Lebanese علّمʿallam has two central lexical areas: “teach/train” and “mark, flag, put a sign on.” In the teaching frame, the teacher is subject and the learner is normally a direct object. In the marking frame, the marked item may be direct, or على may introduce the place where a mark is made.
Form II doubling is visible in the long ll, but the pattern is not a complete definition. علّم is an established verb with specific participant frames; it is not any action made “stronger.” Compare learner-subject تعلّم “learn” and study verb درس “study.”
Perfect paradigm
The perfect keeps the doubled middle consonant. The stable ʿallam- stem takes regular person endings, with short linking vowels where needed.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | علمت | ʿallamet |
| إنت | علمت | ʿallamet |
| إنتي | علمتي | ʿallamte |
| هو | علم | ʿallam |
| هي | علمت | ʿallamit |
| نحنا | علمنا | ʿallamna |
| إنتو | علمتوا | ʿallamto |
| هني | علموا | ʿallamo |
علمتني جارتي اعمل مونة قبل ما تهاجر.
ʿallamitne zhērte aʿmel mūne ʾabel ma thēzhir.
My neighbor taught me to preserve food before she emigrated. (informal; learner clitic plus bare action)
علموا الموظفين النظام الجديد خلال أسبوعين.
ʿallamo l-mwaẓẓafīn en-niẓām el-zhdīd khilēl osbūʿēn.
They taught the employees the new system over two weeks. (professional; learner then content)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect principal part is بيعلّمbyʿallem. The final stem vowel shifts from perfect -am to imperfect -em, while ll remains long.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بعلم bʿallem | علم ʿallem |
| إنت | بتعلم btʿallem | تعلم tʿallem |
| إنتي | بتعلمي btʿallme | تعلمي tʿallme |
| هو | بيعلم byʿallem | يعلم yʿallem |
| هي | بتعلم btʿallem | تعلم tʿallem |
| نحنا | منعلم mnʿallem | نعلم nʿallem |
| إنتو | بتعلموا btʿallmo | تعلموا tʿallmo |
| هني | بيعلموا byʿallmo | يعلموا yʿallmo |
بعلم صف مبتدئ مرتين بالأسبوع بالمركز.
bʿallem ṣaff mobtadeʾ marrtēn bil-osbūʿ bil-markaz.
I teach a beginner class twice a week at the center. (neutral occupation; 1sg b-imperfect)
رح يعلموكن كيف تستعملوا المعدات بأمان.
raḥ yʿallmūkon kīf tistaʿmlo l-moʿiddāt b-amēn.
They'll teach you all how to use the equipment safely. (professional training; bare 3pl plus learner clitic)
The Beirut progressive is عم + b-imperfect: عم بيعلّمها “he is teaching her.” Form V بيتعلّم “he learns” has an additional t after the person prefix; hear byʿallem versus byitʿallam.
Imperative
The command is علّم to one man, علّمي to one woman, and علّموا to a group. It can direct a teacher or trainer; in marking contexts it can mean “mark/check.” Negative commands use ما + bare imperfect.
| Addressee | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| one man | علم ʿallem | ما تعلم ma tʿallem |
| one woman | علمي ʿallme | ما تعلمي ma tʿallme |
| a group | علموا ʿallmo | ما تعلموا ma tʿallmo |
علميها الخطوات وحدة وحدة وما تعلميها كلهن سوا.
ʿallmīha l-khoṭwāt waḥde waḥde w-ma tʿallmīha killon sawa.
Teach her the steps one by one; don't teach them all to her at once. (informal instruction to one woman; learner clitic)
Learner, content, and teach-to-do complements
The basic frame is علّم حدا شغلة: teacher subject, learner object, content after it. When the content is an action, the learner object is followed by a bare imperfect agreeing with that learner: علّمته يقرأ، علّمتها تسوق، علّمتن يستعملوا البرنامج.
علم ابنه يصلح دراجته بدل ما يرميها.
ʿallam ibno yṣalleḥ darrēzhto badal ma yirmīha.
He taught his son to repair his bicycle instead of throwing it away. (informal; learner noun plus agreeing bare verb)
المدربة علمتنا نتنفس ببطء وقت التوتر.
el-modarrbe ʿallamitna nitnaffas b-boṭoʾ waʾt et-tawattor.
The coach taught us to breathe slowly when stressed. (neutral; 1pl learner clitic and 1pl bare complement)
English infinitival to has no separate equivalent here. The person marking on the lower Lebanese verb shows who performs the learned action.
Clitic ordering with two objects
The learner clitic attaches directly to علّم: علّمني، علّمك، علّمه، علّمها، علّمنا، علّمكن، علّمهن. A full content noun follows. If both learner and content are pronouns, the learner normally remains attached and the content appears as independent يا: علّمته ياها “I taught it to him.”
هالقاعدة شرحتها أول، وبعدين علمتن ياها بمثال عملي.
hal-ʾāʿde sharaḥta awwal, w-baʿdēn ʿallamton yēha b-mithēl ʿamale.
I explained this rule first, then taught it to them with a practical example. (professional; learner clitic plus independent feminine content)
When content is the attached object instead, a learner can be introduced with لـ: هالطريقة علّمتها للطلاب. This packaging makes the content topical. Do not stack two ordinary object suffixes; see Two Objects and Independent يا.
Marking and flagging
In another everyday sense, علّم means mark, check, highlight, or put a sign. A direct object is the item marked; على identifies a choice, place, or line where the mark goes. The instrument or color often takes بـ.
علم عالأجوبة يلي مش متأكد منها بقلم رصاص.
ʿallem ʿal-azhwebe yalle mish mtaʾakkad minha b-ʾalam rṣāṣ.
Mark the answers you're unsure about in pencil. (neutral; marking location with على and instrument with بـ)
علمت الفقرات المهمة بالأصفر لراجعها بكرا.
ʿallamet el-faʾarāt el-mhimme bil-aṣfar la-rēzheʿa bokra.
I highlighted the important paragraphs in yellow so I can review them tomorrow. (neutral; direct marked items)
This sense is not the formal verb “inform.” Administrative أعلمaʿlam means “inform” (formal/administrative), while everyday conversation generally prefers خبّر.
Active participle and lexical noun معلّم
Active participle معلّمmʿallem is strongly lexicalized as “teacher” or “master craftsperson”; feminine معلّمة, human plural معلّمين. It can also describe an active teacher in context, but current teaching is normally clearer with عم بيعلّم.
هو معلم نجارة معروف وبيعلم شباب بالورشة.
huwwe mʿallem nizhēra maʿrūf w-byʿallem shabēb bil-warshe.
He's a well-known master carpenter and teaches young people in the workshop. (informal; lexical participial noun and finite verb)
Unvocalized معلّم can also represent a result “marked” in suitable contexts, but ordinary phrasing often adds the relevant preposition or color: معلّم عليه بالأحمر. Context and pointing distinguish this from the person noun.
Common Mistakes
Reversing teacher and learner
❌ أنا تعلمته السواقة.
Incorrect for ‘I taught him to drive’ — تعلّم makes its subject the learner.
✅ أنا علمته السواقة على سيارة زغيرة.
ana ʿallamto s-sawāʾa ʿala sayyāra zghīre.
I taught him to drive in a small car.
Adding لـ before the ordinary learner
❌ علمت للولد يكتب اسمه.
Incorrect neutral frame — the learner is normally a direct object.
✅ علمت الولد يكتب اسمه بخط واضح.
ʿallamet el-walad yiktob ismo b-khaṭṭ wāḍeḥ.
I taught the child to write his name clearly.
Dropping the learner before a lower verb
❌ علمت يسوق بالزحمة.
Incomplete for the intended meaning — identify the learner directly or through context.
✅ علمتها تسوق بالزحمة من دون ما تتوتر.
ʿallamta tsūʾ biz-zaḥme min dūn ma titwattar.
I taught her to drive in traffic without getting nervous.
Translating English mark down literally
❌ علم السعر لتحت بالمحل.
Incorrect phrasal calque for reducing a price — use نزّل السعر.
✅ نزل السعر عشرة بالمية بآخر الموسم.
nazzal es-siʿer ʿashara bil-miyye b-ākhir el-mawsem.
He marked the price down ten percent at the end of the season.
Key Takeaways
Learn علّم–بيعلّم–علّم with a long middle ll. In teaching, the learner is normally the direct object and may be followed by content or an agreeing bare action. With two pronominal objects, keep one as a suffix and use يا or لـ for the other. In marking, use a direct item or على for the marked choice/place. معلّم is strongly lexicalized as “teacher/master,” not a generic progressive tense.
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