Lebanese imperfect forms mark the subject at the beginning of the verb and, for feminine singular “you” and plural subjects, at the end as well. From كتب / بيكتب katab / byiktob “wrote / writes,” you get بكتب “I write,” بتكتبي “you (feminine) write,” and بيكتبوا “they write.” The subject is therefore built into the verb.
“Imperfect” names a stem system, not one English tense. With the ordinary b- marker it often describes habits, states, and general present-time predications. Without b-, the same person pattern appears after words such as بدّي, فيني, and رح. The surrounding construction supplies the time and modal interpretation.
Focused paradigm: كتب in the b-imperfect
| Person | Lebanese | Reading | Person material |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | بكتب | biktob | b-i- |
| you, masculine singular | بتكتب | btiktob | b-ti- |
| you, feminine singular | بتكتبي | btiktbe | b-ti-...-e |
| he | بيكتب | byiktob | b-yi- |
| she | بتكتب | btiktob | b-ti- |
| we | منكتب | mniktob | m-ni- |
| you, plural | بتكتبوا | btiktbo | b-ti-...-o |
| they | بيكتبوا | byiktbo | b-yi-...-o |
The first-person plural is worth noticing: Beirut Lebanese uses مـ in منكتب, not an expected بـ piled onto نـ. The feminine singular addressee takes -ي, pronounced -e here, and both plural addressee and plural third person take written -وا, pronounced -o.
بكتب التقرير كل جمعة.
biktob et-taʾrīr kill zhomʿa.
I write the report every Friday. (informal; first-person singular b-imperfect)
بتكتبي لأهلك كل يوم؟
btiktbe la-ahlik kill yōm?
Do you write to your family every day? (addressed to one woman; feminine -e ending)
بيكتبوا لبعض من وقت ما سافروا.
byiktbo la-baʿḍ min waʾt ma sāfaro.
They've been writing to each other since they traveled. (informal; third-person plural -o)
The stem vowel is lexical
Person endings are regular enough to be useful, but the internal stem is not predictable from the root alone. كتب / بيكتب has katab / byiktob; فهم / بيفهم has fihim / byifham; راح / بيروح has rāḥ / byrūḥ. Learn each verb's perfect and third-person b-imperfect as principal parts before extending the person frame.
ما بفهم هالكلمة، بس بفهم الجملة كلها.
ma bfham hal-kilme, bass bfham el-zhomle killa.
I don't understand this word, but I understand the whole sentence. (informal; فهم has an a-vowel in the imperfect stem)
بيروح عالمكتب تنين وخميس.
byrūḥ ʿal-maktab tnēn w-khamīs.
He goes to the office on Mondays and Thursdays. (informal; weak Form I verb راح / بيروح)
Geminate verbs also keep their own stem behavior. حب / بيحب ḥabb / bḥebb “like, love” has a doubled final consonant; it is not a regular بيكتب frame with different root letters. Preserve that doubling throughout the paradigm.
بحب هالمحل، بس ما بحب الزحمة.
bḥebb hal-maḥall, bass ma bḥebb ez-zaḥme.
I like this place, but I don't like the crowds. (informal; geminate حب / بيحب)
The feminine and plural endings can also trigger vowel deletion. Compare بتكتب btiktob with بتكتبي btiktbe and بتكتبوا btiktbo. The missing unstressed vowel is a normal phonological adjustment; the root consonants and person marking remain.
Prefixes identify person, but some cells coincide
بتكتب can mean “you (one man) write” or “she writes.” This is syncretism: two grammatical persons share one surface form. Context, a name, or an independent pronoun resolves the reference.
هي بتكتب التقرير، مش إنت.
hiyye btiktob et-taʾrīr, mish inta.
She writes the report, not you. (informal; pronouns disambiguate بتكتب)
بتكتب التقرير اليوم؟
btiktob et-taʾrīr el-yōm?
Are you writing the report today? / Is she writing it today? (informal; context must identify the subject)
English learners sometimes treat an overt pronoun as compulsory. It is not: once the conversation establishes “you” or “she,” بتكتب is sufficient. See Pronoun Omission.
The b-marker and the bare imperfect
The person frame survives when b- is absent. Compare the ordinary predication بتكتب “she writes” with bare تكتب after رح “will,” بدها “she wants,” or لازم “must.”
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| I | بكتب biktob | اكتب iktob |
| you m. | بتكتب btiktob | تكتب tiktob |
| you f. | بتكتبي btiktbe | تكتبي tiktbe |
| he | بيكتب byiktob | يكتب yiktob |
| she | بتكتب btiktob | تكتب tiktob |
| we | منكتب mniktob | نكتب niktob |
| you pl. | بتكتبوا btiktbo | تكتبوا tiktbo |
| they | بيكتبوا byiktbo | يكتبوا yiktbo |
هي بتكتب كل يوم، وبكرا رح تكتب من البيت.
hiyye btiktob kill yōm, w-bokra raḥ tiktob min el-bēt.
She writes every day, and tomorrow she'll write from home. (habitual b-form versus bare form after رح)
The missing b- does not remove subject agreement. تكتبي، تكتبوا، يكتبوا still mark feminine singular “you” and the two plurals.
Affirmative and negative
Ordinary verbal negation puts ما before the whole b-imperfect form. The verb keeps its person marking and b-.
بكتب بالعربي بالشغل.
biktob bil-ʿarabe bish-shoghl.
I write in Arabic at work. (informal affirmative)
ما بكتب بالعربي بالشغل.
ma biktob bil-ʿarabe bish-shoghl.
I don't write in Arabic at work. (informal negative; ما + complete b-form)
This is not English do not + infinitive, and it is not an MSA mood change. Lebanese adds ما without an auxiliary and without a case-like or mood-like ending.
A dialogue across habit, ongoing action, and future
شو بتعمل عادة بعد العشا؟
shū btiʿmal ʿāde baʿd el-ʿasha?
Maya: What do you usually do after dinner? (informal; b-imperfect habit)
بكتب شوي. هلق عم بكتب رسالة.
biktob shwayy. hallaʾ ʿam biktob risēle.
Rami: I write a little. Right now I'm writing a message. (habit versus ongoing action; Beirut baseline retains b- after عم)
وبكرا رح تكتب التقرير؟
w-bokra raḥ tiktob et-taʾrīr?
Maya: And will you write the report tomorrow? (future رح + bare imperfect)
إيه، رح اكتب التقرير الصبح.
ē, raḥ iktob et-taʾrīr eṣ-ṣoboḥ.
Rami: Yes, I'll write the report in the morning. (future; first-person bare imperfect)
The guide's production baseline uses عم + b-imperfect. Lebanese and neighboring northern Levantine speech also contains عم + bare imperfect (regional/social variation). Recognize both; keep one pattern stable in early production.
Common Mistakes
Dropping the feminine ending
❌ إنتي بتكتب كل يوم.
Incorrect for one female addressee in the intended statement—the feminine verb needs -ي.
✅ إنتي بتكتبي كل يوم.
inte btiktbe kill yōm.
You write every day. (addressed to one woman)
Omitting the plural ending
❌ هني بيروح عالشغل.
Incorrect for a plural human subject—the verb needs plural -وا.
✅ هني بيروحوا عالشغل.
hinne byirūḥo ʿash-shoghol.
They go to work. (informal plural agreement)
Treating a bare form as a neutral standalone present
❌ اكتب التقرير كل جمعة.
Incorrect for ‘I write the report every Friday’; without context this can look like a command or dependent bare form.
✅ بكتب التقرير كل جمعة.
biktob et-taʾrīr kill zhomʿa.
I write the report every Friday. (habitual b-imperfect)
Adding MSA plural or mood endings
❌ هم يكتبون التقرير.
Register mismatch—this imports formal pronouns and an MSA plural ending into ordinary Beirut speech.
✅ هني بيكتبوا التقرير.
hinne byiktbo t-taʾrīr.
They write the report. (informal Lebanese)
Regularizing a weak stem from كتب
❌ هو بيروح على وزن بيكتب بلا ما أحفظ الفعل.
Incorrect learning strategy—the weak verb's long vowel must be learned from راح / بيروح.
✅ بحفظ راح وبيروح سوا.
baḥfaẓ rāḥ w-byrūḥ sawa.
I memorize rāḥ and byrūḥ together. (neutral learning strategy)
Key Takeaways
Imperfect verbs identify person through prefixes and, for feminine singular “you” and plural persons, suffixes. In the ordinary b-imperfect, b- marks most persons while first-person plural uses m-. Stem vowels belong to the lexical principal parts, and unstressed vowels may delete before -e/-o. The bare imperfect preserves the person frame after modal and future expressions. Negation adds ما before the complete verb; it does not introduce English do or MSA mood endings.
Now practice Arabic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Learning a Verb through Principal PartsA2 — Learn the small set of forms that reveals a Lebanese verb's stems, irregularities, commands, and complement pattern.
- The b-Imperfect for Ordinary Present-Time PredicationA1 — Use the Lebanese b-imperfect for habits, generalizations, states, and ordinary present predication while contrasting progressive and bare forms.
- The Bare Imperfect after Modals and ParticlesA2 — Use fully agreeing imperfect verbs without b- after Lebanese modal, future, and command environments.
- Person, Gender, and Number on VerbsA1 — Match Lebanese verbs to first, second, and third person across masculine, feminine, singular, and plural subjects.
- When Subject Pronouns Are Omitted or ExpressedA1 — Let Lebanese verb marking carry a continuing subject, and express an independent pronoun for contrast, topic shifts, ambiguity, or verbless predicates.
- Form I Stem-Vowel ClassesB1 — Learn Lebanese Form I verbs as perfect–nonpast principal-part pairs, with realistic limits on predicting their internal vowels.