A simple Arabic nominal sentence can describe a state now: “The book is new.” Add kana to place that state in the past: “The book was new.” Learn the noun and predicate endings, then use kanat, kuntu and kunna for familiar people.
01Place a state in the past
Kana relates a noun to its description in the past. In this singular model it translates as was.
الْكِتَابُ جَدِيدٌ
alkitabu jadidun
The book is new.
كَانَ الْكِتَابُ جَدِيدًا
kana alkitabu jadidan
The book was new.
The book remains the topic of the description. Kana changes the time and makes the single adjectival predicate accusative. It does not make the sentence negative.
02Keep the noun nominative
The noun linked to kana is its ism, or noun. The past description is its khabar, or predicate.
كَانَ حَامِدٌ مَرِيضًا
kana hamidun maridan
Hamid was ill.
Hamidun is nominative; maridan is the accusative predicate. Ill is a state describing Hamid, rather than a direct object he acted on. This noun-and-predicate construction is why kana is called an incomplete copular verb.
03Use kanat with a female person
Kanat is the feminine singular past form. Match the adjective to the female person as well.
كَانَتْ زَيْنَبُ مُتْعَبَةً
kanat zaynabu mutabatan
Zaynab was tired.
Zaynabu remains nominative. Mutabatan is a feminine accusative predicate. The statement places Zaynab’s tiredness in the past; the ending t on kanat identifies the feminine singular agreement.
04Describe a past location
A location phrase can replace the single adjective as the predicate.
كَانَ حَامِدٌ فِي الْبَيْتِ
kana hamidun fi albaiti
Hamid was at home.
Fi albaiti supplies the past location. Albaiti remains genitive after fi, even though the whole phrase occupies the predicate role. Keep the phrase’s internal preposition rule; do not change albaiti into an accusative noun.
05Say I was and we were
Kana has special forms with attached subject endings. Use kuntu for I was and kunna for we were.
كُنْتُ مُتْعَبًا
kuntu mutaban
I was tired. — a male speaker
كُنَّا فِي الْبَيْتِ
kunna fi albaiti
We were at home.
Kuntu works for either speaker gender: a woman says kuntu mutabatan. Kunna works for any group including the speaker. Its nun has a shaddah, so read a doubled n. These complete forms replace kana; do not add tu or na directly to its long-vowel stem.
What to remember
- Kana and kanat describe a past state or location with a male or female singular noun.
- The noun is nominative; a single adjectival predicate is accusative, while prepositional phrases keep their internal cases.
- Kuntu means I was and kunna means we were; learn their complete forms.
Your reference shelf
Open a guide whenever you need it.
Selected forms of was and wereMatch the person before adding a state or location
| Person | Arabic | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| He / masculine it | كَانَ | kana |
| She / feminine it | كَانَتْ | kanat |
| I, either gender | كُنْتُ | kuntu |
| You, one male | كُنْتَ | kunta |
| You, one female | كُنْتِ | kunti |
| We, any group | كُنَّا | kunna |
The attached I, you and we endings identify kana’s noun as a pronoun. A separate ana or nahnu is optional when the person is clear. The predicate still supplies the state or location needed by this copular construction.
Incomplete here concerns kana’s noun-and-predicate use. It is not a rule that weak-root verbs lack subjects. Kana also has present and command forms, unlike fixed laysa; this guide keeps the teaching and quizzes on past states and locations. Our plain reading aids simplify vowel length and some sounds while keeping the formal case endings shown here.
Sources & further learning
References for the language explanations and learning guidance.
