Person, Gender, and Number on Verbs | Arabic (Levantine) Grammar

Lebanese verbs encode who the subject is. In كتبت katabet “I wrote,” بتكتبي btiktbe “you (one woman) write,” and بيكتبوا byiktbo “they write,” person, gender, and number are part of the verb itself. That is why a separate subject pronoun is often unnecessary.

English verbs distinguish very little beyond write/writes, so English speakers have to learn to notice categories they normally leave to pronouns. The important contrasts are first/second/third person, singular/plural, and feminine forms for one female “you” and “she.”

One agreement system, two different shapes

The perfect mainly uses suffixes; the imperfect surrounds the stem with prefixes and, in two cells, suffixes. This focused paradigm uses regular كتب / بيكتب “write.” The two forms should be learned together because their spelling does not reveal every spoken distinction.

Subject	Perfect	b-imperfect
I	كتبت katabet	بكتب biktob
you, masculine singular	كتبت katabet	بتكتب btiktob
you, feminine singular	كتبتي katabte	بتكتبي btiktbe
he	كتب katab	بيكتب byiktob
she	كتبت katabit	بتكتب btiktob
we	كتبنا katabna	منكتب mniktob
you, plural	كتبتوا katabto	بتكتبوا btiktbo
they	كتبوا katabo	بيكتبوا byiktbo

كتبتلك مبارح، وبكتبلك كل ما يكون في خبر.

katabetlak mbēreḥ, w-biktoblak kill ma ykūn fī khabar.

I wrote to you yesterday, and I write whenever there's news. (informal; first-person perfect and imperfect)

كتبتي الملاحظات وبتبعتيلي ياها بكرا؟

katabte l-malāḥaẓāt w-btibʿatīle yēha bokra?

Did you write the notes, and will you send them to me tomorrow? (addressed to one woman; feminine agreement)

كتبوا العنوان، بس ما بيكتبوا رقم التلفون عادة.

katabo l-ʿonwēn, bass ma byiktbo raʾam et-tilifōn ʿāde.

They wrote the address, but they don't usually write the phone number. (neutral; third-person plural in both systems)

The direct and indirect objects in كتبتلك and بتبعتيلي ياها do not control agreement. The verb agrees with the writer or sender, not with “the notes,” “them,” or “me.” That subject-versus-object distinction is especially important once clitics accumulate.

Changing aspect or modality does not erase agreement: بتكتبي “you write,” Beirut-baseline عم بتكتبي “you are writing,” and رح تكتبي “you will write” all keep feminine -ي. Speakers who use regional/social عم + bare imperfect likewise retain the person ending: عم تكتبي.

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Ask “Who performs or experiences the verb?” before choosing the verb form. An object may sit right beside the verb, but it does not replace the subject as the controller of ordinary agreement.

Feminine singular forms require special attention

Lebanese distinguishes one male addressee from one female addressee. The feminine “you” form has -ي in both systems: perfect كتبتي katabte and imperfect بتكتبي btiktbe. By contrast, “she” has perfect كتبت katabit but imperfect بتكتب btiktob, with a تـ prefix and no feminine suffix.

إنت بتشتغل هون، وإنتي بتشتغلي بالفرع التاني.

inta btishtghil hōn, w-inte btishtighle bil-farʿ et-tēne.

You work here, and you work at the other branch. (informal; one man contrasted with one woman)

هي بتشتغل من البيت وبتخلص عالخمسة.

hiyye btishtghil min el-bēt w-btikhlaṣ ʿal-khamse.

She works from home and finishes at five. (informal; third-person feminine t-prefix)

The form بتكتب is syncretic: it can mean “you (masculine singular) write” or “she writes.” This is not defective grammar. Conversation, a name, or a contrastive pronoun supplies the missing distinction.

Plural subjects take plural forms

First-person plural has its own form, كتبنا / منكتب. Second- and third-person plurals use final -وا, pronounced -o: كتبتوا / بتكتبوا and كتبوا / بيكتبوا. Lebanese has no productive dual verb paradigm in ordinary conversation: two people normally trigger a plural verb.

نحنا منفتح عالتمانية، وإنتو بتفتحوا عالتسعة.

niḥna mniftaḥ ʿat-tmēnye, w-into btiftaḥo ʿat-tisʿa.

We open at eight, and you all open at nine. (neutral; first- versus second-person plural)

هني وصلوا سوا وفلوا سوا.

hinne wiṣlo sawa w-fallo sawa.

They arrived together and left together. (informal; third-person plural perfect)

Negation does not alter agreement. It adds ما before the complete verbal form.

هني بيجوا كل خميس.

hinne byizho kill khamīs.

They come every Thursday. (affirmative third-person plural)

هني ما بيجوا كل خميس.

hinne ma byizho kill khamīs.

They don't come every Thursday. (negative; plural agreement remains)

Subject pronouns can stay unspoken

Because the verb carries agreement, Lebanese frequently omits an already known subject. وصلت can be “I arrived,” “you (masculine) arrived,” or “she arrived,” depending on pronunciation and context; وصلنا itself identifies “we.” Speakers add أنا، إنت، هي when establishing, contrasting, or clarifying the subject—not mechanically before every verb.

وصلنا، بس ما لقيناكن.

wiṣilna, bass ma laʾēnākon.

We arrived, but we couldn't find you. (informal; both subjects are encoded on verbs and clitics)

أنا طلبت قهوة؛ هو طلب شاي.

ana ṭalabet ʾahwe; huwwe ṭalab shēy.

I ordered coffee; he ordered tea. (informal; overt pronouns mark contrast)

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Omit a recoverable subject naturally, but keep an overt pronoun when it answers “who?”, contrasts participants, or resolves a shared form such as بتكتب.

Coordinated subjects: start with full plural agreement

When two named people precede the verb, the reliable beginner pattern is coordinated subject + plural verb. A group containing the speaker selects first-person plural; a group containing the addressee but not the speaker selects second-person plural.

رامي ونادين وصلوا بكير.

Rāme w-Nadīn wiṣlo bakkīr.

Rami and Nadine arrived early. (neutral; two third-person humans take plural agreement)

أنا ورامي منجي بكرا.

ana w-Rāme minzhe bokra.

Rami and I are coming tomorrow. (informal; a group including the speaker takes first-person plural)

إنت ومايا بتجوا معنا؟

inta w-Māya btizho maʿna?

Are you and Maya coming with us? (informal; group including the addressee takes second-person plural)

Spontaneous Lebanese also permits verb-first patterns in which agreement may interact with word order and the nearest conjunct (informal; variable). Do not turn that variation into a claim that coordinated subjects never agree. The production pattern above is stable and transparent; Coordinated Subjects covers the alternatives.

Respect does not create a new plural agreement category

Lebanese has no obligatory polite equivalent of French vous. In polite service encounters, speakers can use a title or حضرتك “you, respectfully,” soften the request, and still use singular agreement matching the person addressed. Using إنتو for one customer is not the default way to create respect.

حضرتك بتفضل قهوة ولا شاي؟

ḥaḍertak btfaḍḍel ʾahwe walla shēy?

Would you prefer coffee or tea, sir? (polite/service; addressed to one man with masculine singular agreement)

حضرتك بتفضلي تقعدي جوا؟

ḥaḍertik btfaḍḍle tiʾʿode zhowwa?

Would you prefer to sit inside, ma'am? (polite/service; addressed to one woman with feminine singular agreement)

Plural and collective nouns require more nuance. Human plurals normally take plural verbal agreement, while inanimate plurals and collective nouns show patterns that depend on syntax, semantics, and speaker usage. Do not import the blanket MSA rule “all nonhuman plurals are feminine singular” into conversation; see Nonhuman Plurals.

A dialogue across aspect, modality, and valency

كتبتوا للزبون مبارح؟

katabto la-z-zabūn mbēreḥ?

Manager: Did you all write to the customer yesterday? (neutral/workplace; second-person plural perfect)

إيه، ومنكتبله كل أسبوع.

ē, w-mniktoblo kill osbūʿ.

Staff: Yes, and we write to him every week. (neutral/workplace; first-person plural habit plus indirect-object clitic)

طيب، فيكن تبعتوا نسخة لنادين اليوم؟

ṭayyib, fīkon tibʿato noskha la-Nadīn el-yōm?

Manager: Okay, can you send a copy to Nadine today? (neutral/workplace; modal فيكن + bare second-person plural)

أكيد، منبعتلها ياها بعد الغدا.

akīd, mnibʿatla yēha baʿd el-ghada.

Staff: Of course, we'll send it to her after lunch. (neutral/workplace; first-person plural agreement with recipient and object clitics)

The subject changes from plural “you” to “we,” and the verb changes with it. للزبون، لنادين، -لها, and ياها express recipients or objects; none controls subject agreement.

Common Mistakes

Dropping feminine “you” -ي

❌ إنتي بتكتب الرسالة.

Incorrect for one female addressee—the imperfect needs the feminine -ي ending.

✅ إنتي بتكتبي الرسالة.

inte btiktbe r-risēle.

You write the letter. (addressed to one woman)

Giving “she” the masculine y-prefix

❌ هي بيكتب التقرير.

Incorrect—the third-person feminine imperfect uses تـ, not masculine يـ.

✅ هي بتكتب التقرير.

hiyye btiktob et-taʾrīr.

She writes the report. (informal)

Omitting plural -وا

❌ هني بيكتب التقرير.

Incorrect for a human plural subject—the verb needs plural -وا.

✅ هني بيكتبوا التقرير.

hinne byiktbo t-taʾrīr.

They write the report. (informal)

Importing an MSA dual verb

❌ رامي ومايا يكتبان التقرير.

✅ رامي ومايا بيكتبوا التقرير.

Rāme w-Māya byiktbo t-taʾrīr.

Rami and Maya write the report. (neutral Lebanese)

Using plural agreement as automatic politeness

❌ حضرتك بتفضلوا قهوة؟

Incorrect for one man in the intended polite question—respectful حضرتك still takes singular agreement.

✅ حضرتك بتفضل قهوة؟

ḥaḍertak btfaḍḍel ʾahwe?

Would you prefer coffee, sir? (polite/service; masculine singular)

Key Takeaways

Perfect verbs chiefly mark the subject with endings; imperfect verbs use person prefixes plus feminine -ي and plural -وا where required. Human plural subjects take plural agreement, including two coordinated people. Subject pronouns can be omitted when agreement and context identify the participant. Objects and clitics do not control subject agreement, and respectful address still uses the singular form appropriate to the person addressed.

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