سأل saʾal: ask | Arabic (Levantine) Grammar

Lebanese سألsaʾal means “ask” when seeking information. The person questioned is a direct object, the topic takes عن, and a question can itself be a noun object. English also uses ask for requesting an action; Lebanese normally changes to طلب من حدا + bare verb in that frame.

Hamza is the middle root consonant. It remains audible in سأل، بيسأل، اسأل، سؤال even though rapid speech may compress a neighboring vowel. Its written seats are explained on Hamza Basics.

Complete paradigm

Person	Perfect	b-imperfect	Bare imperfect
أنا	سألت saʾalt	بسأل basʾal	اسأل isʾal
إنت	سألت saʾalt	بتسأل btisʾal	تسأل tisʾal
إنتي	سألتي saʾalte	بتسألي btisʾale	تسألي tisʾale
هو	سأل saʾal	بيسأل byisʾal	يسأل yisʾal
هي	سألت saʾalit	بتسأل btisʾal	تسأل tisʾal
نحنا	سألنا saʾalna	منسأل mnisʾal	نسأل nisʾal
إنتو	سألتوا saʾalto	بتسألوا btisʾalo	تسألوا tisʾalo
هني	سألوا saʾalo	بيسألوا byisʾalo	يسألوا yisʾalo

سألت الممرضة إمتى بيطلع دوري.

saʾalt el-mmarḍa imta byiṭlaʿ dawre.

I asked the nurse when my turn would come. (neutral; person direct plus embedded question)

كل ما بيضيع، بيسأل حدا من أهل المنطقة.

kill ma byiḍīʿ, byisʾal ḥada min ahl el-minṭaʾa.

Whenever he gets lost, he asks someone local. (informal; habitual b-imperfect)

💡

Hear s-ʾ-l in every principal part. The written seat can vary elsewhere in the word family, but deleting the glottal stop changes the verb's identity.

Commands and active participle

The commands are اسألisʾal, اسأليisʾale, and اسألواisʾalo. Negative commands are ما تسأل، ما تسألي، ما تسألوا.

اسألي موظف الاستقبال عن كلفة الغرفة الإضافية.

isʾale mwaẓẓaf el-istiʾbēl ʿan kilfet el-ghorfe l-iḍāfiyye.

Ask the receptionist about the cost of the extra room. (instruction to one woman; person plus topic)

Active participle سائلsāʾel is available but is less usual than a finite verb for ordinary ongoing questioning; it often sounds (formal/professional) as “inquirer/questioner.” Use عم بيسأل for an event unfolding now.

هلق عم بيسأل الشهود عن ترتيب الأحداث.

hallaʾ ʿam byisʾal esh-shhūd ʿan tartīb el-aḥdēs.

He's questioning the witnesses now about the order of events. (neutral; ongoing event)

Person, topic, and question

The person asked is direct: سألت رامي. Object suffixes attach directly: سألني، سألك، سأله، سألها، سألنا، سألكن، سألهن. The topic uses عن and its suffixes: سألت عنه “I asked about it/him.” When both appear, the ordinary order is person then topic.

سألني صاحب البيت عن موعد الدفع الجديد.

saʾalne ṣāḥeb el-bēt ʿan mawʿed ed-dafʿ el-zhdīd.

The landlord asked me about the new payment date. (neutral; person clitic and عن-topic)

بسألك سؤال صغير وبعدين بخليك تكمل.

basʾalak suʾāl zghīr w-baʿdēn bkhallīk tkammel.

I'll ask you one quick question, then let you continue. (informal; person clitic plus question noun)

At a desk or home, سأل عن رامي can pragmatically mean “asked for Rami,” because the speaker is seeking him. With things being requested, use طلب: طلب كاسة مي “asked for a glass of water.”

في زلمة عالباب سأل عنك وما ترك اسمه.

fī zalame ʿal-bēb saʾal ʿannak w-ma tarak ismo.

A man at the door asked for you and didn't leave his name. (informal; seeking a person with عن)

Information questions versus requests

سأل + embedded question seeks information: سألها وين ساكنة. To request that somebody act, use طلب من + person + bare verb. The different Lebanese frames expose a distinction hidden by English ask.

سألت ندى ليش غيرت الموعد.

saʾalt Nada lēsh ghayyarit el-mawʿed.

I asked Nada why she changed the appointment. (information question)

طلبت من ندى تغير الموعد لبعد الضهر.

ṭalabt min Nada tghayyer el-mawʿed la-baʿd eḍ-ḍohor.

I asked Nada to move the appointment to the afternoon. (request for action)

Negation keeps b- in the ordinary nonpast: ما بسأل. Future رح selects the bare form: رح اسأله.

رح اسأله إذا بعده محتاج مساعدة بالمشروع.

raḥ isʾalo iza baʿdo mḥtēzh msēʿade bil-mashrūʿ.

I'll ask him whether he still needs help with the project. (neutral; bare 1sg and person clitic)

💡

Map three roles separately: سأل حدا “ask a person,” سأل عن شغلة “ask about a topic,” and طلب من حدا يعمل شغلة “ask someone to do something.”

Common Mistakes

Adding لـ before the person asked

❌ سألت للموظف عن الطلب.

Incorrect — the person questioned is a direct object.

✅ سألت الموظف عن الطلب أول ما وصلت.

saʾalt el-mwaẓẓaf ʿan eṭ-ṭalab awwal ma wṣilet.

I asked the employee about the application as soon as I arrived.

Omitting عن before a topic

❌ سألته السعر الجديد.

Incorrect for ‘asked him about the new price’ — introduce the topic with عن.

✅ سألته عن السعر الجديد وما عرف.

saʾalto ʿan es-siʿer el-zhdīd w-ma ʿirif.

I asked him about the new price, and he didn't know.

Using سأل for a request to act

❌ سألتها تبعتلي النسخة.

Incorrect for requesting an action — use طلبت منها.

✅ طلبت منها تبعتلي النسخة المصححة.

ṭalabt minha tibʿatle n-noskha l-moṣaḥḥaḥa.

I asked her to send me the corrected copy.

Deleting medial hamza

❌ بيسأل

bysāl

Incorrect reading — medial ʾ remains audible in byisʾal.

✅ بيسأل كتير لأنه جديد بالشغل.

byisʾal ktīr laʾanno zhdīd bish-shighel.

He asks a lot because he's new at the job.

Key Takeaways

Learn سأل–سألت–بيسأل–اسأل with audible medial hamza. Make the person asked direct, mark the topic with عن, and use طلب من when English ask means request an action. Finite forms are more natural than سائل for everyday ongoing questions.

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