Hafiz soon
Al-Ma'idah · 5:79
They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.
Sahih International
Word 1 of 10
كَانُوا۟
kānū
They had been
Word breakdown
كَانُ
Fi'l · VerbThey had been
Rootكونkwn
to be, exist, happen
1,390× in the Quran · Extremely common
LemmaكَانَVerb (form I) - to be
وا۟
Ism · Personal pronounthem/their
Grammar rules
Past tense verb
كَانُوا۟ (They had been) is a past tense verb — the action already happened and is complete.
We translate it in past tense — "did", "created", "said", etc.
Lesson 8 · Verbs — Past & Present