وقت كنا عم ننصب الخيمة، صاحبي فتح كيس النوم.

Here, وقت means when or while, not just time as a noun.

In Levantine, وقت is often used to introduce a time clause:

• وقت كنا عم ننصب الخيمة = when / while we were setting up the tent

So yes, its basic meaning is time, but in sentences like this it works more like a conjunction.

A close alternative would be لما:

• لما كنا عم ننصب الخيمة...

Both are common, though وقت can sound especially natural in storytelling.

This is a very common Levantine way to make the past continuous.

It breaks down like this:

• كنا = we were
• عم = marks an action as ongoing / in progress
• ننصب = we set up / pitch

Together:

• كنا عم ننصب = we were setting up

So the pattern is:

كان + عم + imperfect verb
for example:

• كنت عم آكل = I was eating
• كانوا عم يحكوا = they were talking
• كنا عم ننصب = we were setting up

عم is a progressive marker in Levantine. It tells you the action is in progress.

Compare:

• بننصب الخيمة = we set up / we are setting up depending on context
• عم ننصب الخيمة = we are in the middle of setting up the tent
• كنا عم ننصب الخيمة = we were setting up the tent

So عم is one of the main ways Levantine expresses ongoing action.

English speakers often find this helpful because it maps nicely to be + -ing:

• عم آكل = I’m eating
• عم يكتب = he’s writing

Because after عم, many Levantine speakers use the imperfect without بـ.

So:

• عم ننصب is very normal
• not عم بننصب in this style

A useful rule of thumb:

• بـ + imperfect often gives the regular present
• عم + imperfect gives the progressive

So you get:

• بنكتب = we write / we’re writing depending on context
• عم نكتب = we’re writing right now

There is some regional variation in Levantine, and you may hear slightly different patterns, but عم ننصب is completely standard and natural.

Yes, in this sentence ننصب الخيمة clearly means set up / pitch the tent.

The verb نصب has a few meanings depending on context, including:

• to erect / set up / install
• in other contexts, to scam / trick someone

But with الخيمة right after it, the meaning is definitely:

• pitch the tent
• set up the tent

So context matters a lot with this verb.

الخيمة means the tent.

The الـ is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

• خيمة = a tent
• الخيمة = the tent

In this sentence, it is definite because the speaker is talking about a specific tent already known in the situation.

Also, خيمة is a feminine noun, but that does not affect this particular verb form here because the subject of ننصب is we, not the tent.

صاحبي means my friend, my buddy, or my mate.

It is made of:

• صاحب = friend / companion
• ـي = my

So:

• صاحبي = my friend

Compared with صديقي:

• صديقي is more standard or formal
• صاحبي sounds more colloquial and everyday in Levantine

So in spoken Levantine, صاحبي is very natural.

Because Arabic verbs already include the subject.

فتح by itself means:

• he opened

So you do not need to add هو unless you want emphasis or contrast.

In this sentence:

• صاحبي فتح كيس النوم

The noun صاحبي already tells you who did the action, and فتح agrees with that masculine singular subject.

So Arabic often does not need an extra subject pronoun the way English does.

In Levantine, subject + verb order is very common in everyday speech.

So:

• صاحبي فتح كيس النوم = my friend opened the sleeping bag

This sounds natural and conversational.

Arabic can also use verb + subject order:

• فتح صاحبي كيس النوم

That is also possible, but in spoken Levantine, SVO order is often very common, especially in casual narration.

So the sentence uses a very normal colloquial word order.

This is an idafa structure, often called a construct phrase.

It is literally:

• كيس = bag
• النوم = the sleep

Together:

• كيس النوم = sleeping bag

In Arabic idafa:

• the first noun usually does not take الـ
• the second noun can be definite
• the whole phrase becomes definite because of the second noun

So:

• كيس نوم = a sleeping bag
• كيس النوم = the sleeping bag

This is a very important pattern in Arabic, and it shows up everywhere:

• باب البيت = the door of the house
• كتاب الأستاذ = the teacher’s book

Because the sentence is setting up a very common storytelling contrast:

• background action in progress: كنا عم ننصب الخيمة
• main event that happened during it: صاحبي فتح كيس النوم

So the meaning is basically:

• While we were setting up the tent, my friend opened the sleeping bag

This is the same logic as in English:

• We were setting up the tent when my friend opened the sleeping bag

So the grammar is doing two things:

1. showing one action was already in progress
2. showing another action happened during that time

That contrast is extremely common in Levantine narration.