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- When I was younger: كان and "used to"
When I was younger: كان and "used to"
To talk about your childhood, you need one verb above all: كان (was). Put it in front of a present tense verb and it means "used to".
كان in the past
"Used to"
كان + present tense = used to: كُنْتُ أَلْعَبُ في الحَديقة (kuntu alʿabu fil-Hadiiqa) = I used to play in the park.
كانَتْ أُخْتي تَقْرَأُ كَثيرًا = My sister used to read a lot.
كُنّا نَسْكُنُ في القاهِرة = We used to live in Cairo.
كانَتْ أُخْتي تَقْرَأُ كَثيرًا = My sister used to read a lot.
كُنّا نَسْكُنُ في القاهِرة = We used to live in Cairo.
"When I was little"
عِنْدَما كُنْتُ صَغيرًا (boy) / صَغيرةً (girl) = when I was little.
After كان the describing word takes the accusative ending -an (ـًا): كانَ الجَوُّ جَميلًا = The weather was nice.
Useful: في الماضي (in the past), في المَدْرَسة الابْتِدائيّة (at primary school).
After كان the describing word takes the accusative ending -an (ـًا): كانَ الجَوُّ جَميلًا = The weather was nice.
Useful: في الماضي (in the past), في المَدْرَسة الابْتِدائيّة (at primary school).
Translate: When I was little, I used to live in Cairo.
- When I was little: عندما كنتُ صغيرًا.
- Used to live: كنتُ + أسكن.
- In Cairo: في القاهرة.
Answer: عندما كنتُ صغيرًا، كنتُ أسكن في القاهرة.
كان: كنتُ، كنتَ، كنتِ، كان، كانت، كنّا، كنتم، كانوا. كان + present tense = used to: كنتُ ألعب. After كان an adjective takes ـًا: كنتُ صغيرًا.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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