ابي ما اكل فطور اليوم لانه ما كان عنده وقت.

My father did not eat breakfast today because he did not have time.

Breakdown of ابي ما اكل فطور اليوم لانه ما كان عنده وقت.

• ي: my
• اليوم: today
• عند: at
• اكل: to eat

Questions & Answers about ابي ما اكل فطور اليوم لانه ما كان عنده وقت.

Why is ما اكل used for didn’t eat? Where is did?

In Levantine Arabic, you usually do not use a separate word for did the way English does.

So:

• أكل = he ate
• ما أكل = he didn’t eat

The negative particle ما goes before the verb, and that is enough.

English needs didn’t eat, but Levantine can simply say ما أكل.

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Why does the sentence start with أبي? Does it literally mean my father or more like my dad?

أبي literally means my father.

In actual everyday speech, depending on the country and family, it may sound:

• neutral
• a bit careful
• sometimes slightly more formal than the most casual family words

Very common everyday alternatives in Levantine include things like:

• بيّي
• أبوي

So أبي is understandable and correct, but it is not the only way Levantine speakers might say my dad.

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Why is there no هو before ما أكل? Shouldn’t it say أبي هو ما أكل?