الحرب كانت طويلة.

A common Levantine-style pronunciation is il-ḥarb kānet ṭawīle or el-ḥarb kaanet ṭawiile.

A few sound notes:

• ح in حرب is a deep, breathy h sound, not the regular English h
• ط in طويلة is an emphatic t, said with a heavier quality than English t
• The final ة in طويلة is usually pronounced like -e in Levantine, so ṭawīle

Here is the breakdown:

• الحرب: the war
• كانت: was
• طويلة: long

Grammatically:

• الحرب is the subject or topic
• كانت is the past-tense form of كان, used for was
• طويلة is the adjective describing the subject

Because الحرب is grammatically feminine.

In Arabic, the past tense of was changes for gender:

• كان = masculine singular
• كانت = feminine singular

Since حرب is feminine, the sentence uses كانت.

Because Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Since حرب is feminine, the adjective also has to be feminine:

• masculine: طويل
• feminine: طويلة

So الحرب كانت طويلة matches correctly.

That is a very common learner question.

Not all feminine nouns in Arabic end in ـة. Many do, but some nouns are feminine by usage and must simply be learned that way. حرب is one of those nouns.

So even without ـة, حرب is treated as feminine, and that affects both the verb and the adjective.

كانت is the past-tense form of كان, which is often used like was in English.

Compare:

• الحرب طويلة = the war is long
• الحرب كانت طويلة = the war was long

So كانت shifts the sentence into the past.

Because طويلة here is a predicate adjective, not part of a noun phrase.

There is an important difference between these two:

• الحرب كانت طويلة = the war was long
• الحرب الطويلة = the long war

In الحرب الطويلة, the adjective is directly attached to the noun, so both are definite.

In الحرب كانت طويلة, طويلة comes after كانت as the predicate, so it does not take الـ.

Yes. That is also correct.

Both of these are possible:

• الحرب كانت طويلة
• كانت الحرب طويلة

The difference is mostly about style and emphasis:

• الحرب كانت طويلة puts the war first, which can feel more topic-focused
• كانت الحرب طويلة is more verb-first and can sound a bit more formal or narrative

In everyday Levantine, starting with the noun is very common.

The written form is often the same, but the pronunciation is more colloquial in speech.

In formal reading, you may hear something closer to:

• al-ḥarb kānat ṭawīlah

In Levantine speech, you are more likely to hear:

• il-ḥarb kānet ṭawīle

So the grammar is basically the same here, but the pronunciation shifts toward the dialect.

A natural Levantine version is:

• الحرب ما كانت طويلة

Here ما negates كانت.

So:

• كانت = was
• ما كانت = was not

This is the normal spoken Levantine pattern.

The biggest ones are these:

• ح in حرب: deeper and stronger than English h
• ر in حرب: usually a tapped or lightly rolled r, not an English r
• ط in طويلة: heavier than a normal t
• ة in طويلة: usually sounds like -e in Levantine speech

If you say harb kaanet taweele, a speaker will probably understand you, but improving ح and ط will make you sound much more natural.