اذا ما عجبك البرنامج، غير القناة.

Here إذا means if, and ما is the negation of the verb that follows.

So إذا ما عجبك البرنامج means:

• if the program doesn’t please you
• more naturally in English: if you don’t like the program

In Levantine, إذا ما + verb is a very common way to say if ... not.

عجبك breaks down like this:

• عجب = pleased / was pleasing
• -ك = you (object suffix)

So literally, عجبك البرنامج means the program pleased you.

With the negation, ما عجبك البرنامج literally becomes the program did not please you.

This is a very common Arabic pattern: instead of saying you liked the program, Arabic often expresses it as the program pleased you.

Because Arabic often uses verb + subject word order.

So in:

• ما عجبك البرنامج

the verb comes first, and البرنامج is the thing doing the pleasing, so it comes after the verb.

A more literal word-for-word sense is:

• did-not-please-you the-program

Even though that sounds strange in English, it is normal in Arabic.

Great question. Yes, عجب is formally a past-tense form, but in Arabic, especially in conditional structures like this, a past form can be used to express a general or future situation.

So:

• إذا ما عجبك البرنامج
  can mean
• if you don’t like the program
• if the program isn’t to your liking

This does not necessarily refer to the past in English.

In everyday Levantine, you could also hear a more colloquial phrasing such as:

• إذا مو عاجبك البرنامج...

which also means if you don’t like the program.

غير is the imperative, meaning a command: change! or switch!

It comes from the verb غيّر = to change.

So:

• غير القناة = change the channel / switch the channel

This is the form used when speaking directly to one person.

If you are talking to:

• a man: غيّر
• a woman: غيّري
• a group: غيّروا

So the sentence as written is addressed to one person, usually masculine singular by default.

Arabic often does not need a separate word for you, because it is built into the verb or attached as a suffix.

In this sentence, you appears in two places:

1. -ك in عجبك = you
2. the command form غير already implies you as the person being addressed

So Arabic does not need to say إنت here unless the speaker wants extra emphasis.

Because Arabic often expresses this idea differently.

English says:

• you like the program

Arabic often says:

• the program pleases you

That is why عجبك البرنامج feels structurally different from English.

This is not unusual at all. It is just the normal way verbs like عجب work.

القناة means the channel, and it is the direct object of غير.

So:

• غير القناة = change the channel

There is no extra preposition needed here. The verb directly takes the object.

Also notice the definite article الـ on both nouns:

• البرنامج = the program
• القناة = the channel

It is understandable and natural-looking, but it sits a bit between Standard Arabic and everyday Levantine.

In writing, Levantine is often written in forms that are very close to Standard Arabic, especially in simple sentences like this one.

A more everyday Levantine version might be something like:

• إذا مو عاجبك البرنامج، غيّر القناة

That said, the given sentence is perfectly clear and very useful for a learner.

A common Levantine-style pronunciation would be roughly:

iza ma ʿajabak il-barnāmaj, ghayyer il-ʾanāh

A few notes:

• إذا → iza
• ع in عجبك is a consonant English does not have
• غير is pronounced something like ghayyer
• القناة may be pronounced differently depending on region:
  • il-qanāh
  • il-ʾanāh in many urban Levantine varieties, where ق becomes a glottal stop

So pronunciation can vary a bit across Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan.

You mainly change the imperative غير.

• to one man: إذا ما عجبك البرنامج، غير القناة.
• to one woman: إذا ما عجبك البرنامج، غيّري القناة.
• to a group: إذا ما عجبكم البرنامج، غيّروا القناة.

Notice that with a group, عجبكم also changes:

• -ك = you singular
• -كم = you plural

So Arabic marks both who is being pleased and who is being commanded.