Lebanese قعد “sit; stay” is a strong Form I verb pronounced with urban ʾ for written qāf. The course title uses the citation ʾiʿid; connected Beirut speech also commonly has an a-colored perfect heard as ʾaʿad. This page keeps the practical Beirut paradigm ʾaʿad–byiʾʿod–oʾʿod and labels the citation variation rather than pretending spelling fixes one vowel.
The verb can profile sitting down, occupying a seated position, or remaining somewhere for a duration. English stay is broader: for continuing in a state, Lebanese often uses ضلّ, while قعد strongly suggests location, posture, or remaining to do an activity.
Perfect paradigm
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | قعدت | ʾaʿadt |
| إنت | قعدت | ʾaʿadt |
| إنتي | قعدتي | ʾaʿadte |
| هو | قعد | ʾaʿad |
| هي | قعدت | ʾaʿdit |
| نحنا | قعدنا | ʾaʿadna |
| إنتو | قعدتوا | ʾaʿadto |
| هني | قعدوا | ʾaʿado |
قعدت حد الشباك لأن الهوا كان أطيب.
ʾaʿadt ḥadd esh-shobbēk laʾann el-hawa kēn aṭyab.
I sat by the window because the air was nicer. (informal; first-person perfect)
قعدت مايا معنا للآخر وما استعجلت.
ʾaʿdit Māya maʿna lil-ēkher w-ma staʿzhalit.
Maya stayed with us until the end and didn't rush off. (informal; feminine perfect and duration endpoint)
قعدوا ساعتين بالقهوة يحكوا عن السفر.
ʾaʿado sēʿtēn bil-ʾahwe yiḥko ʿan es-safar.
They spent two hours at the café talking about travel. (informal; duration plus activity)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بقعد baʾʿod | اقعد oʾʿod |
| إنت | بتقعد btiʾʿod | تقعد tiʾʿod |
| إنتي | بتقعدي btiʾʿode | تقعدي tiʾʿode |
| هو | بيقعد byiʾʿod | يقعد yiʾʿod |
| هي | بتقعد btiʾʿod | تقعد tiʾʿod |
| نحنا | منقعد mniʾʿod | نقعد niʾʿod |
| إنتو | بتقعدوا btiʾʿdo | تقعدوا tiʾʿdo |
| هني | بيقعدوا byiʾʿdo | يقعدوا yiʾʿdo |
بالصيف منقعد عالبلكون بعد العشا.
biṣ-ṣēf mniʾʿod ʿal-balkōn baʿd el-ʿasha.
In summer we sit on the balcony after dinner. (informal; habitual plural)
وين رح تقعدوا بالحفلة؟
wēn raḥ tiʾʿdo bil-ḥafle?
Where will you all sit at the party? (informal; bare plural after رح)
ما فينا نقعد هون كتير لأن المحل رح يسكر.
ma fīna niʾʿod hōn ktīr laʾann el-maḥall raḥ ysakker.
We can't stay here long because the place is going to close. (informal; location and duration)
Posture, duration, and activity chains
Use على for the surface or seat, بـ for the place, and حد for “beside”: قعد عالكرسي، قعد بالبيت، قعد حدي. A measure phrase follows directly: قعد ساعة “stayed/sat for an hour.”
قعد عالكرسي الواطي ووجعه ضهره.
ʾaʿad ʿal-kirse l-wāṭe w-wazhzhʿo ḍahro.
He sat on the low chair, and his back started hurting. (informal; surface with على)
قعد + bare verb can mean “sit/stay and do” over some stretch of time: قعد يراجع “sat/stayed reviewing.” It packages sustained engagement, not simply the English progressive.
قعد يراجع كل رقم لحاله لحتى لقي الغلط.
ʾaʿad yrēzhiʿ kill raʾem la-ḥālo la-ḥatta lʾe l-ghalaṭ.
He sat checking every number separately until he found the error. (neutral; sustained activity chain)
In some neighboring southern Levantine systems, perfect قعد + lower verb can also develop an inception-like reading, roughly “started or began doing.” Treat that as regional recognition rather than a productive Beirut template.
Some Palestinian varieties—especially rural ones—and some Jordanian systems use قاعد + b-imperfect more productively as a progressive construction (regional: Palestine/Jordan). Beirut production normally uses عم + b-imperfect; recognize the regional structure without inserting it into every Lebanese sentence. The serial-like verb chains page compares this construction with other first verbs that frame a following action.
Imperative, participle, and causative objects
The commands are اقعدoʾʿod, اقعديoʾʿode, اقعدواoʾʿdo. They are natural invitations when tone and context are warm.
تعي اقعدي حدنا واشربي قهوة.
taʿe oʾʿode ḥaddna w-ishrabe ʾahwe.
Come sit with us and have a coffee. (warm informal invitation to one woman)
The participle is قاعدʾēʿed, feminine قاعدةʾēʿde, plural قاعدينʾēʿdīn. It describes current seated posture or presence and takes مش in negation.
الولاد قاعدين برا وعم يلعبوا ورق.
el-wlād ʾēʿdīn barra w-ʿam yilʿabo waraʾ.
The kids are sitting outside playing cards. (informal; plural posture plus Beirut progressive)
Basic قعد is intransitive, so it does not take an ordinary direct-object clitic. Causative Form II قعّد “seat/make stay” does: قعّدني، قعّده، قعّدها. In ordinary invitations, however, use intransitive اقعد rather than a needless causative.
الموظف قعدنا بالمكتب الصغير لنستنى دورنا.
el-mwaẓẓaf ʾaʿʿadna bil-maktab eṣ-zghīr la-nistanna dawrena.
The employee seated us in the small office to wait our turn. (neutral; causative object clitic)
Common Mistakes
❌ هو بيقعد هون.
huwwe byiqʿod hōn
Incorrect for the Beirut baseline — written ق is pronounced ʾ here.
✅ هو بيقعد هون كل يوم بعد الشغل.
huwwe byiʾʿod hōn kill yōm baʿd esh-shoghl.
He sits here every day after work. (informal)
❌ قعدته حدنا يعني هو اختار يقعد.
Incorrect analysis — قعّدته is causative: I seated or made him stay.
✅ هو قعد حدنا من حاله.
huwwe ʾaʿad ḥaddna min ḥālo.
He sat beside us on his own. (informal; intransitive)
❌ رح بيقعدوا برا.
Incorrect — رح selects bare يقعدوا.
✅ رح يقعدوا برا إذا الطقس منيح.
raḥ yiʾʿdo barra iza ṭ-ṭaʾs mnīḥ.
They'll sit outside if the weather is good. (informal)
❌ قام عالكرسي ساعتين.
Incorrect for a maintained seated posture — قام means got up/rose.
✅ قعد عالكرسي ساعتين وبعدين قام.
ʾaʿad ʿal-kirse sēʿtēn w-baʿdēn ʾām.
He sat on the chair for two hours and then got up. (informal)
Key Takeaways
Use قعد for sitting, being seated, and staying in a place for a duration. Learn ʾaʿad–byiʾʿod–oʾʿod–ʾēʿed, with urban ʾ for qāf. Basic Form I is intransitive; قعّد adds a causer and licenses object clitics. Recognize regional قاعد + b- progressives, but retain Beirut عم + b- for production.
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