امي عملت سلطة بالخيار والخس.

Because أمي / امي is feminine, and in the past tense Levantine uses -ت for she.

• عمل = he did / he made
• عملت = she did / she made

So امي عملت means my mother made.

It can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, عملت سلطة means made a salad or prepared a salad, not just did a salad in the English sense.

This is very normal in Arabic:

• عملت أكل = she made food
• عملت قهوة = she made coffee
• عملت سلطة = she made salad

Because it means a salad, not the salad.

• سلطة = a salad / salad
• السلطة = the salad

So امي عملت سلطة means My mother made a salad.

If you said امي عملت السلطة, that would mean My mother made the salad.

Here بـ means something like with or using.

So:

• بالخيار = with cucumber
• بالخيار والخس = with cucumber and lettuce

In food descriptions, بـ is very common for ingredients.

Because الخيار has the definite article ال.

When بـ combines with ال, they join together:

• ب + الخيار = بالخيار

This is very common:

• بالبيت = in the house
• بالسيارة = by car / in the car
• بالخيار = with the cucumber / with cucumber

In food contexts, Arabic often uses the definite form even where English would not.

Because one preposition can apply to both nouns.

So بالخيار والخس means:

• with cucumber and lettuce

You do not need to repeat it:

• بالخيار والخس = normal
• بالخيار وبالخس = possible, but more repetitive or emphatic

English does the same thing:

• with cucumber and lettuce not necessarily
• with cucumber and with lettuce

Arabic often uses the singular form for ingredients or foods in a general sense.

So:

• الخيار here means cucumber as an ingredient in general
• الخس means lettuce

This does not necessarily mean there was only one cucumber leaf or one exact item. It is just the normal way to name ingredients.

Yes, you might hear مع, but بـ is especially natural when talking about what something is made with.

Compare:

• سلطة بالخيار والخس = a salad with cucumber and lettuce
• سلطة مع خيار وخس = also understandable, but بـ sounds more ingredient-based and natural here

So for food ingredients, بـ is often the better choice.

Both refer to my mother.

• أمي is the more standard spelling
• امي is very common in informal writing, especially in chats and everyday Levantine writing

Learners should recognize both as the same word.

It is:

• أم / ام = mother
• -ي = my

So:

• أمي / امي = my mother

The ending -ي is the possessive suffix meaning my.

A common Levantine-style pronunciation would be something like:

immi ʿamlet salaTa bil-khyār wil-khass

A simpler learner-friendly version: immi amlet salata bil-khyar wil-khass

A few notes:

• أمي / امي often sounds like immi
• عملت is often amlet or ʿamlet
• والخس is often pronounced smoothly as wil-khass or w-l-khass

Exact pronunciation varies by country and city.

Because Arabic often starts with the subject, especially in everyday speech.

So:

• امي عملت سلطة = My mother made a salad

This is very natural in Levantine.

Arabic can also use other word orders depending on style and emphasis, but subject + verb + object is extremely common in spoken Levantine.

It is very easy for Arabic speakers to understand, but it looks colloquial because of the spelling and everyday style.

For example:

• امي instead of the more standard أمي
• The overall feel is simple spoken Arabic

A more Standard Arabic version would be something like: أمي صنعت سلطة بالخيار والخس or أمي أعدّت سلطة بالخيار والخس

But أمي عملت سلطة بالخيار والخس is very natural in Levantine everyday speech.