VSO and SVO word orders are possible in Levantine. In both cases, the verb precedes the object.^[237] SVO is more common in Levantine, while Classical Arabic prefers VSO.^[238] Subject-initial order indicates topic-prominent sentences, while verb-initial order indicates subject-prominent sentences.^[239] In interrogative sentences, the interrogative particle comes first.^[240]

Nouns and noun phrases

Nouns are either masculine or feminine and singular, dual or plural.^[241]^[242] The dual is formed with the suffix ين- -ēn.^[243]^[242] Most feminine singular nouns end with ـة tāʼ marbūṭah, pronounced as –a or -e depending on the preceding consonant: -a after guttural (ح خ ع غ ق ه ء) and emphatic consonants (ر ص ض ط ظ), -e after other consonants.^[72] Unlike Classical Arabic, Levantine has no case marking.^[242]

Levantine has a definite article, which marks common nouns (i.e. nouns that are not proper nouns) as definite. Its absence marks common nouns as indefinite. ^[244] The Arabic definite article ال il precedes the noun or adjective and has multiple pronunciations. Its vowel is dropped when the preceding word ends in a vowel. A helping vowel "e" is inserted if the following word begins with a consonant cluster.^[222] It assimilates with "sun letters" (consonants that are pronounced with the tip of the tongue).^[222] The letter Jeem (ج) is a sun letter for speakers pronouncing it as [ʒ] but not for those pronouncing it as [d͡ʒ].^[244]^[245]

For nouns referring to humans, the regular (also called sound) masculine plural is formed with the suffix -īn. The regular feminine plural is formed with -āt.^[72]^[246] The masculine plural is used to refer to a group with both genders.^[247] There are many broken plurals (also called internal plurals), in which the consonantal root of the singular is changed.^[242] These plural patterns are shared with other varieties of Arabic and may also be applied to foreign borrowings.^[242] Several patterns of broken plurals exist, and it is impossible to predict them exactly.^[248] One common pattern is for instance CvCvC => CuCaCa (e.g.: singular: ‏مدير‎ mudīr, 'manager'; plural: ‏مدرا‎ mudara, 'managers').^[248] Inanimate objects take feminine singular agreement in the plural, for verbs, attached pronouns, and adjectives.^[249]

The genitive is formed by putting the nouns next to each other^[250] in a construct called iḍāfah, lit. 'addition'. The first noun is always indefinite. If an indefinite noun is added to a definite noun, it results in a new definite compound noun:^[251]^[72]^[252] كتاب الإستاذ ktāb il-ʾistāz listen^ⓘ, 'the book of the teacher'.^[253] Besides possessiveness, the iḍāfah can also specify or define the first term.^[251] Although there is no limit to the number of nouns in an iḍāfah, it is rare to have three or more.^[250] The first term must be in the construct state: if it ends in the feminine marker (/-ah/, or /-ih/), it changes to (/-at/, /-it/) in pronunciation (i.e. ة pronounced as /t/): مدينة نيويورك madīnet nyū-yōrk listen^ⓘ, 'New York City'.^[251]

Adjectives typically have three forms: a masculine singular, a feminine singular, and a plural.^[72] In most adjectives, the feminine is formed through the addition of -a/e.^[254]^[212] Many adjectives have the pattern فعيل (fʕīl / CCīC or faʕīl / CaCīC), but other patterns exist.^[72] Adjectives derived from nouns using the suffix ـي -i are called nisba adjectives. Their feminine form ends in ـية -iyye and their plural in ـيين -iyyīn.^[255] Nouns in dual have adjectives in plural.^[72] The plural of adjectives is either regular ending in ـين -īn or is an irregular "broken" plural. It is used with nouns referring to people. For non-human, inanimate, or abstract nouns, adjectives use either the plural or the singular feminine form regardless of gender.^[72]^[256]^[249]

Adjectives follow the noun they modify and agree with it in definiteness. Adjectives without an article after a definite noun express a clause with the invisible copula "to be":^[257]

بيت كبير bēt kbīr listen^ⓘ, 'a big house'
البيت الكبير il-bēt le-kbīr listen^ⓘ, 'the big house'
البيت كبير il-bēt kbīr listen^ⓘ, 'the house is big'

The elative is used for comparison, instead of separate comparative and superlative forms.^[258] The elative is formed by adding a hamza at the beginning of the adjective and replacing the vowels by "a" (pattern: أفعل ʾafʕal / aCCaC, e.g.: ‏كبير‎ kbīr, 'big'; ‏أكبر‎ ʾakbar, 'bigger/biggest').^[72] Adjective endings in ‏ي‎ (i) and ‏و‎ (u) are changed into ‏ی‎ (a). If the second and third consonant in the root are the same, they are geminated (pattern: أفلّ ʾafall / ʾaCaCC).^[259] When an elative modifies a noun, it precedes the noun, and no definite article is used.^[260]

Levantine does not distinguish between adverbs and adjectives in adverbial function. Almost any adjective can be used as an adverb: ‏منيح‎ mnīḥ, 'good' vs. نمتي منيح؟ nimti mnīḥ? listen^ⓘ, 'Did you sleep well?'. MSA adverbs, with the suffix -an, are often used, e.g., ‏أبدا‎ ʾabadan, 'at all'.^[239] Adverbs often appear after the verb or the adjective. ‏كتير‎ ktīr, 'very' can be positioned after or before the adjective.^[239] Adverbs of manner can usually be formed using bi- followed by the nominal form: ‏بسرعة‎ b-sirʿa, 'fast, quickly', lit. 'with speed'.^[59]

‏مش‎ miš or in Syrian Arabic ‏مو‎ mū negate adjectives (including active participles), demonstratives, and nominal phrases:^[261]^[262]

أنا مش فلسطيني. ʾana miš falasṭīni. listen^ⓘ, 'I'm not Palestinian.'
مش عارفة. miš ʕārfe. listen^ⓘ, 'She doesn't know.'
هادا مش منيح. hāda miš mnīḥ. listen^ⓘ / هاد مو منيح. hād mū mnīḥ., 'That's not good.'

Pronouns

Levantine has eight persons and eight pronouns. Contrary to MSA, dual pronouns do not exist in Levantine; the plural is used instead. Because conjugated verbs indicate the subject with a prefix or a suffix, independent subject pronouns are usually unnecessary and mainly used for emphasis.^[263]^[264] Feminine plural forms modifying human females are found primarily in rural and Bedouin areas. They are not mentioned below.^[265]

More information Singular, Plural ...

Levantine independent personal pronouns^[264]
		Singular	Plural
1st person (m./f.)		‏أنا‎ ʾana	‏احنا‎ ʾiḥna (South) / ‏نحنا‎ niḥna (North)
2nd person	m.	‏انت‎ ʾinta	‏انتو‎ / ‏انتوا‎ ʾintu
2nd person	f.	‏انتي‎ ʾinti	‏انتو‎ / ‏انتوا‎ ʾintu
3rd person	m.	‏هو‎ huwwe	‏هم‎ humme (South) / ‏هن‎ hinne (North)
3rd person	f.	‏هي‎ hiyye	‏هم‎ humme (South) / ‏هن‎ hinne (North)

Close

Direct object pronouns are indicated by suffixes attached to the conjugated verb. Their form depends on whether the verb ends with a consonant or a vowel. Suffixed to nouns, these pronouns express possessive.^[266]^[264] Levantine does not have the verb "to have". Instead, possession is expressed using the prepositions ‏عند‎ ʕind, lit. 'at' (meaning "to possess") and ‏مع‎ maʕ, lit. 'with' (meaning "to have on oneself"), followed by personal pronoun suffixes.^[267]^[268]

More information Singular, Plural ...

Levantine enclitic pronouns, direct object and possessive^[264]
		Singular		Plural
		after consonant	after vowel	Plural
1st person	after verb	‏ـني‎ -ni		‏ـنا‎ -na
1st person	else	‏ـِي‎ -i	‏ـي‎ -y	‏ـنا‎ -na
2nd person	m.	‏ـَك‎ -ak	‏ـك‎ -k	‏ـكُن‎ -kun (North) ‏ـكُم‎ -kom ‏ـكو‎ -ku (South)
2nd person	f.	‏ـِك‎ -ik	‏ـكِ‎ -ki	‏ـكُن‎ -kun (North) ‏ـكُم‎ -kom ‏ـكو‎ -ku (South)
3rd person	m.	‏و‎ -u (North) ‏ـُه‎ -o (South)	‏ـه‎ (silent)^{[lower-alpha 12]}	‏ـُن‎ -(h/w/y)un (North) ‏ـهُم‎ -hom (South)
3rd person	f.	‏ـا‎ -a (North) ‏ـها‎ -ha (South)	‏ـا‎ -(h/w/y)a (North) ‏ـها‎ -ha (South)	‏ـُن‎ -(h/w/y)un (North) ‏ـهُم‎ -hom (South)

Close

Indirect object pronouns (dative) are suffixed to the conjugated verb. They are formed by adding an ل (-l) and then the possessive suffix to the verb.^[265] They precede object pronouns if present:^[265]

جاب الجريدة لأبوي jāb il-jarīde la-ʔabūy listen^ⓘ, 'he brought the newspaper to my father',
جابها لأبوي jāb-ha la-ʔabūy listen^ⓘ, 'he brought it to my father',
جابله الجريدة jab-lo il-jarīde listen^ⓘ, 'he brought him the newspaper',
جابله ياها jab-lo yyā-ha listen^ⓘ, 'he brought it to him'.^[269]

More information Singular, Plural ...

Levantine indirect object pronoun suffixes^[264]
		Singular	Plural
1st person (m./f.)		‏ـلي‎ -li	‏ـلنا‎ -lna
2nd person	m.	‏لَك‎ -lak	‏ـلكُن‎ -lkun (North) ‏ـلكُم‎ -lkom, ‏ـلكو‎ -lku (South)
2nd person	f.	‏ـِلك‎ -lik
3rd person	m.	‏لو‎ -lu (North) ‏لُه‎ -lo (South)	‏ـلُن‎ -lun (North) ‏ـلهُم‎ -lhom (South)
3rd person	f.	‏ـلا‎ -la (North) ‏ـلها‎ -lha (South)	‏ـلُن‎ -lun (North) ‏ـلهُم‎ -lhom (South)

Close

Demonstrative pronouns have three referential types: immediate, proximal, and distal. The distinction between proximal and distal demonstratives is of physical, temporal, or metaphorical distance. The genderless and numberless immediate demonstrative article ‏ها‎ ha is translated by "this/the", to designate something immediately visible or accessible.^[270]

More information Singular, Plural ...

Levantine demonstrative pronouns^[270]^[271]^[272]
		Singular	Plural
Proximal (this, these)	m.	‏هادا‎ hāda / ‏هاد‎ hād (South, Syria) ‏هيدا‎ hayda (Lebanon)	‏هدول‎ hadōl (South, Syria) ‏هيدول‎ haydōl / ‏هودي‎ hawdi (Lebanon)
Proximal (this, these)	f.	‏هادي‎ hādi / ‏هاي‎ hāy (South) ‏هيّ‎ hayy (Syria) ‏هيدي‎ haydi (Lebanon)
Distal (that, those)	m.	‏هداك‎ hadāk (South, Syria) ‏هيداك‎ haydāk (Lebanon)	‏هدولاك‎ hadōlāk (South) ‏هدوليك‎ hadōlīk (Syria) ‏هيدوليك‎ haydōlīk (Lebanon)
Distal (that, those)	f.	‏هديك‎ hadīk (South, Syria) ‏هيديك‎ haydīk (Lebanon)

Close

Verbs and verb phrases

Root and verb forms

Most Levantine verbs are based on a triliteral root (also called radical or Semitic root) made of three consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb, e.g. ‏ك ت ب‎ k-t-b ('write'), ‏ق ر ء‎ q-r-ʼ ('read'), ‏ء ك ل‎ ʼ-k-l ('eat'). Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person, and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as mood (e.g., indicative, subjunctive, imperative), voice (active or passive), and functions such as causative, intensive, or reflexive.^[273] Quadriliteral roots are less common but often used to coin new vocabulary or Arabicize foreign words.^[274]^[275] The base form is the third-person masculine singular of the perfect (also called past) tense.^[276]

Almost all Levantine verbs belong to one of ten verb forms (also called verb measures,^[277] stems,^[278] patterns,^[279] or types^[280]). Form I, the most common one, serves as a base for the other nine forms. Each form carries a different verbal idea relative to the meaning of its root. Technically, ten verbs can be constructed from any given triconsonantal root, although not all of these forms are used.^[273] After Form I, Forms II, V, VII, and X are the most common.^[278] Some irregular verbs do not fit into any of the verb forms.^[277]

In addition to its form, each verb has a "quality":

Sound (or regular): 3 distinct radicals, neither the second nor the third is 'w' or 'y',
Verbs containing the radicals 'w' or 'y' are called weak. They are either:
- Hollow: verbs with 'w' or 'y' as the second radical, which becomes a long 'a' in some forms, or
- Defective: verbs with 'w' or 'y' as the third radical, treated as a vowel,
Geminate (or doubled): the second and third radicals are identical, remaining together as a double consonant.^[277]

Regular verb conjugation

The Levantine verb has only two tenses: past (perfect) and present (also called imperfect, b-imperfect, or bi-imperfect). The present tense is formed by adding the prefix b- or m- to the verb root. The future tense is an extension of the present tense. The negative imperative is the same as the negative present with helping verb (imperfect). Various prefixes and suffixes designate the grammatical person and number as well as the mood. The following table shows the paradigm of a sound Form I verb, ‏كتب‎ katab, 'to write'.^[273] There is no copula in the present tense in Levantine. In other tenses, the verb ‏كان‎ kān is used. Its present tense form is used in the future tense.^[281]

The b-imperfect is usually used for the indicative mood (non-past present, habitual/general present, narrative present, planned future actions, or potential). The prefix b- is deleted in the subjunctive mood, usually after modal verbs, auxiliary verbs, pseudo-verbs, prepositions, and particles.^[72]^[92]^[59]^[209] The future can also be expressed by the imperfect preceded by the particle ‏رح‎ raḥ or by the prefixed particle ‏حـ‎ ḥa-.^[282] The present continuous is formed with the progressive particle ‏عم‎ ʕam followed by the imperfect, with or without the initial b/m depending on the speaker.^[283]

The active participle, also called present participle, is grammatically an adjective derived from a verb. Depending on the context, it can express the present or present continuous (with verbs of motion, location, or mental state), the near future, or the present perfect (past action with a present result).^[284] It can also serve as a noun or an adjective.^[285] The passive participle, also called past participle,^[15] has a similar meaning as in English (i.e., sent, written). It is mainly used as an adjective and sometimes as a noun. It is inflected from the verb based on its verb form.^[286] However, passive participles are largely limited to verb forms I (CvCvC) and II (CvCCvC), becoming maCCūC for the former and mCaCCaC for the latter.^[239]

More information Singular, Dual/Plural ...

Table of prefixes, affixes, and suffixes added to the base form (for sound form I verbs with stressed prefixes)^[287]^{[lower-alpha 13]}
		Singular			Dual/Plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Past^{[lower-alpha 14]}	m.	-it	-it	∅ (base form)	-na	-tu	-u
Past^{[lower-alpha 14]}	f.	-it	-ti	-it (North) -at (South)	-na	-tu	-u
Present^{[lower-alpha 15]}	m.	bi- (North) ba- (South)	bti-	byi- (North) bi- (South)	mni-	bti- -u	byi- -u (North) bi- -u (South)
Present^{[lower-alpha 15]}	f.	bi- (North) ba- (South)	bti- -i	bti-	mni-	bti- -u	byi- -u (North) bi- -u (South)
Present with helping verb^{[lower-alpha 16]}	m.	i- (North) a- (South)	ti-	yi-	ni-	ti- -u	yi- -u
Present with helping verb^{[lower-alpha 16]}	f.	i- (North) a- (South)	ti- -i	ti-	ni-	ti- -u	yi- -u
Positive imperative^{[lower-alpha 17]}	m.	—	∅ (Lengthening the present tense vowel, North) i- (Subjunctive without initial consonant, South)	—	—	-u (Stressed vowel u becomes i, North) i- -u (South)	—
Positive imperative^{[lower-alpha 17]}	f.	—	-i (Stressed vowel u becomes i, North) i- -i (South)	—	—	-u (Stressed vowel u becomes i, North) i- -u (South)	—
Active participle^{[lower-alpha 18]}	m.	-ē- (North) or -ā- (South) after the first consonant			-īn (added to the masculine form)
Active participle^{[lower-alpha 18]}	f.	-e/i or -a (added to the masculine form)
Passive participle^{[lower-alpha 19]}	m.	ma- and -ū- after the second consonant
Passive participle^{[lower-alpha 19]}	f.	-a (added to the masculine form)

Close

Compound tenses

The verb ‏كان‎ kān, followed by another verb, forms compound tenses. Both verbs are conjugated with their subject.^[289]

More information kān in the past tense, kān in the present tense ...

Compound tenses with the example of the verb ‏عمل‎ *ʕimil*, 'to do'^[289]^[290]
	kān in the past tense		kān in the present tense
Followed by	Levantine	English	Levantine	English
Past tense	كان عمل kān ʕimel	he had done	بكون عمل bikūn ʕimel	he will have done
Active participle	كان عامل kān ʕāmel	he had done	بكون عامل bikūn ʕāmel	he will have done
Subjunctive	كان يعمل kān yiʕmel	he used to do / he was doing	بكون يعمل bikūn yiʕmel	he will be doing
Progressive	كان عم يعمل kān ʕam yiʕmel	he was doing	بكون عم يعمل bikūn ʕam yiʕmel	he will be doing
Future tense	كان رح يعمل kān raḥ yiʕmel كان حيعمل kān ḥa-yiʕmel	he was going to do	—
Present tense	كان بعمل kān biʕmel	he would do	—

Close

Passive voice

Form I verbs often correspond to an equivalent passive form VII verb, with the prefix n-. Form II and form III verbs usually correspond to an equivalent passive in forms V and VI, respectively, with the prefix t-.^[277] While the verb forms V, VI and VII are common in the simple past and compound tenses, the passive participle (past participle) is preferred in the present tense.^[291]

More information Active, Passive ...

Examples of passive forms
Active			Passive
Verb form	Levantine	English	Verb form	Levantine	English
I	‏مسك‎ masak	to catch	VII	‏انمسك‎ inmasak	to be caught
II	‏غيّر‎ ḡayyar	to change	V	‏تغيّر‎ tḡayyar	to be changed
III	‏فاجأ‎ fājaʾ	to surprise	VI	‏تفاجأ‎ tfājaʾ	to be surprised

Close

Negation

Verbs and prepositional phrases are negated by the particle ‏ما‎ mā / ma either on its own or, in the south, together with the suffix ‏ـش‎ -iš at the end of the verb or prepositional phrase. In Palestinian, it is also common to negate verbs by the suffix ‏ـش‎ -iš only.^[262]

More information Without -š, With -š ...

Examples of negation with mā and -š
Without -š		With -š		English
Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	Levantine (Arabic)	Levantine (Latin)	English
ما كتب.	mā katab. listen^ⓘ	ما كتبش.	ma katab-š. listen^ⓘ	He didn't write.
ما بحكي إنكليزي.	mā baḥki ʾinglīzi. listen^ⓘ	ما بحكيش إنكليزي.	ma baḥkī-š ʾinglīzi. listen^ⓘ	I don't speak English.
ما تنسى!	mā tinsa! listen^ⓘ	ما تنساش!	ma tinsā-š! listen^ⓘ	Don't forget!
ما بده ييجي عالحفلة.	mā biddo yīji ʕa-l-ḥafle. listen^ⓘ	—		He doesn't want to come to the party.

Close