كانت أمي تحمل المال، وكنت أنا أحمل الطرد.

In this sentence, كان is used to put the action in the past while the main verb stays in the imperfect.

So:

• كانت أمي تحمل المال = My mother was carrying the money
• كنت أنا أحمل الطرد = I was carrying the package

A very common pattern in Arabic is:

كان + imperfect verb

This often gives the sense of:

• was doing
• were doing
• sometimes used to do, depending on context

So كانت تحمل and كنت أحمل do not just mean a simple completed action; they suggest an ongoing action in the past.

Because كان must agree with the subject.

• أمي = my mother, which is third person feminine singular
  • so Arabic uses كانت
• أنا = I, which is first person singular
  • so Arabic uses كنت

Here are the basic forms involved:

• كان = he was
• كانت = she was
• كنتُ = I was

So the change is about person and gender.

Because after كان, Arabic normally uses the imperfect to describe an action that was ongoing in the past.

Compare:

• حملتْ أمي المال = My mother carried the money / My mother carried the money once
• كانت أمي تحمل المال = My mother was carrying the money

And:

• حملتُ الطرد = I carried the package
• كنت أحمل الطرد = I was carrying the package

So the imperfect here is not present tense. With كان, it becomes a past-time ongoing action.

Yes. كنت already tells you the subject is I, so أنا is not grammatically necessary.

The sentence could simply be:

وكنت أحمل الطرد

Adding أنا gives emphasis or contrast. It can sound like:

• and I was carrying the package
• while I myself was carrying the package

So أنا is there to highlight the contrast between my mother and me.

Both are possible, but verb-first order is very common in Modern Standard Arabic.

So:

• كانت أمي تحمل المال = natural and standard
• أمي كانت تحمل المال = also possible, often with slightly more focus on my mother

Arabic often prefers:

• verb + subject + rest of sentence

So the sentence starts with كانت because that is a normal Arabic clause order.

The -ي on أم means my.

• أم = mother
• أمي = my mother

This -ي is a possessive suffix. It attaches directly to the noun.

So:

• أمي = my mother
• أبوك = your father
• كتابي = my book

In this sentence, أمي is the subject of كانت.

Because they are being treated as specific known things:

• المال = the money
• الطرد = the package / the parcel

Arabic uses الـ to make a noun definite, like the in English.

So:

• مال = money / some money
• المال = the money

and

• طرد = a package / parcel
• الطرد = the package / parcel

In context, this usually means the speaker has specific money and a specific package in mind.

They are the direct objects of the verbs تحمل and أحمل.

• تحمل المال = carries the money
• أحمل الطرد = I carry the package

In fully vowelled Arabic, they would normally appear in the accusative:

• المالَ
• الطردَ

But in normal unvowelled writing, those short case endings are usually not shown, so you identify them from:

• the meaning
• the verb
• the sentence structure

Yes. This is an important point.

كان + imperfect can mean:

• an action in progress in the past: was carrying
• a repeated or habitual past action: used to carry

So:

• كانت أمي تحمل المال could mean My mother was carrying the money
• in another context, a similar structure could mean My mother used to carry money

The exact meaning depends on context. In your sentence, the most natural reading is the ongoing one: was carrying.

و simply means and.

It connects the two parts:

• كانت أمي تحمل المال
• وكنت أنا أحمل الطرد

So the whole sentence links two simultaneous past actions:

• my mother was carrying the money,
• and I was carrying the package.

In Arabic, و is attached directly to the next word, so you write:

• وكنت not
• و كنت

Yes. In the first clause, تحمل matches أمي because أمي is feminine singular.

So:

• هي تحمل = she carries / is carrying
• أمي تحمل = my mother carries / is carrying

That is why the verb is تحمل, not يحمل.

In the second clause, أحمل is first person singular because the subject is أنا:

• أنا أحمل = I carry / am carrying

So the imperfect verbs also agree with their subjects.