لما بكون الدوام طويل، عادي تكون تعبان.

Here لما means when or whenever.

In this sentence, it introduces a general, repeated situation: when/whenever the workday is long...

So it is not talking about one specific past event. It is more like a general rule or common situation.

الدوام is a very common Levantine word. Depending on context, it can mean:

• work hours
• the workday
• a shift
• sometimes school hours or office hours

So here it means something like the workday / the shift / work hours.

It is not exactly the same as job. For job/work in a broader sense, learners will also often hear شغل.

بكون comes from كان / يكون.

In Levantine, the prefix بـ often marks a normal present or habitual meaning. So بكون here helps express something like:

• is
• ends up being
• happens to be

So لما بكون الدوام طويل is basically: when the workday is long / when the shift ends up being long

You may also hear similar structures with يكون in other dialects or styles.

Both are possible in Arabic, but they feel a little different.

• الدوام طويل = the workday is long
• بكون الدوام طويل = the workday is long / ends up being long in that situation

Using بكون makes the clause a little more verbal and event-like, which works well after لما.

So the version in your sentence sounds natural for: when the shift is long...

Because it agrees with الدوام, and الدوام is masculine singular.

So:

• الدوام طويل
• not الدوام طويلة

Arabic adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.

عادي is a very common everyday Levantine word. It can mean:

• normal
• ordinary
• okay
• not surprising
• understandable

In this sentence, it means something like: it’s normal / understandable

So the idea is: it’s normal to be tired

Levantine Arabic usually does not use an explicit present-tense to be the way English does.

So where English says:

• It is normal

Arabic can simply say:

• عادي

The it is is understood from context.

So عادي تكون تعبان literally feels like: normal that you be tired but in natural English: it’s normal to be tired

After words like عادي, ممكن, لازم, and similar expressions, Levantine often uses the bare imperfect form, without بـ.

That gives a sense like:

• to be
• that you be
• for you to be

So:

• عادي تكون تعبان = it’s normal for you to be tired

If you used بتكون here, it would sound more like a regular descriptive statement, and it is less natural in this exact structure.

The subject is usually an implied you.

Arabic often leaves pronouns out because the verb already gives that information.

Here, the phrase means: that you be tired / for you to be tired

Also, تعبان is masculine singular, so the sentence is addressing or referring to a masculine singular person in a general way.

Because the sentence is using the masculine singular form.

In Levantine, تعبان means tired for a masculine singular person.

If you were speaking to a woman, you would say:

لما بكون الدوام طويل، عادي تكوني تعبانة.

So:

• masculine singular: تعبان
• feminine singular: تعبانة

For one woman:

لما بكون الدوام طويل، عادي تكوني تعبانة.

For more than one person:

لما بكون الدوام طويل، عادي تكونوا تعبانين.

So the part that changes is the verb and the adjective:

• تكون + تعبان = you (m.sg.) are tired
• تكوني + تعبانة = you (f.sg.) are tired
• تكونوا + تعبانين = you (pl.) are tired

Sometimes yes, but the nuance changes.

• لما = when / whenever
• إذا = more like if

So the original sentence with لما sounds like a normal recurring situation: whenever the workday is long, it’s normal to be tired

If you use إذا, it sounds more conditional: if the workday is long, it’s normal to be tired

Both can make sense, but لما is better if you mean a usual, expected situation.

A helpful pronunciation is:

lamma bkūn id-dawām ṭawīl, ʿādi tkūn taʿbān

A few useful notes:

• بكون is often pronounced bkūn
• تكون is often pronounced tkūn
• الدوام is pronounced with assimilation because د is a sun letter, so you hear something like id-dawām or ed-dawām, not a clear el-dawām

That kind of consonant clustering, like bkūn and tkūn, is very normal in spoken Levantine.