The source notes that a copula may take different verbal forms. Some constructions use “هو” to show a non-temporal relation; “كان” can express a predication located in the past.
“زيد قائم” — Zayd is standing.
“كان زيد قائماً” — Zayd was standing.
Both attribute standing to Zayd, but the second explicitly adds temporal orientation. The point here is not to teach the grammar of past-tense verbs; it is to distinguish the logical function of connection from the linguistic form in which it appears.
Opening interactive controls...
Chapter Two: Propositions, Categorical and Conditional Forms, and Their Parts
The source notes that a copula may take different verbal forms. Some constructions use “هو” to show a non-temporal relation; “كان” can express a predication located in the past.
“زيد قائم” — Zayd is standing.
“كان زيد قائماً” — Zayd was standing.
Both attribute standing to Zayd, but the second explicitly adds temporal orientation. The point here is not to teach the grammar of past-tense verbs; it is to distinguish the logical function of connection from the linguistic form in which it appears.