كان في طابور طويل قدام البنك، وانا كنت مستعجل.

There was a long line in front of the bank, and I was in a hurry.

Breakdown of كان في طابور طويل قدام البنك، وانا كنت مستعجل.

• انا: I
• ال: the
• في: to exist
• و: and

Questions & Answers about كان في طابور طويل قدام البنك، وانا كنت مستعجل.

Why does the sentence start with كان في? What does that structure mean in Levantine Arabic?

كان في is a very common way to say there was / there were in Levantine Arabic.

• في on its own often works like there is / there are
• كان puts that idea into the past

So:

• في طابور = there is a line / there’s a line
• كان في طابور = there was a line

This is an existential structure, not a literal was in.

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Why is it كان في طابور طويل and not something like طويل طابور?

In Arabic, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• طابور = line / queue
• طويل = long

Together:

• طابور طويل = a long line

This is the normal noun + adjective order in Arabic. English does the opposite: long line.

Also, the adjective usually matches the noun in definiteness, gender, and number. Here both are indefinite:

• طابور = a line
• طويل = long

If it were definite, you would get:

• الطابور الطويل = the long line

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What does mean exactly? Is it specifically a line of people?