Breakdown of كان من المفروض أن تتصل بي أمس!
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
أمسams
yesterday
اتصل بittasala bi
to call
كانkâna
to be
من المفروض أنmina al-mafrûdi an
supposedly, one is supposed to
Questions & Answers about كان من المفروض أن تتصل بي أمس!
How does the phrase كان من المفروض أن literally translate, and how does it create the meaning of supposed to?
It literally translates to "It was from the supposed that..." The word المفروض is a passive participle coming from the verb فرض (to impose or require). Using the set phrase كان من المفروض أن followed by a present tense verb is the standard Arabic structure to express that someone was supposed to do something in the past.
Since this sentence is about something that happened yesterday, why is the verb تتصل in the present tense?
The particle أن (to/that) must always be followed by a present tense verb in Arabic. The past time frame of the sentence ("yesterday") is already fully established by the verb كان (was) at the very beginning of the sentence, so the following verb simply stays in the present tense.
The verb تتصل could mean either you (masculine) call or she calls. How do we know which one it is here?
Grammatically, تتصل can mean either "you (masculine) call" or "she calls" because both use the exact same prefix. Because this is a standalone sentence with an exclamatory tone, it strongly implies direct address ("You were supposed to call!"). However, if this were part of a larger story about a woman, it would mean "She was supposed to call me yesterday!"
Why do we use بي instead of attaching a direct object pronoun like تتصلني for call me?
The verb اتصل (to contact or call) does not take a direct object in Arabic. It always requires the preposition ب to indicate who is being contacted. Therefore, instead of attaching the pronoun directly to the verb, you must attach it to the preposition, giving you بي (literally "with me").
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