اختي كانت بدها تمر عالبقالة بعد الدوام، بس رجعت عالبيت بكير.

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Breakdown of اختي كانت بدها تمر عالبقالة بعد الدوام، بس رجعت عالبيت بكير.

• ال: the
• بده: to want
• اخت: sister

Questions & Answers about اختي كانت بدها تمر عالبقالة بعد الدوام، بس رجعت عالبيت بكير.

What does كانت بدها mean, and why are both words needed?

بدها by itself means she wants. Adding كانت shifts that idea into the past, so كانت بدها means she wanted to, she was planning to, or she was going to.

Using both words is very common in Levantine when you want to talk about a past desire or intention.

How is بدها built?

بدها is made from بدّ plus the attached pronoun -ها.

A few common forms are:

• بدي = I want
• بدك = you want
• بده = he wants
• بدها = she wants
• بدنا = we want

So بدها تمر literally means she wants to pass by / stop by.

Why is the verb تمر used without بـ?

After بدّ plus another verb, Levantine usually uses the bare imperfect without بـ.

So you say:

• بدها تمر = she wants/wanted to stop by

not:

• بدها بتمر

The بـ prefix is more typical for regular present/habitual meaning, like:

• = she passes by here every day