قدر ʾidir: be able | Arabic (Levantine) Grammar

Lebanese قدر / بيقدرʾidir / byiʾdar means “be able, manage.” It is a finite verb: the able person is its grammatical subject, and a following action appears as an agreeing bare imperfect. The perfect commonly presents success or failure in one bounded attempt; the b-imperfect presents current or general capacity.

English can/could collapses several meanings. Lebanese overlaps بقدر with suffixed فيني, but فيني often foregrounds circumstances, permission, or availability, while بقدر readily foregrounds a person's capacity or the successful management of an action. This is a usage tendency, not an absolute division.

For the wider constructional contrast, see Ability with قدر and Ability and Possibility with في.

Complete perfect paradigm

The unsuffixed citation form is قِدِرʾidir, with urban ق = ʾ. Before consonant-initial person endings, the stem reduces to ʾdir-. The unvocalized spelling alone does not reveal that alternation.

Person	Form	Reading
أنا	قدرت	ʾdert
إنت	قدرت	ʾdert
إنتي	قدرتي	ʾderte
هو	قدر	ʾidir
هي	قدرت	ʾidrit
نحنا	قدرنا	ʾderna
إنتو	قدرتوا	ʾderto
هني	قدروا	ʾidro

قدرنا نوصل قبل ما يسكروا الباب بدقيقتين.

ʾderna nōṣal ʾabel ma ysakkro l-bēb b-dʾīʾtēn.

We managed to arrive two minutes before they closed the door. (informal; successful bounded achievement)

ما قدرت تتذكر كلمة السر، فطلبت رمز جديد.

ma ʾidrit titdhakkar kilmet es-serr, f-ṭilbit ramz zhdīd.

She couldn't remember the password, so she requested a new code. (neutral; failed feminine perfect)

The affirmative perfect plus an action normally entails that the action succeeded. قدرت وصله ordinarily means “I managed to reach him,” not merely “I had the ability to try.” Negated ما قدرت packages an attempted result as unrealized.

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Translate English could only after deciding whether it means general capacity or one achieved result. كنت بقدر can frame past capacity; قدرت usually advances the story by reporting that an attempt succeeded.

Complete b-imperfect and bare imperfect

The nonpast stem is -ʾdar-, not -ʾidir-. The b-imperfect is independently predicated; رح, higher modals, and purpose environments select the bare series.

Person	b-imperfect	Bare imperfect
أنا	بقدر bʾdar	اقدر iʾdar
إنت	بتقدر btʾdar	تقدر tʾdar
إنتي	بتقدري btʾadre	تقدري tʾadre
هو	بيقدر byiʾdar	يقدر yiʾdar
هي	بتقدر btʾdar	تقدر tʾdar
نحنا	منقدر mniʾdar	نقدر niʾdar
إنتو	بتقدروا btʾdaro	تقدروا tʾdaro
هني	بيقدروا byiʾdaro	يقدروا yiʾdaro

منقدر نغير الموعد إذا الخميس ما بناسبكن.

mniʾdar nghayyir el-mawʿed iza l-khamīs ma bnēsebkon.

We can change the appointment if Thursday doesn't suit you. (neutral; present practical capacity)

رح يقدر يمشي لحاله بعد كم جلسة علاج.

raḥ yiʾdar yimshe la-ḥālo baʿd kam zhalset ʿilēzh.

He'll be able to walk on his own after a few therapy sessions. (neutral; bare modal after رح)

The lower action is also bare and agrees with the same subject: بتقدري تروحي, منقدر نخلص. In longer chains only the outer independently predicated verb takes b-: بيقدر يبلّش يشتغل.

بعد التحديث بيقدر البرنامج يفتح الملفات القديمة.

baʿd et-taḥdīth byiʾdar el-barnēmezh yiftaḥ el-malafāt el-ʾdīme.

After the update, the program can open the old files. (professional; nonhuman capacity)

Present capacity, past capacity, and achieved result

For stable ability now, use the b-imperfect. A past frame can use كان + b-imperfect for capacity that held over a period. The simple perfect points more readily to managing one particular event.

لما كنت بالجامعة، كنت بقدر ادرس طول الليل.

lamma kint bil-zhēmʿa, kint bʾdar idros ṭūl el-lēl.

When I was at university, I could study all night. (informal; general past capacity)

رغم انقطاع الكهربا، قدرت خلص العرض عالبطارية.

raghem inʾiṭāʿ el-kahraba, ʾdert khalliṣ el-ʿarḍ ʿal-baṭṭāriyye.

Despite the power cut, I managed to finish the presentation on battery power. (professional context; achieved result)

Progressive عم بقدر is possible when ability itself is changing or being tested, but it is not the default equivalent of English am able. عم بقدر حرّك إيدي أكتر كل يوم means the capacity is gradually improving.

Contrast with في and permission

Suffixed في is especially natural when schedules, rules, or circumstances make an action possible. قدر can answer the same question, especially when skill, strength, endurance, or successful management is foregrounded.

Frame	Frequent perspective	Example
فيني روح	circumstances/permission allow me	Can I go?
بقدر روح	I am capable of going	I can go.
قدرت روح	I successfully went/managed to go	I managed to go.

فيني آخد السيارة اليوم، ولا بدك ياها؟

fīne ākhod es-sayyāra l-yōm, walla baddak yāha?

Can I take the car today, or do you need it? (informal; asks about permission/availability)

بقدر سوق بهالطقس، بس بفضل انطر ليخف المطر.

bʾdar sūʾ b-hal-ṭaʾs, bass bfaḍḍel inṭor la-ykheff el-maṭar.

I can drive in this weather, but I'd rather wait for the rain to ease. (informal; capacity contrasted with choice)

As a request, بتقدر + bare can be polite: بتقدر تبعتلي العنوان؟ Context, tone, and the requested burden determine politeness; the verb is not automatically softer than English can.

Negation and no do-support

Negate the b-imperfect with ما and keep its b-prefix: ما بقدر. The lower action stays bare. A yes/no question needs intonation, not English-style do.

بتقدري تحضري الاجتماع أونلاين؟

btʾadre tiḥḍare l-izhtimēʿ ōnlāyn?

Can you attend the meeting online? (professional; question to one woman)

ما بقدر احكي هلق، برجع بتصل فيك بعد شوي.

ma bʾdar iḥke hallaʾ, barzhaʿ bittaṣil fīk baʿd shwayy.

I can't talk now; I'll call you back in a little while. (informal; negated present ability)

Active participle and noun complements

Active participle قادرʾāder, feminine قادرة, plural قادرين, describes a current state of capability, readiness, or emotional ability. It is common in emphatic questions and negation: مش قادر can mean “I can't manage / I can't bear it.”

بعدني مش قادر احمل شي تقيل بإيدي اليمين.

baʿdne mish ʾāder iḥmol she tʾīl b-īde l-yamīn.

I still can't carry anything heavy with my right hand. (informal; masculine participial state)

With a noun, قادر على occurs in careful, professional, and formal-contact language: قادر على التغيير “capable of change.” Everyday speech often prefers finite بيقدر يغيّر. The suffix in عليه / عليها belongs to the preposition; everyday ability قدر does not take a person as a direct object.

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قادر presents capability as a state; finite بقدر predicates ability in an ordinary clause; perfect قدرت reports a managed result. English often translates all three with a form of can, so preserve the Lebanese viewpoint rather than matching one English word.

Lexical imperatives such as masculine قْدُرʾdor, feminine قْدِرِيʾdire, and plural قْدِرُواʾdro are morphologically available but pragmatically marginal: ordering someone to “be able” rarely makes sense. Encouragement uses جرّب “try,” فيك “you can,” or an ordinary command. Negative commands are similarly avoided. This is an honest usage gap, not a missing conjugation lesson.

Common Mistakes

Keeping b- on the lower action

❌ بقدر بصلحها بكرا.

Incorrect — the ability verb is b-marked; its selected action is bare.

✅ بقدر صلحها بكرا إذا جبت القطعة.

bʾdar ṣalleḥa bokra iza zhibt el-ʾiṭʿa.

I can fix it tomorrow if you bring the part.

Using the perfect for a present skill

❌ قدرت احكي إسباني منيح، إذا المقصود قدرتي الحالية.

Incorrect for a present general ability — قدرت normally presents a bounded past success.

✅ بقدر احكي إسباني منيح، بس كتابتي أضعف.

bʾdar iḥke isbāne mnīḥ, bass ktēbte aḍʿaf.

I can speak Spanish well, but my writing is weaker.

Translating every permission “can” with قدر

❌ بقدر فوت؟ إذا السؤال عن إذن صاحب المكتب.

Possible as ability, but not the clearest request for permission in this context.

✅ فيني فوت ولا بعدك باجتماع؟

fīne fūt walla baʿdak b-izhtimēʿ?

May I come in, or are you still in a meeting?

Attaching an object clitic to ability قدر

❌ بقدره، إذا المقصود بقدر ساعده.

Incorrect — ability قدر selects an action clause, not a direct person object.

✅ بقدر ساعده بنقل الصناديق بعد الظهر.

bʾdar sāʿdo b-naʾl eṣ-ṣanādīʾ baʿd eẓ-ẓohor.

I can help him move the boxes this afternoon.

Key Takeaways

Learn ʾidir–ʾdert–byiʾdar–yiʾdar–ʾāder as one irregular lexical network. Use the b-imperfect for present/general capacity, كان + b-imperfect for sustained past capacity, and the perfect for managing a bounded event. The selected action is bare. فيني often highlights permission or circumstances, and قادر presents a current capability state.

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