لَعِبَplayed

Example sentences

• وَكَانَ مَوْلَاهُ يلْعَب بالنرد يقامر عَلَيْهِ

  And his master played dice, gambling on it

  يَلْعَبُ — he is playing. Present-tense verb 'yal'ab' = 'he plays'; with 'kana': 'he used to play'.

  From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →

• فلعب يَوْمًا بالنرد على أَن من قمر صَاحبه شرب المَاء الَّذِي فِي النَّهر كُله أَو افتدي مِنْهُ

  One day, he played dice on the condition that whoever lost to his companion would drink all the water in the river or ransom themselves from it.

  فَلَعِبَ — so he played. 'fa-' = 'so, then'; past-tense verb 'la'iba' = 'he played'; subject 'he' is built in.

  From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →

• وَمَا زَالَ يَلْعَبُ بِالْعُقُولِ

  And he continued to toy with people's minds.

  يَلْعَبُ — he toys with. A present-tense verb carrying 'he' in its prefix and giving the habitual, repeated sense of the toying. Sitting inside the 'kept on' frame, its present shape stretches the action out over time.

  From: Finding the Prophet's Way →

• وَكَانَ مَوْلَاهُ يَلْعَبُ بِالنَّرْدِ يُقَامِرُ عَلَيْهِ

  And his master would play dice, gambling against him.

  يلْعَب — would play. A present-tense verb with the 'he' subject folded into its shape. Because it falls under the earlier 'kana', the plain present is pulled back into the past as a habit, 'would play'. The tense marking sits on the 'kana', leaving this verb free to supply the repeated action.

  From: Luqman's Wisdom and Trial →

• فَلَعِبَ يَوْمًا بِالنَّرْدِ عَلَى أَنَّ مَنْ قَمَرَ صَاحِبَهُ

  So one day he played dice, betting that whoever was his companion's moon.

  فَلَعِبَ — so he played. The connector 'fa-' opens the word and signals a consequence: this playing follows on from what came before. Fused to it is a past-tense verb with the 'he' subject built in. So 'fa-' here is not mere 'and' but a 'so/then' that ties the action to its lead-up, advancing the narrative one step.

  From: Luqman's Wisdom and Trial →