فات is a compact but versatile Lebanese motion verb: “enter/go in,” “pass,” and, with an experiencer clitic, “miss.” The broad headword romanization is fāt; the course’s urban Beirut pronunciation raises that long vowel to fēt. Its principal parts are therefore فات fēt, فت fitt, بيفوت byfūt, and فوت fūt!.
These stem changes mark a hollow verb. The long perfect stem appears in unsuffixed 3rd-person forms, the short stem before several person suffixes, and ū in the nonpast and command. The architecture is explained under hollow verbs; this page focuses on the lexical frames of فات.
Perfect paradigm
Do not add endings directly to the long form فات. Before consonant-initial suffixes, the middle vowel disappears and the final t meets another t, producing a compact doubled sound in فت fitt “I/you entered.”
| Person | Arabic | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | فِتّ | fitt | I entered / passed |
| إنت | فِتّ | fitt | you (m.) entered |
| إنتي | فِتِّي | fitte | you (f.) entered |
| هو | فَات | fēt | he entered |
| هي | فَاتِت | fētit | she entered |
| نحنا | فِتْنَا | fitna | we entered |
| إنتو | فِتُّوا | fitto | you (pl.) entered |
| هني | فَاتُوا | fēto | they entered |
فتنا عالمحل قبل ما يبلش المطر
fitna ʿal-maḥall ʾabil ma yballish il-maṭar
We went into the shop before it started raining.
فاتت من الباب الجانبي وما حدا شافها
fētit min il-bēb il-zhēnibe w-ma ḥada shāfa
She came in through the side door and nobody saw her.
The entry goal normally takes عـ: فات عالمكتب “he entered the office.” A route or opening takes من: فات من الباب “he went through the door.” Lebanese does not normally copy transitive English enter the office as a bare direct object.
B-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect and command share the long ū stem. Person comes from the prefix and, where relevant, the feminine or plural ending.
| Person | B-imperfect | Bare imperfect | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | بْفُوت bfūt | فُوت fūt | I enter / that I enter |
| إنت | بْتْفُوت btfūt | تْفُوت tfūt | you (m.) enter |
| إنتي | بْتْفُوتِي btfūte | تْفُوتِي tfūte | you (f.) enter |
| هو | بِيْفُوت byfūt | يْفُوت yfūt | he enters |
| هي | بْتْفُوت btfūt | تْفُوت tfūt | she enters |
| نحنا | مْنْفُوت mnfūt | نْفُوت nfūt | we enter |
| إنتو | بْتْفُوتُوا btfūto | تْفُوتُوا tfūto | you (pl.) enter |
| هني | بِيْفُوتُوا byfūto | يْفُوتُوا yfūto | they enter |
الزباين بيفوتوا من المدخل التاني
iz-zabēyin byfūto min il-madkhal it-tēne
Customers enter through the other entrance.
ما فينا نفوت عالقاعة قبل ما يفتحوا الباب
ma fīna nfūt ʿal-ʾāʿa ʾabil ma yiftaḥo l-bēb
We can’t go into the hall before they open the door.
The second sentence uses bare نفوت after فينا. A habitual independent clause needs b-, while رح, ability, necessity, and similar environments select the bare series.
Imperative and active participle
The commands are فوت fūt (masculine), فوتي fūte (feminine), and فوتوا fūto (plural). They are ordinary (informal) invitations or instructions; tone determines whether “come in” sounds welcoming or abrupt.
| Addressee | Arabic | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | فُوت | fūt |
| feminine singular | فُوتِي | fūte |
| plural | فُوتُوا | fūto |
فوتوا لجوا وخدوا راحتكن
fūto la-zhowwa w-khodo rāḥitkon
Come inside and make yourselves comfortable.
The active participle is فايت fēyet, feminine فايتة fēyte, plural فايتين fēytīn. It can present someone as going into or being committed to an imminent entry, especially with events or meetings. The finite progressive remains available when the unfolding action itself is foregrounded.
أنا فايت عالاجتماع، برجع بحكي معك بعد ساعة
ana fēyet ʿal-izhtimēʿ, barzhaʿ baḥke maʿak baʿd sēʿa
I’m going into a meeting; I’ll talk to you again in an hour.
Time and places that pass
With time as subject, فات means “pass / be over”: فات الوقت, فات أسبوع, فات الموعد. The verb reports that the relevant interval has moved beyond the present point.
فات الوقت وما عاد فينا نغير الحجز
fēt il-waʾit w-ma ʿād fīna nghayyir il-ḥazhiz
The time has passed, and we can’t change the reservation anymore.
For spatial passage, فات من هون means “he went through here,” and فات حد البيت means “he passed by the house.” مرق is also very common for “pass by” and can be more natural when no entry boundary is involved. Do not force فات into every English use of pass.
فات حدنا مبارح بس ما وقف يسلم
fēt ḥaddna mbēreḥ bass ma wiʾif ysallim
He passed by our place yesterday but didn’t stop to say hello.
Missing a bus, chance, or deadline
When something passes beyond a person, attach that person to the verb: فاتني fētne “I missed it,” فاتك fētak, فاته fēto, فاتها fēta, فاتنا fētna, فاتكن fētkon, فاتهن fēton. In this frame, the missed item is the grammatical subject. Beirut speakers also use transitive Form II فوّتت الباص fawwatet il-bāṣ “I missed the bus”; there the experiencer is the subject and the bus is the object.
فاتني الباص لأنو طلعت من البيت متأخر
fētne l-bāṣ laʾanno ṭliʿt min il-bēt mitʾakhkhir
I missed the bus because I left home late.
ما بدي تفوتك هالفرصة، قدم اليوم
ma badde tfūtak hal-forṣa, ʾaddim il-yōm
I don’t want you to miss this opportunity; apply today.
This construction resembles an affected-person clitic more than an English direct object. With feminine الفرصة, the verb agrees as فاتتك الفرصة in the perfect; the attached ـك still identifies the person affected.
Form II causative contrast
Doubled فوّت fawwat / byfawwet means “let/bring in, put through,” and transitively “miss or let pass.” It takes a direct object: فوّت الضيوف “let the guests in,” but فوّت الباص “missed the bus.” That is a separate lexical card, even though it shares the root.
فوت الضيوف عالصالون لحتى تجهز القهوة
fawwat iḍ-ḍyūf ʿaṣ-ṣālōn la-ḥatta tizhhaz il-ʾahwe
He let the guests into the living room while the coffee was being prepared.
Common Mistakes
❌ أنا فاتت عالقاعة
Incorrect — the 1st-person hollow perfect uses the short form فت.
✅ أنا فت عالقاعة قبل المحاضرة
ana fitt ʿal-ʾāʿa ʾabil il-muḥāḍara
I entered the hall before the lecture.
❌ فات الغرفة بلا ما يدق
Incorrect in the ordinary Lebanese entry frame — the destination needs عـ.
✅ فات عالغرفة بلا ما يدق
fēt ʿal-ghorfe bla ma ydoʾʾ
He entered the room without knocking.
❌ أنا فت الباص اليوم
Incorrect reading — Form I فت is intransitive. Say الباص فاتني, or use doubled Form II as أنا فوّتت الباص.
✅ الباص فاتني اليوم
il-bāṣ fētne l-yōm
I missed the bus today.
❌ رح بيفوتوا من الباب الخلفي
Incorrect — رح selects bare يفوتوا, without b-.
✅ رح يفوتوا من الباب الخلفي
raḥ yfūto min il-bēb il-khalfe
They’ll enter through the back door.
Key Takeaways
- Urban Beirut alternates fēt – fitt – byfūt – fūt across the hollow paradigm.
- Entry goals take عـ; routes take من; bare direct objects are not the ordinary entry frame.
- Time can pass as subject, and a missed item takes the person it passed as a clitic.
- Form II فوّت adds a causer and direct object; it is not interchangeable with intransitive فات.
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