الدفاع كان ضعيف.

The defense was weak.

Breakdown of الدفاع كان ضعيف.

• كان: to be
• دفاع: the defense
• ضعيف: weak

Questions & Answers about الدفاع كان ضعيف.

How do you pronounce الدفاع كان ضعيف in Levantine?

A common Levantine pronunciation is id-difaaʕ kaan ḍaʕeef.

A few notes:

• الدفاع is often pronounced id-difaaʕ or ed-difaaʕ, depending on the speaker.
• The الـ does not sound like al- here, because د is a sun letter, so the l sound blends into the d.
• كان sounds like kaan.
• ضعيف sounds like ḍaʕeef.

So the whole sentence is roughly: id-difaaʕ kaan ḍaʕeef.

Why is كان used here?

كان is the past form of to be.

In Arabic, especially in Levantine:

• For the present, you usually do not say is.
• For the past, you often use كان for was.

So:

• الدفاع ضعيف = The defense is weak
• الدفاع كان ضعيف = The defense was weak

Could I also say الدفاع ضعيف?

Yes. الدفاع ضعيف means The defense is weak in the present.