الحكومة تغيرت.

In everyday Levantine, you might hear something like il-ḥkūme tghayyarit.

A few notes:

• الحكومة → il-ḥkūme
• تغيرت / تغيّرت → tghayyarit

Pronunciation varies a bit by region, so the exact vowels may shift, but that is a good practical approximation.

The writing works for both.

• In MSA, it would be understood as The government changed / has changed.
• In Levantine, people can use the same spelling, but the pronunciation is more colloquial and there are no case endings in speech.

So this is a nice example of a sentence that looks very similar across formal and spoken Arabic.

Because حكومة ends in ـة (the taa marbuuTa), which usually marks a feminine noun.

So even though government is not biologically female, it is grammatically feminine in Arabic. That is why the verb agrees with it in the feminine singular.

They come from two different things:

• The first تـ is part of the verb pattern itself: تغيّر
• The final ـت marks 3rd person feminine singular in the past, matching الحكومة

So the last ـت is the part that shows agreement with الحكومة.

In more careful spelling, تغيّرت is better, with a shadda on ي.

Why?

• The verb is تغيّر
• That middle consonant is doubled
• The shadda shows that doubling

But in everyday typing, many people leave the shadda out and write تغيرت. That is very common.

It usually means changed or has changed, depending on context.

This verb normally means that something became different or underwent change. It is not the clearest way to say was changed by someone.

Compare:

• تغيّرت الحكومة = The government changed / has changed
• غيّروا الحكومة = They changed the government
• Formal MSA passive: غُيِّرت الحكومة = The government was changed

Yes, absolutely.

Both are possible:

• الحكومة تغيرت
• تغيرت الحكومة

The difference is mostly about emphasis and style:

• الحكومة تغيرت puts the government first, so it feels more like As for the government, it changed
• تغيرت الحكومة is more verb-first and can sound a bit more neutral or narrative

In Levantine, subject-first word order is very common.

Because الـ means the.

So:

• حكومة = a government / government
• الحكومة = the government

Yes.

That is because ح is a moon letter, not a sun letter. So the l sound stays.

So you say:

• il-ḥkūme

not:

• iḥ-ḥkūme

It comes from the root غ ي ر, which has to do with change and difference.

Useful related words:

• تغيّر = to change / become different
• غيّر = to change something
• غير = other / different / not depending on context

This is a very useful root in Arabic, so it is worth learning as a word family rather than as just one isolated verb.