏ معكن ‎maʕkun (North)
3rd person		‏ معه ‎maʕo (South) / ‏ معو ‎maʕu (North)	‏ معها ‎maʕha (South) / ‏ معا ‎maʕa (North)	‏ معهم ‎maʕhom (South) / ‏ معن ‎maʕun (North)

To want

Enclitic personal pronouns are suffixed directly to the pseudo-verb بدّ (North: badd- / South: bidd-) to express "to want". ^[39]

Examples of bidd-

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
بدها تشرب قهوة.	bidha tišrab ʾahwe.	She wants to drink coffee.
ما بدي ياه.	mā biddi yyā.	I don't want it.

Adverbs

Levant does not distinguish between adverbs and adjectives in adverbial function. Almost any adjective can be used as an adverb: ‏ منيح ‎ (mnīḥ, ‘good’) vs. نمتي منيح؟ (nimti mnīḥ, ‘Did you sleep well?’) Adverbs from MSA, showing the suffix -an, are often used, e.g. ‏ أبدا ‎ (ʾabadan, ‘at all’). ^[3] Adverbs often appear after the verb or the adjective. ‏ كتير ‎ (ktīr, ‘very’) can be positioned after or before the adjective. ^[3]

Adverbs of manner can usually be formed using bi- followed by the nominal form: ‏ بسرعة ‎ (b-sirʿa, ‘fast, quickly’, lit. 'with speed'). ^[57]

Common adverbs ^{[58] [57] [20]}

Levantine	English
‏ إيمتى ‎ʾēmta	when (interrogative)
‏ اليوم ‎il-yōm	today
‏ بكرة ‎bukra	tomorrow
‏ بعد بكرة ‎baʕd bukra	the day after tomorrow
‏ مبارح ‎mbāreḥ	yesterday
‏ أول مبارح ‎ʾawwal mbāriḥ / ‏ قبل مبارح ‎ʾabl mbāreḥ	the day before yesterday
‏ هلا ‎halla(ʾ) (common Levantine) / ‏ هسا ‎hassa (Amman) / ‏ هلقيت ‎halʾēt (Jerusalem)	now
‏ بكير ‎bakkīr	early
‏ بعدين ‎baʕdēn	afterwards
‏ على بكرة ‎ʕala bukra	early in the morning
‏ وقتها ‎waʾt-ha	at that time
‏ الصبح ‎iṣ-ṣubḥ	in the morning or this morning
‏ دايما ‎dāyman / ‏ على طول ‎ʕala ṭūl (Damascus)	always
‏ لسا ‎lissa / ‏ بعد ‎baʕd (Beirut)	still / not yet
‏ هون ‎hōn	here
‏ هناك ‎hunāk (Amman) / ‏ هونيك ‎honīk (Beirut) / ‏ هنيك ‎hnīk (Damascus)	there
‏ هيك ‎hēk	like this
‏ على مهل ‎ʕala mahl / ‏ شوي شوي ‎šway šway / ‏ بهدوء ‎bi-hudūʾ	slowly
‏ كتير ‎ktīr	very
‏ عالآخر ‎ʕa-lʾāxir	totally
‏ قوام ‎ʾawām	quickly
‏ حاجة ‎ḥāje	enough!
‏ بس ‎bass	only
‏ كمان ‎kamān(e)	also
‏ دغري ‎duḡri	straight on
‏ لألله ‎laʾalla	lit. 'to God', used as an intensifier
‏ عادي ‎ʕādi	lit. 'ordinary' or 'it makes no difference'
‏ عشان هيك ‎ʕašān hēk	therefore
‏ مبلا ‎mbala	it is so
‏ أكيد ‎ʾakīd	assuredly
‏ يمكن ‎yimken / ‏ بركي ‎barki	maybe

Negation

‏ لا ‎lā and ‏ لأ ‎laʔ mean “no.” ^[92]

Verbs and prepositional phrases can be negated by the particle ‏ ما ‎mā / ma either on its own or, in South Levantine, together with the suffix ‏ ـش ‎-iš at the end of the verb or prepositional phrase. In Palestinian, it is also common to negate verbs by the suffix ‏ ـش ‎-iš only. ^[92]

Examples of negation with mā and -š

Without -š		With -š		English
Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)
ما كتب.	mā katab.	ما كتبش.	ma katab-š.	He didn't write.
ما بحكي إنكليزي.	mā baḥki ʾinglīzi.	ما بحكيش إنكليزي.	ma baḥkī-š ʾinglīzi.	I don't speak English.
ما تنسى!	mā tinsa!	ما تنساش!	ma tinsā-š!	Don't forget!
ما بده ييجي عالحفلة.	mā biddo yīji ʕa-l-ḥafle.	—		He doesn't want to come to the party.

‏ مش ‎miš or in Syrian Arabic ‏ مو ‎mū negates adjectives (including active participles), demonstratives, and nominal phrases. ^{[93] [92]}

Examples of negation with miš

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
أنا مش فلسطيني.	ʾana miš falasṭīni.	I'm not Palestinian.
مش عارفة.	miš ʕārfe.	I (fem.) don't know.
هادا مش منيح.	hāda miš mnīḥ.	That's not good.

The particles ‏ عم ‎ (ʕam) and ‏ رح ‎ (raḥ) can be negated with either ‏ ما ‎mā or ‏ مش ‎miš.

Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
ما رح أروح.	mā raḥ ʾarūḥ.	I won't go.
مش رح أروح.	miš raḥ ʾarūḥ.

Negative copula

North Levantine has a negative copula formed by ‏ ما ‎mā / ma and a suffixed pronoun. ^[92]

Negative copula in Levantine [92]
		Singular	Plural
1st person (m/f)		‏ ماني ‎māni	‏ مانا ‎māna
2nd person	m	‏ مانَك ‎mānak	‏ مانكُن ‎mānkon
	f	‏ مانِك ‎mānek
3rd person	m	‏ مانو ‎māno	‏ مانلُن ‎mānon
	f	‏ مانا ‎māna

Subordination

Relative clauses are formed with the particle yalli/illi/halli (the one who) when definite things are being described. It can be used either for people (who) or objects (that, which). ^{[94] [95] [96]}

If the noun to which the relative pronoun refers is indefinite and non specific, the relative clause is linked without any coordinating conjunction and is indistinguishable from an independent sentence. ^{[97] [95] [96]}

Examples of relative clauses ^{[96] [58]}

English	Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	Note
I saw the boy who was playing football.	شفت الولد اللي كان يلعب فطبول	šuft il-walad illi kān yilʕab faṭbōl.	Definite subject: use of illi
I saw a girl playing football.	شفت بنت كانت تلعب فطبول	šuft bint kānat tilʕab faṭbōl.	Indefinite subject: sentences connected without a pronoun

In formal speech, sentence complements can be introduced with the particle ʔǝnn ("that"), to which some speakers attach a personal pronoun (o or i). ^[97]

For circumstantial clauses, the conjunction w- introduces subordinate clauses with the sense "while, when, with". ^[98]

Temporal adverbs such as baʕd (after) may be used with the "ma" to form a subordinate clause: baʕd ma tnaːm ("after she goes to sleep"). ^[97]

Conjunctions

Common conjunctions ^{[20] [57] [58]}

Levantine	English
‏ و ‎w ~ u	and (also with temporal meaning "then, during...")
‏ أو ‎ʾaw	or
‏ يا ... يا ‎ya ... ya	either ... or
‏ بس ‎bass	but
‏ لإنه ‎laʾinno / ‏ حاكم ‎ḥākem / ‏ لأن ‎laʾann(o) (Beirut)	because
‏ لما ‎lamma / ‏ بس ‎bass	as soon as
‏ وقت ‎waʾt / ‏ وقت اللي ‎waʾt illi	when
‏ ما ... إلا ‎ma ... ʾilla	just as soon as, hardly
‏ طالما ‎ṭāla ma	as long as
‏ تـ ‎ta	so that, until
‏ عشان ‎ʕašān	so that
‏ كل ما ‎kull/kill ma	every time that
‏ على بين ما ‎(ʕa)la bēn ma	until
‏ أحسن ما ‎ʾaḥsan ma	rather than
‏ لـ ‎la / ‏ حتى ‎ḥatta / ‏ لحتى ‎la ḥatta / ‏ منشان ‎minšān	in order to
‏ لـ ‎la	lest
‏ إذا ‎ʾiza / ‏ لو ‎law / ‏ إن ‎ʾin / ‏ إذاً ‎ʾizan (Amman)	if

Notes

1. C represents a consonant, v represent a short vowel, v̄ represents a long vowel. Short vowel variations include e ~ i ~ ǝ and a ~ ǝ. ^[53]
2. The accent moves to the last vowel.
3. Also called perfect.
4. Also called bi-imperfect, b-imperfect, or standard imperfect.
5. The mn- form is the most common one. However, the bn- form is used in some parts of Palestine such as Jerusalem.
6. Also called Ø-imperfect, imperfect, or subjunctive.
7. Also called imperative or command.
8. Also called present participle. Not all active participles are used and their meaning may vary.
9. Also called past participle, mostly used as an adjective. Not all passive participles are used and their meaning may vary.

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Sources

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• Elihai, Yohanan (2011b). Speaking Arabic: a course in conversational Eastern (Palestinian) Arabic. Book 2. Jerusalem: Minerva. ISBN   978-965-7397-17-6. OCLC   1073572583.
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• Liddicoat, Mary-Jane; Lennane, Richard; Abdul Rahim, Iman (June 2018). Syrian Colloquial Arabic: A Functional Course (Rev. 3rd ed. (online) ed.). M. Liddicoat. ISBN   978-0-646-49382-4. OCLC   732638712.
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• Tiedemann, Fridrik E. (26 March 2020). The Most Used Verbs in Spoken Arabic: Jordan & Palestine (4th ed.). Amman: Great Arabic Publishing. ISBN   978-1734460407.

External links

• "WALS Online - Language Arabic (Syrian)". World Atlas of Language Structures . Retrieved 2021-07-17.