المحاولة كانت صعبة.

Because المحاولة is a feminine singular noun, and كان in the past tense agrees with it here.

• كان = masculine singular
• كانت = feminine singular

Since محاولة ends in ـة and is feminine, the sentence uses كانت.

A masculine example would be:

• الامتحان كان صعب = same structure, but with a masculine noun

Because adjectives in Arabic usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Here, صعبة describes المحاولة, so it also has to be feminine:

• محاولة صعبة = a difficult attempt

If the noun were masculine, you would usually get:

• صعب

So the feminine ـة on صعبة matches the feminine محاولة.

الـ is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

• محاولة = an attempt / attempt
• المحاولة = the attempt

In Levantine pronunciation, الـ is often pronounced more like il- or el-, depending on the region.

It is the past-tense form of to be.

Arabic often has no present-tense verb for “to be” in simple sentences:

• المحاولة صعبة = the attempt is difficult

But for the past, Arabic uses كان / كانت:

• المحاولة كانت صعبة = the attempt was difficult

So كانت is what puts the sentence in the past.

Because صعبة here is the predicate adjective, not a regular adjective directly attached to a noun inside a noun phrase.

Compare:

• المحاولة الصعبة = the difficult attempt
  Here الصعبة is directly describing the noun, so it takes الـ too.

• المحاولة كانت صعبة = the attempt was difficult
  Here صعبة is part of the statement about the subject, so it normally stays indefinite.

This is a very common pattern in Arabic.

It works in both.

The spelling المحاولة كانت صعبة is perfectly understandable and natural, and it is very close to both Standard Arabic and spoken Levantine.

In actual Levantine speech, the pronunciation would sound different from the spelling, something like:

• il-muḥāwle kānit saʿbe

So the written form may look standard, but the structure is also completely normal in Levantine.

Yes, that is also correct.

Both are possible:

• المحاولة كانت صعبة
• كانت المحاولة صعبة

But in Levantine, subject first is often the more natural everyday choice:

• المحاولة كانت صعبة

The version starting with كانت can sound a bit more formal, narrative, or literary, though it is still correct.

A rough Levantine pronunciation would be:

il-muḥāwle kānit saʿbe

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• الـ often sounds like il- or el-
• محاولة often becomes something like muḥāwle
• كانت is often pronounced kānit
• صعبة is often pronounced saʿbe

The exact pronunciation depends on the country and region, but that is a good Levantine-style approximation.

The ending ـة is called taa marbuuTa. Very often, it marks a noun or adjective as feminine.

So in this sentence:

• محاولة is feminine
• صعبة is feminine
• كانت is feminine

That feminine pattern is consistent all the way through the sentence.

In Levantine pronunciation, the ـة at the end is usually heard as -e or -a depending on the word and dialect, especially when pausing.

Yes. It sounds natural and clear.

A speaker might also add everyday intensifiers, for example:

• المحاولة كانت كتير صعبة = the attempt was very difficult

But the basic sentence المحاولة كانت صعبة is absolutely normal and useful. It is a good example of a simple past-tense descriptive sentence in Levantine.