Past Habits and Continuous Actions: كان + Present Verb
To talk about actions you "used to do" regularly in the past, or actions you "were doing" continuously at a specific time, combine the past tense of كان (to be) with the present tense of your main action verb.
Both verbs must be conjugated to match the subject. Notice how both كان (he was) and يستيقظ (he wakes up) are conjugated for "he":
| The farmer used to wake up at dawn. | كان الفلاح يستيقظ عند الفجر.kâna alfallâhu yastayqizu 'inda alfajri |
If the subject is "I", both verbs change to their "I" form (كنت and أطعم):
| I used to feed the sheep on the farm. | كنت أطعم الخروف في المزرعة.kuntu ut'imu-l-kharûfa fî-l-mazra'ah |
Plurals and Questions
This rule applies to all subjects. For "we" (نحن), both verbs take the "we" conjugation:
| We used to harvest the wheat and collect the crop. | كنا نحصد القمح ونجمع المحصول.kunnâ nahsudu al-qamha wa najma'u al-mahsûl |
Similarly, for "they" (هم):
| They used to go to the farm before dawn. | كانوا يذهبون إلى المزرعة قبل الفجر.kânû yadhhabûna ilâ al-mazra'ati qabla al-fajri |
To ask a question, place your question word (such as هل for yes/no questions, or متى for "when") at the beginning of the sentence:
| Was my brother using the tractor in the field? | هل كان أخي يستخدم الجرار في الحقل؟hal kâna akhî yastakhdimu al-jarrâra fî al-haqli? |
| Were they using the tractor on the farm? | هل كانوا يستخدمون الجرار في المزرعة؟hal kânû yastakhdimûna al-jarrâra fi al-mazraah? |
Negating Past Habits
To say someone "did not use to" or "was not doing" something, you have two options. You can negate the past tense verb كان using ما:
| We did not use to harvest the crop in the winter. | ما كنا نحصد المحصول في الشتاء.mâ kunnâ nahsudu al-mahsûla fi ash-shitâ'i |
Or you can leave كان positive and negate the present tense main verb using لا:
| My sister was not feeding the sheep. | كانت أختي لا تطعم الخروف.kânat ukhtî lâ tutimu al-kharûfa |
Both forms are correct and common.
