كمّل kammil — continue; complete | Arabic (Egyptian) Grammar

كمّل / بيكمّل kammil / biyikammil means “continue, carry on, complete the remainder, finish off.” Its stable contribution is continuation through something already begun. With a following bare verb, it means “continue doing”; with a direct object, it means “continue/complete that thing.” The command كمّل is the ordinary “go on, carry on.”

This is Pattern II from root ك-م-ل. The middle م is doubled in speech even when ordinary unvocalized writing omits the shadda. Pattern II is a useful morphological label, but it does not predict every sense: learn the two complement frames and the lexical contrast with خلص “finish/end.”

Complete practical paradigm

The Pattern II stem kammil- remains audible across the paradigm. Bare forms follow modals and phase verbs; b-imperfect forms make ordinary present or habitual clauses; joined حـ projects the continuation forward.

Person	Perfect	Bare imperfect	b-imperfect	ḥa-future
أنا	كَمِّلْتْ kammilt	أَكَمِّلْ ʾakammil	بَكَمِّلْ bakammil	حَكَمِّلْ ḥakammil
إنت	كَمِّلْتْ kammilt	تِكَمِّلْ tikammil	بِتْكَمِّلْ bitkammil	حَتْكَمِّلْ ḥa-tkammil
إنتي	كَمِّلْتِي kammilti	تِكَمِّلِي tikammili	بِتْكَمِّلِي bitkammili	حَتْكَمِّلِي ḥa-tkammili
هو	كَمِّلْ kammil	يِكَمِّلْ yikammil	بِيِكَمِّلْ biyikammil	حَيِكَمِّلْ ḥa-yikammil
هي	كَمِّلِتْ kammilit	تِكَمِّلْ tikammil	بِتْكَمِّلْ bitkammil	حَتْكَمِّلْ ḥa-tkammil
إحنا	كَمِّلْنَا kammilna	نِكَمِّلْ nikammil	بِنْكَمِّلْ binkammil	حَنِكَمِّلْ ḥa-nikammil
إنتوا	كَمِّلْتُوا kammiltu	تِكَمِّلُوا tikammilu	بِتْكَمِّلُوا bitkammilu	حَتْكَمِّلُوا ḥa-tkammilu
هم	كَمِّلُوا kammilu	يِكَمِّلُوا yikammilu	بِيِكَمِّلُوا biyikammilu	حَيِكَمِّلُوا ḥa-yikammilu

كملنا الاجتماع بعد ما الكهربا رجعت.

kammilna l-igtimāʿ baʿd ma l-kahraba rigʿit.

We continued the meeting after the power came back.

هي بتكمل شغلها من البيت يوم الخميس.

hiyya bitkammil shoghlaha min il-bēt yōm il-khamīs.

She continues/finishes her work from home on Thursday.

حنكمل الطريق بالعربية بعد ما المطر يخف.

ḥa-nikammil iṭ-ṭarīʾ bil-ʿarabiyya baʿd ma l-maṭar yikhiff.

We'll continue the journey by car after the rain eases.

💡

Think “through what remains.” كمّل neither merely starts an action nor simply names its endpoint; it presents progress beyond an already reached point.

Frame 1: كمّل + direct object

The direct object is the activity, route, document, meal, episode, or remaining portion carried further. Context decides whether English prefers “continue” or “finish.” باقي often makes the remaining portion explicit.

كملت باقي الاستمارة في البيت وبعتها الصبح.

kammilt bāʾi l-istimāra fil-bēt wi-baʿattha ṣ-ṣobḥ.

I completed the rest of the form at home and sent it in the morning.

الأكل كتير؛ كمله بكرة لو مش جعان.

il-ʾakl kitīr; kammilo bukra law mish gaʿān.

There's a lot of food; finish it tomorrow if you're not hungry now. (to one man)

The object suffix attaches directly: كمّله، كمّلها، كمّلهم. Inside verbal negation, it remains before ـش: ماكمّلتهاش “I didn't complete it.F.”

ماكملتهاش امبارح عشان كان ناقصني رقم الحساب.

ma-kammilthāsh imbāriḥ ʿashān kān nāʾiṣni raʾam il-ḥisāb.

I didn't complete it yesterday because I was missing the account number.

Frame 2: كمّل + bare imperfect

With the same subject in both actions, كمّل can select a bare imperfect: كمّل يشرح “he continued explaining,” كملت أكتب “I continued writing.” The first verb supplies viewpoint and agreement; the second identifies the continuing activity.

بعد المكالمة كملت أجهز العرض لوحدي.

baʿd il-mokālma kammilt ʾagahhiz il-ʿarḍ liwaḥdi.

After the call, I carried on preparing the presentation by myself.

المدرب كمل يشرح الحركة لحد ما الكل فهم.

il-modarrib kammil yishraḥ il-ḥaraka laḥadd ma l-koll fihim.

The coach kept explaining the move until everyone understood.

Do not automatically add بـ to the lower verb because English uses an -ing form. Compare independent هو بيشرح “he is explaining” with selected كمل يشرح “he continued explaining.” The relationship is one aspectual chain.

كمّل في + noun/activity is also natural when the speaker treats the activity as a domain rather than a tightly selected second event: كمّل في الشغل “carry on with the work.” This frame is especially useful when no finite lower verb is needed.

لو الخطة مناسبة، كملوا في التنفيذ من غير تأخير.

law il-khoṭṭa monāsba, kammilu fit-tanfīz min ghēr taʾkhīr.

If the plan is suitable, carry on with implementation without delay. (to a group)

Commands and discourse response

Commands are كمّل kammil, كمّلي kammili, and كمّلوا kammilu. Negative commands use ماتكمّلش، ماتكمّليش، ماتكمّلوش. As a listener response, bare كمّل means “go on, I'm listening”; it encourages the current speaker to retain the floor.

كملي الحكاية؛ وقفتي عند حتة الأتوبيس عطل فيها.

kammili l-ḥikāya; waʾafti ʿand ḥittit il-ʾotobīs ʿiṭil fīha.

Carry on with the story; you stopped at the part where the bus broke down. (to one woman)

ماتكملش السواقة لو إنت مش شايف الطريق كويس.

ma-tkammilsh is-siwāʾa law ʾinta mish shāyif iṭ-ṭarīʾ kowayyis.

Don't keep driving if you can't see the road clearly. (to one man)

آه، كمل؛ أنا متابعك لحد هنا.

ʾāh, kammil; ʾana motābʿak laḥadd hina.

Yes, go on; I'm following you so far. (listener response to one man)

The response can be supportive or impatient depending on tone. It does not literally claim that an object has been completed.

كمّل versus خلص and كمل kimil

English finish hides three viewpoints:

خِلِص khiliṣ is intransitive: an event or supply ended.
خَلَّص khallaṣ is transitive: an agent finished a task.
كَمَّل kammil continues through what remained and may thereby complete it.

Unvocalized كمل can also represent simple كِمِل kimil “became complete/was completed” in some collocations. That is not the Pattern II verb taught here. Sound, valency, and context distinguish them.

الاجتماع خلص، بس إحنا كملنا النقاش بره.

il-igtimāʿ khiliṣ, bass iḥna kammilna n-niʾāsh barra.

The meeting ended, but we continued the discussion outside.

خلصت الجزء الصعب وكملت الباقي قبل المعاد.

khallaṣt il-gozʾ iṣ-ṣaʿb wi-kammilt il-bāʾi ʾabl il-miʿād.

I finished the difficult part and completed the rest before the deadline.

The second example makes completion a consequence of continuing through the remainder. Completion expressions compares the whole network.

Participles and nominal expressions

Active مكمّل mokammil can mean “continuing, carrying on” and often occurs as a predicate with a following phrase or activity. Passive-pattern مكمّل mokammal would be distinguished by vowel and context in pointed text, but it is not the everyday default for “complete.” Ordinary كامل “complete,” مخلص “finished,” or a finite clause is often clearer. Do not assume a symmetrical participle is equally frequent because the morphology permits it.

أنا مكمل في المشروع حتى لو الميزانية قلت.

ʾana mokammil fil-mashrūʿ ḥatta law il-mīzāniyya ʾillit.

I'm carrying on with the project even if the budget decreases. (male speaker)

الطلب لسه مش كامل؛ ناقص توقيع المدير.

iṭ-ṭalab lissa mish kāmil; nāʾiṣ tawʾīʿ il-modīr.

The application still isn't complete; the manager's signature is missing.

The second example shows the idiomatic result adjective, not a mechanical passive participle of كمّل.

Short dialogue

أ: نوقف المراجعة دلوقتي ولا نكمل آخر جدول؟

A: nūʾaf il-morāgaʿa dilwaʾti walla nikammil ʾākhir gadwal?

A: Should we stop reviewing now, or complete the last table?

ب: نكمله وبعدين نمشي؛ مش فاضل غير خمس دقايق.

B: nikammilo wi-baʿdēn nimshi; mish fāḍil ghēr khams daʾāyiʾ.

B: Let's finish it and then leave; only five minutes are left.

Register and variation

كمّل is mainstream Egyptian (informal/neutral) across conversation, work, and education. Formal writing often chooses واصل، أكمل، استكمل according to whether it means “continue,” “complete,” or “resume” (formal/MSA-influenced). They are not automatic replacements. Alexandria, Delta, Upper Egyptian, Bedouin-associated, class, age, and community varieties may differ in vowels or collocational preference (regional/social), while the Pattern II doubled consonant remains analytically important. Sports commentary and motivational speech may repeat كمّل! for dramatic encouragement (performance language).

Common Mistakes

1. Losing the Pattern II doubling.

كمل التقرير قبل الاجتماع.

kammil it-taʾrīr ʾabl il-igtimāʿ.

kamil it-taʾrīr ʾabl il-igtimāʿ

Pronunciation error—the command has doubled m: kammil.

✅ كمل التقرير وابعتلي النسخة النهائية.

kammil it-taʾrīr wibʿatli n-noskha n-nihāʾiyya.

Complete the report and send me the final copy. (to one man)

2. Adding b- to the selected activity.

❌ كملت بكتب الرسالة بعد العشا.

Incorrect in the compact aspectual chain—the lower activity is bare.

✅ كملت أكتب الرسالة بعد العشا لحد ما خلصتها.

kammilt ʾaktob ir-risāla baʿd il-ʿasha laḥadd ma khallaṣtha.

I carried on writing the message after dinner until I finished it.

3. Using كمّل to mean that something ended.

❌ الفيلم كمل الساعة حداشر.

Wrong for the intended endpoint ‘the film ended at eleven’—كمّل profiles continuation.

✅ الفيلم خلص الساعة حداشر، وبعده كملنا كلام في الكافيه.

il-film khiliṣ is-sāʿa ḥadāshar, wi-baʿdo kammilna kalām fil-kafē.

The film ended at eleven, and afterward we carried on talking in the café.

4. Pulling the object outside ما...ش.

❌ ماكملتش ها عشان الوقت.

Incorrect—the feminine object suffix belongs before final ـش in one word.

✅ ماكملتهاش عشان الوقت خلص فجأة.

ma-kammilthāsh ʿashān il-waʾt khiliṣ fagʾa.

I didn't complete it because the time suddenly ran out.

Key Takeaways

Preserve the doubled mm throughout kammil / biyikammil.
A direct object is the thing continued or completed; a bare imperfect names the ongoing activity.
The command كمّل also manages conversation by inviting a speaker to carry on.
Keep كمّل “continue through the remainder” distinct from خلص “end/finish” and result adjective كامل “complete.”
Attach object suffixes and negative ـش to the Pattern II host in the normal order.

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