قبل and بعد — before and after | Arabic (Egyptian) Grammar

Egyptian قبل ʾabl and بعد baʿd order one reference point relative to another. They work with nouns—قبل الشغل، بعد الغدا—with pronoun suffixes—قبلي، بعده—and with finite clauses introduced by ما—قبل ما تنزل، بعد ما وصلنا. They cover time, order in a line or list, and discourse sequence.

English uses the same words before/after before both nouns and clauses. Egyptian marks the difference: a noun follows directly, while an ordinary finite clause normally requires ما. This complement-type contrast is the page’s central rule.

The clause patterns receive fuller treatment in Before and After Clauses; this page builds the prepositions and their nominal/suffixed forms first.

The suffix paradigm

Both hosts end in two consonants. Cairene suffix forms insert the vowels needed by each suffix: قبله ʾablu, بعدهم baʿduhum. The suffix is attached in writing.

Person	Before	After	Cairene readings
me	قبلي	بعدي	ʾabli / baʿdi
you (m.sg.)	قبلك	بعدك	ʾablak / baʿdak
you (f.sg.)	قبلك	بعدك	ʾablik / baʿdik
him/it	قبله	بعده	ʾablu / baʿdu
her/it	قبلها	بعدها	ʾablaha / baʿdaha
us	قبلنا	بعدنا	ʾablina / baʿdina
you (pl.)	قبلكم	بعدكم	ʾablukum / baʿdukum
them	قبلهم	بعدهم	ʾabluhum / baʿduhum

هي وصلت قبلي بخمس دقايق.

hiyya wiṣlit ʾabli bi-khams daʾāyiʾ.

She arrived five minutes before me.

القطر التاني اتحرك بعده على طول.

il-ʾaṭr it-tāni itḥarrak baʿdu ʿala ṭūl.

The second train left immediately after it.

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The suffix identifies the reference point, not the person performing the main action. In وصلت قبلي, both people arrived; قبلي only orders the arrivals.

Before or after a noun

A noun phrase follows قبل/بعد directly. This can be a clock time, event noun, meal, work period, person, or any established reference point.

براجع الإيميل قبل الشغل وبرد على المهم بعد الغدا.

barāgiʿ il-ʾimēl ʾabl ish-shoghl wi-barodd ʿala l-mohimm baʿd il-ghada.

I check email before work and answer the important messages after lunch.

وصلنا قبل المعاد، إنما الدكتور جه بعده بربع ساعة.

wiṣilna ʾabl il-maʿād, innama d-doktōr gih baʿdu bi-robʿ sāʿa.

We arrived before the appointment time, but the doctor came a quarter of an hour after it.

The English phrase late for the appointment can thus be expressed as an event after the scheduled time, not by translating English for: جه بعد المعاد.

Compact maṣdar phrases are also possible: بعد وصول القطر “after the train’s arrival.” They are common in professional or written Egyptian (professional/formal), while a finite بعد ما clause is often lighter in conversation.

بعد وصول الطلب حنبعتلك رسالة تأكيد.

baʿd wuṣūl iṭ-ṭalab ḥa-nibʿatlak risālit taʾkīd.

After the order arrives, we’ll send you a confirmation message. (compact professional wording)

Before or after a clause: add ما

Ordinary Cairene uses قبل ما or بعد ما before a finite clause. The verb then carries its own subject and aspect.

اقفل الشباك قبل ما تنزل.

iʾfil ish-shubbāk ʾabl ma tinzil.

Close the window before you go downstairs.

كلمني بعد ما تخلص الاجتماع.

kallimni baʿd ma tikhallaṣ il-igtimāʿ.

Call me after you finish the meeting.

قبل ما نطلب، بصينا على الأسعار في المنيو.

ʾabl ma niṭlob, baṣṣēna ʿala l-ʾasʿār fil-minyu.

Before we ordered, we looked at the prices on the menu.

Future time does not require a future marker inside every temporal clause. بعد ما تخلص naturally points forward because the main imperative and context establish the sequence. Do not force one-to-one English tense matching.

💡

Use a quick complement test: noun or suffix directly after قبل/بعد; finite subject-and-verb clause after قبل ما/بعد ما.

A spatial-order scene

In a line, schedule, list, or route, قبل/بعد order people and items without necessarily describing clock time.

أنا واقف في الطابور بعد منى وقبل كريم.

ʾana wāʾif fiṭ-ṭābūr baʿd Mona wi-ʾabl Karīm.

I’m standing in line after Mona and before Karim.

حط بند المصاريف بعد المقدمة وقبل النتايج.

ḥoṭṭ band il-maṣārīf baʿd il-moʾaddima wi-ʾabl in-natāyig.

Put the expenses section after the introduction and before the results.

English may use behind/ahead of for the line and after/before for the document. Egyptian uses the same ordered relation.

قبل كده and بعد كده

قبل كده means “before now/previously.” بعد كده means “after that/then” and is a central discourse sequencer.

ماكنتش شفت النوع ده قبل كده.

ma-kontish shoft in-nawʿ da ʾabl kida.

I hadn’t seen this type before.

خلصنا الورق، وبعد كده رحنا البنك.

khallaṣna l-waraʾ, wi-baʿd kida ruḥna l-bank.

We finished the paperwork, and then we went to the bank.

Do not use قبل ساعتين to mean English “two hours ago.” Mainstream Egyptian normally uses من ساعتين. بعد ساعتين can mean “after two hours,” while future “in two hours” is often كمان ساعتين, depending on the viewpoint.

كلمته من ساعتين، وقال إنه حيوصل كمان ساعة.

kallimtu min sāʿtēn, wi-ʾāl innu ḥa-yūṣal kamān sāʿa.

I called him two hours ago, and he said he’d arrive in another hour.

Whole frames, not English glosses

Useful frames include وصل قبل/بعد المعاد “arrive before/after the scheduled time,” خلص قبل “finish before,” and استنى لحد بعد “wait until after.” The English translation may use early, late, or until rather than an overt before/after.

استنى لحد بعد الزحمة وبعدين اتحرك.

istanna li-ḥadd baʿd iz-zaḥma wi-baʿdēn itḥarrak.

Wait until the rush is over, then set off.

خلصنا قبل الديدلاين بيومين.

khallaṣna ʾabl id-dīdlāyn bi-yōmēn.

We finished two days ahead of the deadline.

Relatives keep the ordered relation

English strands before/after in informal relatives. Egyptian normally attaches a resumptive suffix.

ده الاجتماع اللي كلمتك بعده وإنت في الطريق.

da l-igtimāʿ illi kallimtak baʿdu wi-nta fiṭ-ṭarīʾ.

This is the meeting I called you after, while you were on the way.

دي المقابلة اللي وصلت قبلها بنص ساعة.

di l-moʾābala lli wiṣilt ʾablaha bi-noṣṣ sāʿa.

This is the interview I arrived half an hour early for—literally, ‘before it.’

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قبل ما/بعد ما are the neutral Cairene clause linkers (informal/neutral). Formal writing may use قبل أن، بعد أن، عقب، لاحقا (formal MSA/administrative). Educated speakers can code-switch to them, but they should not replace the colloquial baseline automatically. Regional and social varieties may reduce vowels differently; the forms and spelling here follow mainstream Cairo.

Common Mistakes

Omitting ما before a finite clause

❌ كلمني بعد تخلص الشغل.

Incorrect in the ordinary Cairene pattern—a finite clause needs بعد ما.

✅ كلمني بعد ما تخلص شغلك النهارده.

kallimni baʿd ma tikhallaṣ shoghlak in-nahārda.

Call me after you finish your work today.

Translating English “ago” with قبل

❌ وصل قبل تلات ساعات.

Incorrect for ‘three hours ago’; use من with elapsed time.

✅ وصل من تلات ساعات ولسه مستني.

wiṣil min talāt sāʿāt wi-lissa mistanni.

He arrived three hours ago and is still waiting.

Separating the suffix

❌ أنا جيت بعد هو.

Incorrect—the pronoun attaches to بعد.

✅ أنا جيت بعده بدقيقتين بس.

ʾana gīt baʿdu bi-daʾīʾitēn bass.

I came only two minutes after him.

Stranding the preposition in a relative

❌ ده الفيلم اللي خرجنا.

Incorrect for ‘the film after which we left’; the temporal relation is missing.

✅ ده الفيلم اللي خرجنا بعده نتعشى.

da l-fīlm illi kharagna baʿdu nitʿashsha.

This is the film after which we went out for dinner.

Defaulting to formal قبل أن

❌ اتصل بي قبل أن تغادر.

Formal MSA phrasing, not the ordinary Cairene baseline.

✅ كلمني قبل ما تمشي من المكتب.

kallimni ʾabl ma timshi min il-maktab.

Call me before you leave the office.

Key Takeaways

Use قبل/بعد + noun or suffix for a nominal reference point and قبل ما/بعد ما + finite clause for an event with its own predicate. The same pair orders time, lines, lists, and discourse. Use من + duration for “ago,” attach pronoun suffixes directly, and resume the relation inside relative clauses.

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