A Guide to Compound Tenses in Egyptian Arabic: “Should Have” and “Will Have”

Arabic tenses are generally straightforward compared to other languages, with the Arabic verb primarily having only two morphological forms: present and past.

However, expressing ideas of time with compound tenses can be quite complex. This article breaks down constructions like “should have” and “will have done” in Egyptian Arabic, which are often misunderstood.

I know that the term tense is problematic since the meaning (and translation!) depends on the situation, the context, the position of the narrator, etc.

In other words, past tense is just a morphological term – because a verb that is conjugated in the past tense form does not always express an action that happened a long time ago! It may, for example, also express a wish.

Arabic can be pretty difficult if we express ideas of time – in other words, if we need to deal with compound tenses. Today, I am going to analyze some constructions in Egyptian Arabic that are often misunderstood.

The expression: “should have”

This structure is very difficult to understand if you don’t know it. There are mainly two options.

Formula 1:

maa (ما) + past of kaan (كان) + past tense of a verb

Note that you have to conjugate both verbs referring to the same person

Let us check some examples.

Example 1: You should have called the police.

Example 2: You should have taken a cab, it would have been easier for you.

Formula 2:

past of kaan (كان) + laazim (لازم) + present tense of a verb

Note that you have to conjugate both verbs referring to the same person. laazim always stays the same.

An example: You should have gone with her.

The expression: “will have done'”

Formula 1:

future of kaan (كان) + past tense of a verb

Note that you have to conjugate both verbs referring to the same person.

This expression can easily be misunderstood because oftentimes, if the meaning is clear, the “ha”-future prefix in Egyptian Arabic is not used.

Example 1: By five o’clock, I will have returned home.

Example 2: Let’s hope that the meeting will be finished by now.

Example 3: By the time you come, we will have finished the homework.

Formula 2:

You use the expression ba2aa (بقى).

Note that you need the preposition li after ba2aa plus a personal pronoun as a referrer to the person.

An example: Next Saturday I will have been here seven months.