[15] a step back into the past - the equational sentence in the past tense

A step back...

Arabic does not have the present tense verb “to be” which are: am/is/are. There is, however, a past tense verb "to be." In English we have: “I am…”  or/ “she is…” but not in Arabic. However, “I was…” or/ “she was…” do exist in Arabic! Why no present tense verb "to be"? The present tense verb "to be" is implied within the Arabic sentence. So it is not written.

Be careful

Let’s take a look at the present tense equational sentence…  أحْمَدٌ في الْبَيْتِ  أحْمَد في اِلْبيتْ 0-1  Aḥmed fil beet – Ahmed is in the house. Example 1: Aḥmed fil beet – Ahmed is in the house. The literal translation of Aḥmed fil beet is “Aḥmed-in-the-house.” You just will not need the present tense verb “to be.” ((By the way... notice the preposition "in" is attached to the word "the" phonetically! But the actual written form is two separate words.)) Let’s now take a look at a past tense equational sentence… أحْمَدٌ كانَ في الْبَيْتِ أحْمَدْ كانْ في اِلْبيتْ 0-2 Aḥmed kaan fil beet - Aḥmed was in the house.  Example 2: Aḥmed kaan fil beet - Aḥmed was in the house. Here the verb “to be” in the past tense is required in Arabic.

 

 

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