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COLLOQUIAL ARABIC
Uniform
with this
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Colloquial
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Language-Student's
Manual
Crown 8vo.
London :
Kegan Paul, Trench,
Trubner
&
Co., Ltd
COLLOQUIAL
ARABIC
WITH NOTES OX THE VERNACULAR SPEECH
OF EGYPT, SYRIA, AND MESOPOTAMIA. AND AX
APPENDIX ON THE LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF ALGERIAN DIALECT
By
DE LACY O'LEARY, D.D.
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.
NEWjYORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
J'rinfea in (ireat Britain by Stephen Austin &f Sons, I.ta., J/ertfoni.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface ix
CHAPTEK
I. Preliminary 1
II. Pronunciation ...... 9
Consonants — long vowels and diphthongs —
short vowels — word structure — differences
of dialect.
III. The First Lesson — The Noun and the
Simple Nominal Sentence . . . 21
Nouns— defined and undefined — use of the
adjective — genders — the nominal statement
— interrogative sentences.
Word list.
Exercise.
Appendix — Variations of the interrogative
pronouns in the leading dialects.
IV. The Second Lesson — The Personal Pro-
nouns and the Negative Sentence . 34
Forms of the personal pronoun (separate) —
use in the sentence — manner of forming
the negative sentence.
Word list.
Exercise.
Appendix — Forms used in address.
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER VXU:
V. The Third Lesson — The Personal Pronoun
AS Suffixes 'lt>
Forms of the suffixed pronoun — ^use — influence
on the noun — suffixed to feminine nouns —
the *' nouns of kinship " — colloquial
expressions denoting " property ".
Word list.
Exercise,
Appendix — Gentile nouns in -i.
VI. The Fourth Lesson — The Suffixed Pro-
nouns with Prepositions ... 48
The commoner prepositions — suffixed pronoun
attached — special use of fih — special
negative employed in Syrian Arabic —
ways of expressing "have".
Word list.
Exercise.
Additional examples.
VII. The Fifth Lesson — The Demonstratives and
Kelatives 55
Demonstratives (i) "this", (ii) "this (is)",
(iii) " that " ; summary of forms according
to dialects.
Examples.
Relative pronoun, form and use.
Word list.
Exercise (A) use of demonstrative according
to dialects of Egjrpt, Syria, and 'Iraq.
Exercise (B) — use of demonstrative and
relative.
CONTENTS vii
liiPTF.K
PAGK
\'III. The Sixth I*essox— The Plurals of Nouns . 66
Strong Plural (i) masculine, and (ii) feminine.
Dual. Broken Plurals.
Word list, nouns forming strong plurals :
broken plurals of types qitdl, qutul.
Exercise.
IX. The Seventh Lesson — The Numerals . . 72
Cardinal numerals, ordinal numerals.
Expression of price, of time. Arithmetical
processes.
Examples.
Word list : broken plurals of type qiUul,
qutal, qital, quttol.
Exercise.
X. The Eighth Lesson— The GE^^TIVE . . 81
The true genitive, form and mode of use.
Use of beta, etc. Formal genitive. Formal
genitive with adjective.
Special use of " master ", " father ", etc.
Expression of "all every ", " part ", " like ",
" unUke ".
Word list. Broken plurals of type aqtdl,
qitldn, qutldn.
Exercise.
Additional examples.
XI. The Ninth Lesson — Adjectives of the
Measure ^Qr^L 91
vyi CONTENTS
CHAl'TKll TACiE
Comparative superlative. Adjectives denoting
colour, those denoting bodily defects.
Word list.
Exercise.
XII. The Tenth Lesson — The Verb, Perfect
Tense, Regular Form .... 97
General idea of the verb. The tenses. Perfect
tense. Verb with suffixes. Negative verb.
Interrogative verb. Note on the use of the
persons.
Word list.
Exercise.
XIII, The Eleventh Lesson — The Imperfect Tense
OF THE Regular Verb .... 105
Form of imperfect. Colloquial prefixed be-, bi-.
Imperfect with suffixes. Interrogative and
negative. Principal and subordinate verbs.
Imperfect modified to express present — to
express future.
Word list.
Exercise.
XIV. The Twelfth Lesson — The Imperative, the
Participles, the Passive . . .113
Imperative form, suffixes, use. Imperfect used
for the imperative in negative command,
etc. Active participle, form, use.
Passive participle, form, use.
The passive voice.
Word list.
Exercise.
CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER PAGE
XV. The Thirteenth Lesson — The Derived Stems
OF the Verb ..... 123
(D) The doubled medial. (D*) Shortened
form of the doubled medial. Reflexive (t,
'Dt, D*t, St).
Summary.
Word list.
Exercise.
Appendix : Table of derived stems including
those rare in colloquial speech.
XVI. The Fourteenth Lesson — Verbs with Weak
Initial 132
Verbs with initial Hamza : — khad, kal.
Verbs with initial w : with initial y.
Word list.
Exercise.
XVII. The Fifteenth Lesson — Verbs with Weak
Medial 138
Verbs with medial -w- : with medial -y-.
Word list — Exercise.
XVIII. The Sixteenth Lesson — Verbs with Final
Weak 149
Verbs with final -w : with final -y. Final
Hamza.
Word list.
Exercise.
X CONTENTS
CHAPTEB PAOK
XIX, The Seventeenth Lesson — Verbs with
REPEATED MeDIAL : MoDERN TeNSE FoRMS 156
Verbs with medial and final alike.
Modern tense formations.
Word list.
Exercise
XX. The Eighteenth Lesson — Use of the
Participles 162
Prepositions, nouns used as prepositions, con-
junctions, conditional sentences, sentences
expressing purpose, manner of translating
some of the commoner English prepositions.
Appendix I. Conversation 171
(i) Ordinary Courtesies,
(ii) In a hotel or restaurant,
(iii) In a shop,
(iv) Military.
Appendix II. The Call to Prayer . . .177
Appendix III. The Suratu l-Fatihah . . . 178
Appendix IV. The Algerian Dialect
Vocabularies
(i) Nouns,
(ii) Adjectives,
(iii) Verbs.
PREFACE
^PHIS manual aims at providing an easy guide to the
colloquial Arabic of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia.
There are differences of usage and pronimciation between
those several parts, but they are differences in detail, not
separate languages, and there seems no good reason why
they may not be treated reasonably together provided that
reference is made, as here, to those differences. To a very
large extent those countries have had a common cultural
life with close and constant intercourse, and so the language
which has served as a medium of that intercourse has a very
large common factor. But we are here using " colloquial "
to mean the language of ordinary speech which serves as the
general medium of communication between various districts
and different classes and groups of men. Beneath this common
speech in general use there are many local dialects, just as
there are in the various parts of England, and at first it ls not
always easy to understand the speech of a man who uses a
dialect of marked character, a difficulty which also may happen
in many parts of England. Certainly these local dialects
have points of great philological interest, and are well worth
accurate observation and record, but it seems fair and reason-
able to treat " colloquial Arabic " as the current speech in
general use amongst those who have perhaps received some
measure of education, and whose intercourse is not confined
to a small group of fellow villagers. In these pages, therefore,
although note is frequently taken of the peculiarities of local
dialects which wall be heard, the aim has been, not to reproduce
any one of those marked dialects in its entirety but to set
xii PREFACE
forth the type of speech which will be intelligible generally
throughout the area stated, and will serve as a basis for
accurate observation of a local dialect if occasion arises to
render that desirable.
It has been assumed that the learner is endeavouring to
teach himself, not that this is an ideal way or in any sense
to be commended, but it is reasonable that a manual should
be self-explanatory to such a degree that it is not necessary
to ask a teacher what it means. The actual teacher will,
no doubt, supplement or rearrange its contents, for in every
case a teacher has his own ideas and his own system, but it
still remains a more satisfactory method that the book,
so far as it goes, should be written with the aim of explaining
itself as fully as possible, and for this end it may often, as here,
state in detail simple facts which the reader already knows :
but it seems wiser not to assume that knowledge lest some,
a very small minority no doubt, may have forgotten or
never have known certain elementary facts about language.
This is the more necessary, in the writer's opinion, because
some readers will, in all probability, work with native teachers,
whose training has been on lines so different from those
of an English education that the learner will not easily
recognize principles which he had put before him in his
school days in quite different form.
A school of teachers of modern languages has for some
years past aimed at what is known as the " direct method ",
endeavouring to teach the adult a foreign language by means
similar to those used by children when learning their own.
Indirectly their work has certainly freshened our current
methods of teaching, and has helped to break down
conventional systems which have shown limitations, but it
hardly seems that this direct method can be applied generally ;
normally we have not the years and leisure at our disposal
to learn a new speech in the slow way we learned our own,
PREFACE xiii
guidance as to general principles and observation of tendencies
which hold good in a number of cases shortens and simplifies
our work, and thus we are brought back to a study of grammar,
not the learning of arbitrary rules which the learned have
laid down as the literary standard, but simply the observation
and statement of the general principles which ease and
shorten our work. It is the fashion to call these statements
" rules ", but they are more properly regarded as
generalizations designed to shorten and simplify the student's
work. As far as possible these have been expressed in the
simplest and least technical language, and are abridged as
much as is consistent with an intelligible form : even the
adult learner looks with jealous eye at the theoretical state-
ments he is called upon to master. Occasionally reference
hscs been made to other dialects and to historical principles,
but this has been done only where it serves to show that there
is a reason for a " rule " which otherwise would appear
entirely arbitrary ; it is easier to remember something
which is shown to have a reason than one which is stated
without explanation.
Many modern language teachers are averse from the use
of translation as a method of teaching. Their protests
certainly have served to correct some of the defects which
have long defaced the use of translation for this purpose,
but it seems, on the whole, that a certain measure of trans-
lation can be used conveniently in teaching. It shows how
to put together sentences and arrange them in consecutive
speech, and so how to set forth a train of thought naturally
in the foreign medium and to observe the general tone and
" genius " of its methods. In Arabic, unfortunately, we are
not able to make much use of this method as the literary
language, apart from the fact that it is written in a different
' script, has a form very far removed from that of the colloquial.
At the end of this manual (Appendix III) we give one short
xiv PREFACE
Sura of the Qur'an, transcribed in Roman letters, because
phrases from that particular Sura, which corresponds with
the " Lord's Prayer " of Christians, are frequently heard
in ordinary speech : there, as in poetry and the classical
language generally, the short vowel endings of the cases and
moods will be observed, things unknown to the colloquial.
Probably the reader will gather that the step forward to
a knowledge of the classical or literary language would not
be so formidable as he might have anticipated, and this
will perhaps encourage hijn to go forward to a study of Arabic
literature, classical or modern. Amongst Muslims generally
the culture derived from classical Arabic is highly esteemed,
and this renders it much to be desired, though later it will
no doubt appeal for its own sake. The ability to quote some
poetic passages or to cite ancient proverbs on appropriate
occasion will open access to precincts otherwise closed, and
provoke esteem such as in this country given only to high
rank or great wealth. This manual, however, claims only
to deal with the colloquial, and so, from the circumstances
of the case, it is impossible to introduce the pupil to the
study of literature.
Effort has been made to render the form of this manual as
easy as possible to the unaided learner. Sounds might be
represented more accurately by the help of diacritical points
or of a special type such as is used in Canon Gairdner's
excellent manual of Egyptian Arabic. But these methods, so
useful for representing the shades of local dialect, are rather
deterrent to the average learner, who wants his task put
before him in the easiest form possible. The only diacritical
signs employed are the marks used to denote the long vowels,
and these are in so general use that they can hardly be
considered as a new thing to learn. The emphatic consonants
are distinguished by the use of dots beneath the letters.
The official system recently set forth for use in the British
PREFACE XV
administrative area is by no means satisfactory, as it takes
no note of the difierence between the ordinary and emphatic
consonants, and failing to make this distinction would be
fatal in colloquial use, as there are many instances where
words differ in meaning according to whether an emphatic is,
or is not, used. It has apparently been planned to suit the
typewriter of western manufacture. It has seemed best to
make only a very sparing use of capital letters. The use of
capitals is a late mediseval invention of doubtful value, and
it is not clear that Arabic would gain by the introduction
of this custom. Similarly, only slight use has been made
of the extremely artificial and questionable system of
punctuation now in vogue in English ; this also is a com-
paratively recent introduction, and the system which is now
generally adopted and which some people desire to enforce
as " correct " is an extremely mechanical one, which has
but little to say in its favour. Of course, Arabic, written
in its own script, has neither capitals nor any save a very
rudimentary punctuation, and, whilst it is convenient for
anyone learning the colloquial to have the Arabic transcribed
into European script, it does not follow that it would be
made more intelligible by introducing those peculiarities
which adorn or deface modem English.
The transcription endeavours to represent fairly the speech
of the educated Arabic-speaking people, and the system of
transliteration gives approximate English sounds, but these
will not be found always observed consistently, especially
after the first few lessons. There is no standardized system
of transliteration, and Arabic script itself does not represent
the actual colloquial. In these pages the long vowels (not
final) and diphthongs, as well as most of the consonants,
are transliterated consistently in accordance with the values
given in Chapter I, but the short vowels, especially short
a, as there stated, frequently modifies to e and to i, so that it
b
xvi PREFACE
is sometimes nearer truth to transcribe it as e or i, in reality-
it has rather the indeterminate sound of the -a- in " beggar " :
this variation ought not to cause much trouble, variants
a, e, i, will be heard in the colloquial in the rendering of the
same word, not merely as differences of dialect but even as
differences between different social groups in the same town :
a strict consistency in rendering those sounds would lead the
learner to suppose that there was an absolutely fixed standard
and that would be to mislead him. So u short may often
be short o and it is as well to face from the first that those
short vowel sounds are not finally fixed. Of course they
should be represented quite correctly as spoken if we are
making a study of a particular dialect, but in that case our
results will not hold good for places only a few miles distant.
In the following pages, as already said, we are not aiming
at the dialect of a special locality but the current speech
generally intelligible amongst the educated and partly
educated of Egypt, Syria, and 'Iraq. In the case of the
consonants matters are rather different : the main variations
in the aspirate dentals and in the g and q sounds are clearly
defined dialectal differences and these are stated in detail.
But even here there is some inconsistency admitted : normally
" dh " sounds in Egypt and Syria as " d ", but on occasion
we have rendered it as " z " : in fact that happens when
the word has come through Persian influence, directly or
via Turkish, or else is a word more or less technically
theological in its character and so represents " nahwy ", i.e.
the artificial attempt of the educated to reproduce the true
Arab sounds. Thus " dhikr " = " remembering " ought to
be " dikr " in Egypt, but used of the religious exercise of the
darwishes which has become so popular a form of devotion
it is invariably called " 2dkr ", the reason being that the
darwishes and their religious exercises were introduced
into Egypt by Saladin and so came with a Persian-Turkish
PREFACE xvii
origin. In using vocabularies, examples, etc., the reader
should remember that short a, e, i, often interchange and it
is not necessary to adhere strictly to one of these unless,
of course, in contact with a " throat " sound when the true
" a " must be retained : so I can write al-gamal, el-gemel,
il-gemel and can hear all these various renderings in use.
When all is done, however, the representation of phonology
in the printed text is no more than approximate : I do not
believe that the learner can ever get the sounds correctly
from written symbols, nor even from a teacher, nor from
gramophone records : it cannot be learned until he sojourns
in the midst of an Arabic-speaking community and hears
Arabic spoken all round him in every different tone of voice
and without any conscious effort to reach a foreigner. All
that can be hoped is that the book-taught pupil will then
get hold of the language more rapidly and more correctly
than one who has not had such preparation.
Such a manual as this present is written that it may be
thrown aside in due course, when the usages of colloquial
speech have become second nature to the learner and its
modest vocabularies are replaced by an abundant supply
of words appropriate to the particular needs of his occupation.
But imtil that much to be desired consummation it wiU
often be necessary to refer back to statements of principles
and to vocabularies : for this reason pains have been taken
to classify and index the matter and to classify the vocabularies
in a way easy for reference. The average adult who learns
a thing does not remember it and has t^ refresh his memory
a good many times until at length the information clings
and reference is needed no more. The utility of such a manual
very largely depends upon easiness of reference.
Finally, a word of advice as to further studies. For
grammar the learner cannot do better than use the Alfiyya
of Ibn Malik and Ibn 'Aqil's commentary on it : the work
xviii PREFACE
has been in use for centuries and the text itself has difficulties,
but nothing, I venture to suggest, can give quite such good
results if steadily used with the help of a good native teacher
or with Ibn 'Aqil's commentary and patient work. A
scientific knowledge of grammar according to modern
European standards means, of course, a comparative study
of Arabic and some other Semitic language or languages.
Literature implies either the classical material which will be
found outlined in such works as Nicholson's Literary History
of the Arabs, or modern material which has been produced
in considerable abundance, some of it, such as the poetry
of Shawki Bey, of the highest merit. Quite of recent years
special attention has been given to the special forms of local
dialects and some of the material produced as a result of such
study is deserving of careful attention : of this class we may
note the admirable dialogues contained in Gairdner's Egyptian
Colloquial Arabic and the stories published by Miss Pad wick
in the Bull, of the ScJwol of Oriental Studies, III, 3, pp. 421-446,
both dealing with Lower Egyptian and Dulac's Conies Arabes
gives stories in the dialect of Upper Egypt, and Malinjoud
in the Journal Asiatique for April-June, 1924, gives some
excellent specimens of the dialect of Damascus. This, how-
ever, is a subject in which much remains still to be done.
De Lacy O'Leary.
April, 1925.
COLLOQUIAL ARABIC
Chapter I
PRELBIINARY
The object of the following pages is to supply a convenient
manual of colloquial Arabic as used in Egypt, Syria
(including Palestine), and 'Iraq or Mesopotamia, with some
reference to North Africa. There are differences of detail
distinguishing the languages of these countries, but those
differences are small when compared with the material
common to them all, and it is unpractical to treat each dialect
as though it were a separate language. As occasion arises
attention has been drawn to the chief points of difference,
and sometimes reference is made to the dialectal characteristics
of Oman and of Western Arabic (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis),
^ but no effort has been made to give complete guidance to those
! other dialects. The area in view in these pages forms a rough
i semi-circle round the desert which forms the northern part
of Arabia, the home of the Arabic language, and the whole of
: this area has had a imity of cultural life throughout the
; Mushm period, the resultant intercourse producing a com-
j munity of speech in spite of distinctive local differences.
It must be understood, however, that there are limitations
to our use of the word " colloquial " ; it is not so used as to
include each type of local dialect. A person who learned
colloquial English would hardly expect to know in detail the
2 PRELIMINARY
dialects prevailing in the various rural districts, many of which
would be very difficult to the average educated Englishman.
Local dialect is a highly specialized study which has only
received serious attention of quite recent years, and, whilst
it is useful to point out local peculiarities, it is not usually
expedient to learn a language in strict conformity with the
speech of the peasant population in one particular district.
In any case, the specialized study of local dialect may properly
be regarded as supplementary to a general knowledge of the
language as spoken over the wider area. To a very large
extent the Arabic of Lower Egypt, Palestine, and Syria
shows a common character, that of Upper Egypt inclines more
towards the speech of the desert Arabs, and, in some respects,
to that of North Africa, whilst the Arabic of 'Iraq is closer to
the parent speech from which all have been derived.
A satisfactory colloquial knowledge implies four things,
(i) a sufficient number of words, (ii) the right manner of
pronouncing them, (iii) the necessary modifications of those
words as they are grouped together, e.g. the different persons
of the verb, the formation of the plural, etc., and (iv) the
correct arrangement of words in intelligible sentences. Of
these (i) the formation of a vocabulary is mainly a matter of
memory, supplemented by reading and by conversation. ThisJ
present manual contains a selection of the commonest words
which form a fair basis for ordinary conversation, but these
should be supplemented by the use of a dictionary and by the
compilation of special vocabularies according to special
needs, e.g. technical terms of medicine, engineering, for
commercial purposes, etc.
(ii) The pronunciation of a foreign language is always a
leading difficulty and this cannot be learned from books,
hardly even from a teacher, however good. The only satis-
I
PRELIMINARY 3
factory method is to mix in intercourse with those who speak
the language ; in some mysterious way the ear co-operates
with the tongue, and so one begins to tune one's speech into
conformity with the words heard. But to go amongst native
speakers without previous preparation simply means waste
of time, and the amount acquired will be very little indeed.
The present manual indicates the general lines to be followed,
and if the work here outlined is done carefully it ought not to
be difficult to pick up a fair speech in a short time.
As for (iii) and (iv), these requirements are best covered by
an elementary knowledge of grammar. It is hardly possible
for us to learn a foreign language in the same way that a child
learns his native speech ; for one thing we could not afiord
to spend the ten or twelve years which a child takes before
j it learns to speak intelligently, nor could we give the undivided
attention which it gives, having a mind as yet unoccupied
I by any other language. We need some shorter method,
I and grammar is an attempt to shorten the work by giving
general rules and guiding principles which help us to cover the
ground more quickly. In a language like Arabic, where so
many words are formed on standard " measures ", grammar
, may help us to acquire an extensive vocabulary in a fairly
short time. But it must be understood that any " rules "
are not the theoretical ideas of pundits, but simple statements
intended to save the learner's time and trouble. At the same
time it is well to bear in mind that amongst Arabs a knowledge
of grammar is the hall-mark of an educated man.
V manual like the present is necessarily written more or
less on the supposition that the learner is trying to teach him-
self. Of course, this is not the ideal method, but it seems most
satisfactory that rules should be explained in such- simple
terms that they do not necessarily require further explanation
4 PRELIMINAKY
by a teacher, thougli such addition may be of assistance.
It is probable that, in most cases at least, anyone taking up the
subject of Arabic will be an adult, but in spite of this there are
certain " rules ", conclusions learned in the course of practical
work, which still seem convenient. In the first place even
an adult, himself desirous of mastering the language, is
deterred by the appearance of difficulty and views jealously
the length of the portions set for him to master ; this being
the case, it is important that the " rules " be stated as briefly
as is consistent with clearness and the illustrations be no more
than reasonably suffice to make the meaning clear. It does not
seem expedient to take for granted even the simpler principles
and processes of grammar, which up to a point are common to
English and Arabic and then diverge on different lines ;
it seems safer to state even simple points which are probably
known to the average learner rather than to allow anyone to
waste time in searching for the meaning. It will probably
happen that the learner will sometimes work with a native
teacher, and may then experience either a lack of systematic
method or the assumption of grammatical principles quite
different from those learned in an English education, and his
only safeguard will be a plain statement in the very simplest
terms of the chief principles underlying the language. The
matter in which the average learner most needs help is the
way in which words should be grouped together so as to form
intelligible sentences, and in this instruction cannot be too
simple and detailed.
It may be presumed that anyone who takes up the study of
colloquial Arabic intends to make colloquial use of it, and so
to mingle in intercourse with Muslims. In such intercourse
etiquette means a very great deal, and such etiquette means
a rather elaborate and formal politeness which is valued much
I
PRELDnXARY 5
more than the hearty good-fellowship which is preferred by
Westerns. Some of the younger generation are inclined to
discard this and to adopt a brusque free and easy tone,
which they suppose to be more " European " and so more
modem. It is generally best not to encourage this ; quite
unintentionally it is likely to lead to familiarities which wiU
be distasteful and not at all easy to stop, whilst such
familiarities displayed before onlookers will seriously damage
their esteem of the one who permits them. It is much better
to keep to the formal and conventional usages of established
custom, to know and use them stamps one as a ci\Tlized person
in Arab eyes and is respected even by those who pride them-
selves on being most modern. A European is narrowly
watched, and the treatment he receives will depend largely
upon his own attitude. Nearly everyone who speaks of
*' natives '" with strong dislike and finds intercourse with them
intolerable will be found guilty cf one or more of three defects,
either (i) he has never mastered enough of the language to make
himself understood or to understand what is said to him, or
(ii) he has encouraged familiarities and then resented their
natural consequences, or (iii) he has scorned the forms of
politeness and consequently has not been treated with respect.
Some people, admittedly, are unable to adapt themselves to
standards different from those to which they have been
accustomed, and some regard differences of manner and colour
with aversion ; for such there is no alternative but to stay
in their own country. A person able and willing to adapt him-
self to ^lusiim standards wiU find much courtesy, a great deal
of friendliness, and in spite of what is commonly said will,
I believe, meet with some real attachment. But the open
display of gratitude and sympathy which is encouraged and
esteemed in the West is not expected, desired, or encouraged
6 PRELIMINAEY
in the East. After a death the expression of the conventional
forms of condolence is greatly esteemed, but the expression of
sympathy is not asked for, nor desired ; in most cases it would
not be understood. " I have given a dying creature the draught
of water that has saved his life, and heard him thank God
in accents of the most heartfelt gratitude, without so much
as a ' Go to ' for me " (Keane, Six months in the Hejaz,
p. 192). Exactly; thanks always are given to God, not to the
person w^ho has conferred the benefit, and this should not be
expected. The further we move from cosmopolitan centres
such as Alexandria, Cairo, and Beirut, the more punctilious
should our manners become, until amongst the desert tribe
courtesy takes the most elaborate and conventional form and
meets with similar courtesy in return.
Courtesy involves the use of many special phrases to which
Muslims attach great importance, but which Englishmen are
sometimes tempted to regard as waste of time ; their use gives
the impression that the speaker is a man of culture and causes
him to be treated with more respect, and others are then more
ready to be at his service, which means a saving of time in
the long run. Some of the commoner forms will be noted in
the following pages as opportunity arises.
Unrestrained laughter rather tends to lower one in the eyes
of Arab observers ; one should keep a dignified yet cordial
attitude without an air of aloofness. It is customary to permit
servants, villagers, etc., a greater familiarity of speech than
is usual in modern England, but the forms of respect should
be expected and their absence corrected. Conversation is
sprinkled with many religious expressions, and religious topics
enter more freely than is customary in this country. These
expressions should be used in the recognized way, but no
discussion or inquiry about religion should be entered upon ;
I
PRELimNARY 7
the Muslim does not welcome outside interest or criticism in
such matters, but opens out when he finds that one's attitude
is neither hostile nor supercilious ; the subject must be
started by him. Do not try to purchase a copy of the Qur'an,
and if you have one keep it carefully out of sight when a
Muslim calls upon you. Be careful not to touch one in a
mosque or house. You can usually visit mosques if you take
off your boots (sometimes over-shoes are provided so that this
is not necessary), but you may not attend the services.
Generally one is not permitted to enter a chapel where a
saint's body is buried.
Pigs and dogs are unclean. It is best not to include pork
or bacon amongst one's provisions, or to wear gloves or gaiters
of pig-skin or dog-skin. Do not try to make friends with a
dog or to pat his head.
The Qur'an forbids the making of images. The Ulema of
the al-Azhar mosque hold that this does not forbid the taking
of photographs, but many old-fashioned people of the stricter
sort object to photographs, and some of the more ignorant
peasants and desert Arabs fear that the one who owns 'a
photograph may perhaps have some power for e\'il over the
one depicted, so do not assume that the taking of photographs
will always be welcome. In strictly MusHm countries coins
and postage stamps do not bear representations of any human
figure and it is prudent for a commercial agent not to show
trade catalogues containing pictures of human beings : it is
often likely to cause aversion.
In eating and drinking only the right hand should be used,
and, of course, it is necessary to shake hands (if this is done)
with the right. The left hand is used only for purposes which
though necessary are unclean.
It is a grave discourtesy to refer to the women of a family ;
8 PRELIMINARY
no inquiry after them can be made nor any remark which
betrays a consciousness of their existence. Never should any
remark be made which sounds like admiration of children or
a compliment on their good looks, good health, etc., and if by
inadvertence any such comment is made or heard it is proper
to add " I take refuge with the Lord of the day-break " (cf.
p. 147) ; those are the opening words of a Sura in the Qur'an,
which continues in words which are taken as an exorcism of
the evil eye : neglect of this precaution may cause one to be
held responsible if the child is taken ill or suffers any mis-
fortune. In no case admire what belongs to another, it is
practically asking for a gift ; admire a thing only as that which
God has created (cf. p. 147 for a suitable form).
Practise privately the manner of sitting on cushions or on
a divan without a chair : you will find chairs are rare outside
the large towns. Also take some private practice in eating
without the help of spoon or fork. It is best to be a strict
abstainer in intercourse with Muslims. The use of wine is
unlawful to them, and it is a great relief when they find that
you do not expect any to be procured for you. If a Muslim,
himself a strict abstainer, sends for spirits or beer for you
you are likely to get some abomination decocted by a Greek
trader, and your well-intentioned host will wonder why you
find it so hard to finish what he took no little trouble to
procure. When you find men accustomed to drink spirits
you may generally suspect that they are not the most
reputable members of the community.
Chapter II
PRONUNCIATION
(1) The Consonant Sounds
The Arabic alphabet contains twenty-seven consonant
sounds, which may be represented by : —
', b, t, th, g, h, kh, d, dh, r, z, s, sh, s, d, t, z, \ gh, f, q, k,
1, m, n, h, w, y.
It will be noticed that there is no p or v and the Arab
usually cannot pronounce these sounds so the loan words
" post " and " police " appear as " busta " and " bulls ".
Most of the consonants given do not present any great
difficulty, and those represented by b, t, d, z, s. f, k, 1, m, n,
h, w, y, nearly resemble the letters so denoted in English,
though with differences of timbre which must be learned by
imitation of native speakers.
(a) The Emphatic Consonants.
It will be noted that the sounds t, d, s, z, and h are given
twice over, once in ordinary type and once in italic. The sounds
represented by the italic letters are those which give much
trouble to English speakers, and must be mastered carefully.
For the first four, t, d, s, z, take two words for each, one con-
taining the letter as initial, the other containing it as a final,
thus for t take the English words top, hot — for d take day,
had — for s take such as sop, boss, and for z substitute z-
for s- in the preceding. After pronouncing the word naturally,
10 ' PRONUNCIATION
repeat it several times, each time exaggerating the t, d, etc.,
sound and dwelling upon it until you feel that you are making
yourself ridiculous by the amount of exaggeration ; the first
time you hear a native speaker you will find that he exaggerates
it even more than you have done. But whilst exaggerating
these sounds you must also try to thrust them a little further
back into the throat. The emphatic or exaggerated z is for
Syria and Egypt alone : in 'Iraq its sound will be that of the
th at the beginning of such words as " there, then ", much
emphasized ; this is the truer sound and very often in Egypt
z is altered to d, which is an attempt to reproduce it more truly.
You must remember that in all these dialects Arabic is spoken
by those whose ancestors learned it as a foreign language, and
so have never completely attained ease in the use of sounds
which were not in their own former language. The true sound
of the emphatic letters can only be heard from the lips of a
desert Arab.
The emphatic ^ is a consonant which usually gives much
trouble to English learners. You must breathe out over this
aspirate with more force than over an ordinary h, and dwell
longer on the sound, it is an h with an aspiration produced
with effort, but in which no other sound than pure h should
enter. Such a word as yaAfazak is a fair test of one's ability
to speak Arabic intelligibly.
In similar way q is really the emphatic form of k, and here
it is possible to perceive the real difference between the simple
and emphatic consonants by contrasting the initial sounds in
the words " king " and " queen ".
(b) Tlie Dental Aspirates.
The two sounds given as th and dh occur in English and
present no difficulty to an English learner. The sound th
PRONUNCIATION 11
is that which appears at the beginning of such words as
"thin", "theory", "three", and as final in " vdth ",
" truth ", etc. The sound dh is the softer th which com-
mences such words as " than ", " then ", " there ". But
these sounds, correctly pronounced by the desert Arabs,
have always proved difficult to the people of Syria and Egypt,
and in a less degree to those of 'Iraq. As a result th is sounded
either as t or as s, dh as d or z. In Egypt the sounds are
generally t and d, in Syria they are most often t and d but s
and z also occur. In the following pages, where we are
concerned with colloquial speech, the th and dh will rarely
occur save in the words peculiar to 'Iraq, but the history of
these sounds will explain the apparent inconsistency of t
and d occasionally interchanging with s and z. Sometimes
the correct th and dh will be heard from the lips of educated
persons. Thus the demonstrative pronoun " this " appears
in 'Iraq as ha-dha, in Syria it becomes ha-da, and in Egypt
the first syllable is dropped and we have da. Both in Syria
and Egypt this da can be heard as za, and that pronunciation
is often regarded as nahwi or " grammatical ". Wherever
there is Turkish or Persian influence there is a strong tendency
to use s and z not only for the classical th and dh, but even
for the emphatic t and d, thus a Persian will speak of a qadi,
" judge," as a qazi : it is well to bear in mind that there is
a strong Persian element in 'Iraq, and the Turkish element is
still well represented amongst the higher orders in Egypt
and Syria.
(c) The Laryngds.
The kh sound is often difficult to Englishmen ; it is the
same as the " ch " in Scottish words, such as " loch ", etc.,
or German " hoch ". Three consonants are left which we have
12 PRONUNCIATION
represented by the signs ', ', and gh. Make a slight pause
and then say such a word as " and " ; you will notice that as
you commence the vowel sound your throat makes a
contraction which is just audible as an effort at the beginning.
This effort is the Hamza, which we represent by '. It is quite
easy at the beginning of a word but it is not easy to introduce
it at the close of a syllable. Natives find it quite as difficult
as we do, and it generally results simply in lengthening the
vowel which goes before, so that one commonly hears ras
for ra's, or else it is changed to w or y, so that we get the
classical qara' " read " treated as though it were qaray. A
careful observance of the correct sound is the mark of a well
educated man or of a desert Arab, who, of course, produces
these sounds quite naturally. The sound ' is the same, but
made emphatic, so as to seem like a catch in the thi'oat ; try the
effort with which you begin to say the word " and " after a
pause, then increase this effort and exaggerate it as much as
you can, at the same time trying to thrust it back into your
throat. The gh is best described as an attempt at gargling ;
if you cannot succeed in this sound make it like a hard g
emphasized.
Pains must be taken especially over the emphatic consonants,
which in many cases entirely change the meaning of a word.
It is ludicrous to hear a missionary telling people that God
wants a man's kalb, " dog," when he really means qalb,
"heart." So sif means "sword", but sif =" summer ",
sew^ = " whip", sawt == " voice", fikr = "thought", faqr =
" poverty ", fitna = " sedition ", fu^na — " prudence ", in
many cases the short vowel being obscure so that the difference
in the vowel sounds is scarcely audible.
Do not be discouraged at the difficulty of some of the sounds.
You cannot learn fluent Arabic by yourself, and probably no
PRONUNCIATION 13
teacher, however eflP.cient, can make you correct ; aU you can
do is to get some approximate pronunciation which may be
understood by a patient listener, then, when opportunity
offers, you must spend your time in the midst of an Arabic-
speaking community and by hearing and imitating wiU soon
learn to speak intelligibly. The better your previous
knowledge of grammar and vocabulary the quicker will this
result be attained.
See below (sect. 4) for notes on some of the chief
differences in pronunciation between Egypt, Syria, and 'Iraq.
(2) The Long Vowels and Diphthongs
The vowel sounds properly are three only, a, i, and u. When
long these are pronounced thus : —
a as a in " father ", " rather ", etc.
i as the ee in " feet ", " sweet ", etc.
u as the oo in " moon ", " soon ", etc.
Very soon, however, the a inclines towards the a in " fate ",
and this is particularly the case in Egypt, but the true ah
sound (as above) is always intelligible and preferable.
e is pronounced like the a in " rate ", " hate ", etc.
6 is like the long o in " holy ", " roll ", etc.
These two long vowels are really diphthongs, e = ay,
6 = aw, and remembering this will greatly help to explain
the cases in which they occur, e.g. the verb fafayt becomes
necessarily iafet, " I extinguished " ; the grammars call this
an " irregular " verb, but if we remember the origin of the
e there is no irregularity but simply the application of a
phonetic rule.
(3) The Short Vowels
The short vowels are a, i, u. Very commonly a can be
sounded as e and even as i, provided it does not come next
14 PRONUNCIATION
to one of the h, h, kh, or * sounds. This modification of a is
most common in Egypt, but such variation will be found in
different degrees in local dialects, often differing in districts
quite near one another. All the short vowels are obscured by
the fact that Arabic is a more " throaty " language than
English, the sounds are thrust more back into the throat
and the throat muscles exercised more freely than in speaking
English. We may regard the short a as an obscured a like
that in the English word " beggar ". Unless we are trying to
reproduce accurately the local dialect of some particular
district there is no need to be strictly consistent in the
rendering of the short a : we may say al-madine, el-medine,
or il-medine. In the following pages the short a generally
appears as e unless near one of the consonants which restrain
the modification, and this is the most practical representation,
though the Egyptian peasant will most often sound it as i.
On the other hand, the more educated tend to reproduce the
purer a sound. So short i may often sound as e, and short u
generally does sound like o. After or before an emphatic
consonant (one of those here given in italics) all the short
vowels incline towards an o-u sound. But you will find much
diversity in the sounding of short vowels, not only between
one district and another, but even between different quarters
of the same town, and sometimes the difference shows whether
the speaker is a Muslim, or a Jew, or a Christian. Unless you
desire to make a detailed study of peculiarities of dialect it
is hardly necessary to acquire these very accurately. Willmore,
in his Spoken Arabic of Egypt (p. 10), gives the sensible remark,
" take care of the consonants and the vowels wiU take care
of themselves," referring, of course, to the short vowels. He
further notes that " Vowels are in English pronounced more
in the front of the m(.uth, in Cairene Arabic more in the upper
PRONUXCLiTION 15
part of the throat ", and so " vowels are one and all thicker
and more rounded in Arabic than they are in our language ".
But again it must be repeated that we can at best get only a
rough approximation until we actually hear the spoken
language and set ourselves to reproduce what is heard, not
the speech of one teacher but the natural converse of many
who are speaking without any efEort to make their words
intelligible to a foreigner ; it is only by a stay in an Arabic
speaking atmosphere that any satisfactory colloquial powers
can be developed.
(4) Word Structure
In Arabic every syllable must be pronounced quite
distinctly, and so in qattal it must be clear that there are
lWo t's, as qat-tal, for qatal is a different word not quite the
sair.e in meaning. The Arab cannot normally sound a con-
sonant without the help of a vowel, and so " Platon " (Plato)
becomes " Aflatun " and " Frank " appears as " Ifrang " or
" Firang ", and when three consonants come together it is
necessary to insert a vowel, usually -i-, sometimes a vowel
assimilated to another near. As modern Arabic has lost the
vowel endings which in ancient Arabic marked the cases of
nouns and the moods of verbs, it often happens that this
addition has to be made. Thus shuft = " I saw " and " I
saw her", ought to be shuftha, but as this would mean three
consonants together it becomes shuftiha; but "I saw them"
changes shufthum to shuftuhum, where -u- is due to the vowel
following. Arabs who are able to sound a consonant group
without sufficient vowel help have learned to do so in schools
where they have been in contact with European teachers,
and their speech is not to be copied. In Western speech
(i.e. the Arabic of Morocco, Algeria, and Timis) the tendency
16 PRONUNCIATION
is to slur over short unaccented vowels, and so the words seem
to contain grouped consonants, but in reality it is that the short
vowel is hurried over and has only about half the time value
of an ordinary short vowel. Thus in Egypt, etc., we find
sabaA = " morning ", but in the West this becomes s'hah ;
the first -a- is like the " obscure " a in " beggar ", but reduced
to about half its duration. This shortening of the unaccented
vowels before the accent is one of the most characteristic
marks of "Western" Arabic, and it is well to note that
Western influences extend right up to the western suburbs of
Alexandria.
Accentuation, i.e. the emphasis due to the accent of stress
as on the e in " invent ", varies and its variations are amongst
the characteristics distinctive of the dilierent dialects.
Originally, no doubt, the accent generally rest-ed on the
penultimate or syllable before the last, but the decay of the
final vowels used to denote cases and moods has caused the
tendency to accentuate the last syllable of a word. In the
colloquial speech of Syria and Lower Egypt the accent rests
on the last syllable when that syllable has a long vowel or a
short vowel followed by two consonants ; if the last syllable
is short and closed by one consonant the accent generally
falls on the preceding syllable. The present accentuation of
Syria and Lower Egypt, in which the accent is controlled by
the vowel quantity, seems to be the Syrian usage which has
been adopted by scholars and gradually spread by their
influence. The rustic speech of Egypt rather tends to advance
the accent towards the end of the stem, and this, probably
the older usage, is still further emphasized in Maghrabi, i.e.
" Western " Arabic, and largely accounts for the slurring over
of a preceding short vowel : thus in Egypt and Syria we hear
iinta, " thou," but in the West this becomes anta and even
PRONUNCIATION 17
nta. (See p. 34 below.) Attention should be paid to
differences of accent in speech, as these will often furnish a
key to the local dialect, which at first seems so different
from Arabic heard elsewhere. In so far as local dialect is
distinguished by peculiarity of accent, this will be found to
follow some particular tendency fairly consistently, and the
tendency will soon be noted by the attentive listener.
(5) Dialectal Differences
(a) Consonant g.
In Egypt the g is sounded hard, as in the English word
" garden ", but elsewhere it is soft, as in " general ". This is
to be taken as distinctive of the Egyptian dialect. When
Syria was given back to Turkey in 1840 — it had been attached
to Egypt in 1833 — some of the Egyptians who had settled
there wanted to remain and pretended to be Syrians. The test
used was to make them pronounce the word for " camel " ;
if they said " jemel " they were accepted as Syrians, but if
they said " gemel " with a hard g they were sent back to
Egj-pt. In the following pages the letter is always written g,
for g is allowed to have both sounds, but note that in Syria
and 'Iraq g has to be pronounced soft, like an English j, but
in Egj-pt it has to be a hard g as in " gold ". When Greek
and other W(.>rd8 containing hard g are put into Arabic the
letter gh is generally used. Occasionally some peculiar
renderings of the g sound may be heard, due to dialectal
tendencies amongst those who are least in touch with the
outer world. Thus amongst the fellahin and Bedwin of
Upper Egypt a " dy " sound can be heard making gemel,
" camel " sound like dyamel (diamel), and along the Lower
Euphrates this goes further and produces a y sound, making
" yemel ", etc. On the other hand, the soft g sound (Mke j or
18 PRONUNCIATION
the g in English " gem ") becomes zh (i.e. Kke the -dg- in
" edge ") along the Syrian coast and amongst the Christian
population of Jerusalem. As the various religious communities
in the East live very much amongst themselves and do not
mix with those of other religions, it is not uncommon to find
dialectal peculiarities which betray a man's religious
adherence.
(b) Consonant l\
Usually there is no difficulty about the pronunciation of the
consonant k, but in 'Iraq sometimes we find k with vowel
-i- sounded as ch, like the initial of the English word " church "
contrasted with the Scottish " kirk ". Thus " thy " addressed
to a woman is -ik in Egypt, Syria, etc., but -ich (as though
-itch) in 'Iraq. This is not e;sclu8ive to 'Iraq, however, as it
may be heard also amongst the Bedwin of the Syrian desert
and the fellahin of Palestine.
(c) Consonant q.
The sound represented as q in the following pages is as the
q followed by -u- in such English words as "question", "queen",
etc. It will be noted that it is thrust further down into the
throat than the ordinary k and so tends to affect the vowel
sound following : a similar (inevitable) modification of the
vowel sound occurs in Arabic and results from contact not
only with q but with all the " emphatic " sounds, i.e. those
which are represented by italics in this book. In Upper j
Egypt, and to some extent also in 'Iraq, and amongst the
desert Arabs generally, this q is sounded as g, and so we hear!
gal (=qal), "say", gult (=qult), "I said", Gurnah (for
Qurnah) as the name of a well-known village near Theves, ji
and this modification of q to g hard should be borne in mind -
by anyone in Upper Egypt, and should be actually adopted
PRONUNCIATION 19
by those who are living in 'Iraq. It is not, however, usual
thus to sound the first letter of the name of the holy book,
the Qur'an. In Lower Egypt, in the towns of Syria, and in
the neighbourhood of Jerusalem the q has quite a different
sound and becomes either the strong effort we have represented
by (*) or the weaker effort {'), or passes away altogether. Thus
the words qam qal = " he began to say " (lit. " he arose, he
said ") may be heard as gam gal in Upper Egypt and 'Iraq,
as 'am 'al or even am al in Lower Egypt, etc. Occasionally
the q sound becomes the strong gh, the gargling sound which
is best learned by trying to imitate the grunting sound a
camel makes ; this particular modification will be met with in
certain districts of 'Iraq, often amongst the Bedwin. Near
Jerusalem q often sounds as k.
(d) The Aspirate Consonants.
As we have already noted, the sounds th, dh, are rendered
truly in 'Iraq (as a rule), but generally become t, d, in Egypt
and Syria, sometimes s, z, which shows an (unsuccessful)
effort to give the true sounds (and so likely to be met with in
the partly-educated) or else betrays a Turkish or Persian
influence. In some cases, however, the z for dh is fairly
regular, e.g. it is quite common in Egypt to hear ki-za =
"thus", "like this ", for ka-dha.
(e) The Vowels.
Both in Egypt and Syria, perhaps to a less extent in 'Iraq,
there is a general tendency to weaken short -a- to -e- and -i-,
in Lower Egypt the -i- is the commonest resultant, and so we
hear ir-ragil, " the man," rather than er-ragU, but the -i-,
-€- of this sort is the obscure vowel of indistinct timbre,
especially the unaccented short before the accent, in
" Western " Arabic (Morocco, etc.), very often such vowels
20 PRONUNCIATION
disappear altogether, and there we hear ' ' m'dine " f or " medine ",
etc. In the following pages this short vowel is most often
represented by -e-, but we have not kept to this consistently,
it is sometimes -a-, sometimes -i-, and it is best for the learner
to regard these sounds as fluctuating, not definitely fixed ;
very often a perceptible variation may be heard within a
few miles distance or in adjacent districts in a town. "When in
contact with a " throat " sound such as h, kh, ', or one of the
emphatic letters, the -a- sound should be preserved, and in
any passages of " classical " character, e.g. quotations, etc.,
this should be done. The dictum of the grammarians is that
-a- is always correct, -e-, -i- is permitted under certain con-
ditions, and these conditions colloquial speech extends far
beyond anything the grammarians approved.
Chapter III
THE FIRST LESSOX— THE NOUN AND THE SIMPLE
NOMINAL SENTENCE
(1) For convenience we start with the classification of
words according to the grammarians, who divide them into
(i) nouns, (ii) verbs, and (iii) particles. Every sentence contains
a noun expressed or implied, sentences which contain verbs
are called " verbal sentences ", those which do not are called
" nominal sentences " ; the particles are used only as accessory
to verbs and nouns. The noun or name (ism) is the name of
anything which may be real, as " man ", " house ", etc., or
merely an idea as " virtue ", " truth ", etc., or may be a
quality (adjective) as " black ", " good ", etc., or a pronoun
Buch as " he ", " this ", etc. All these are classed together
as nouns and the function which any one of them fulfils in
a sentence normally holds good for any other.
Nouns thus include : —
(a) Substantives (i) names of real things, (ii) names of ideal
things (abstract nouns), including the infinitives of verbs.
(6) Adjectives or descriptives, including participles of verbs,
(c) Pronouns.
(2) The Definite and Indefinite
Nouns may be definite and so denote one particular person
or thing, as " Muhammad ", " Cairo ", " he ", etc. — or they
may be indefinite and so denote any one of a class, as " man ",
" town ", etc. Proper names and pronouns are definite by
22 THE FIRST LESSON
their own nature. An indefinite noun becomes definite by
having the defining article " the " placed before it, as indefinite
" man ", definite " the man ".
(3) The Defining Article
In Arabic the defining article " the " is 1-. When this is
preceded by a vowel the 1- alone suffices, as in abii 1-walad =
" the father of the boy ", where 1- does not need anything
further to enable it to be pronounced. When it is not preceded
by a vowel the sound a- or e- (Egyptian often i-) is added
(as already explained e-, i-, are only dialectal modifications
of short a- not next to a throat sound), and so " the " — al-,
el-, or il-. Thus walad = " boy ", el-walad = " the boy ".
But when the noun following begins with one of the letters
t, t, th, d, d, dh, s, s, sh, z, z, r, or n, the 1- assimilates to that
letter and so " the man " = er-ragil (not el-ragil, though that
is written in Arabic but pronounced with the assimilation),
so shams = " sun", ash-shams = "the sun", etc. (In Egyptian
dialect the same assimilation is sometimes applied to k- and
so we hear ak-kull for al-kuU = " the whole " ; this is a
piece of dialect and should not be regarded as regular.
In the following pages the article 1-, al-, el-, il-, is written
thus with the hyphen connecting it with the noun it defines.
(4) The Indefinite
There is no Arabic word for the indefinite " a " or " an ".
If we mean " a man " we say simply ragil = " man " without
adding any article ; if we mean " a certain man " we may use
the numeral wahid = " one " and say " one man ", or we
may express " a certain town " by a paraphrase " a town from
the towns ", e.g. fi medina min medayin es-Sin = " in a
THE FIRST LESSON 23
certain town of China " ( = in a town of the towns of China.
Story of 'Ala d-Din).
The word wahid is the numeral " one ", and is used with
the masculine as wahid walad = " a certain boy ", with the
feminine it is wahde as waLde bint = " a certain girl ". It
naturally cannot be used in the plural and there its nearest
equivalent is ba'd " some " (cf. p. 85 below).
Very often Arabic requires the definite article where it is
not required in English, e.g. with abstract nouns as el-'adl =
"justice", and such as es-sef, "summer," in fi s-sef = "in
summer " ; sometimes it may be used or omitted without
difference to the meaning, as el-arba'a nuss et-tamanya or
arba'a nuss tamanya = " four is half of eight ".
(5) The Descriptive
The adjective or other descriptive (noun in apposition,
participle) follows the noun it describes, thus ragil = "man ",
keblr = " great ", ragil kebir = " great man ", Muhammad
esh-shekh = " Muhammad the sheikh," etc.
If the first noun is defined the descriptive which follows must
also be defined, if the first is indefinite the descriptive must
be undefined also, thus ragil kebir = " great man ", er-ragil
el-kebir = " the great man", Muhammad el-kebir = " the
great Muhammad ", where the proper name is defined by ite
own nature.
Proper names are necessarily definite, but there are some
which originally were common nouns and have become proper
names ; these may have the article, but they may equally well
''-ppear without, the addition or omission of the article makes
no difierence ; thus we may say Hasan or el- Hasan, both are
equally correct, and both are equally defined.
I
24 THE FIRST LESSON
If the noun defined be feminine the descriptive adjective
must be feminine also, the feminine being usually formed by
adding -a* or -e* to the masculine, thus kebir = " great "
(of a man), kebire = " great " (of a woman). Thus final -a,
-e, represents an ancient -at, -et, of which the -t has fallen
away. In Hebrew, which may be regarded as an early dialect
of colloquial Arabic, the change had already taken place in
the Siloam inscription written under the old Hebrew
monarchy — but when the termination is not a final, i.e. when
a suffix is added or a genitive is attached, the -t is preserved,
so medine appears as medinet, kebire as kebiret, etc. In the
vocabularies below we mark this termination *, e.g.
medine*, etc.
Normally the male is masculine, the female is feminine,
but care must be taken not to assume that the genders of
grammar necessarily connect with the sexes : things without
life, and so without sex, are still treated as masculine or
feminine. Usually words ending in -a, -e, are feminine, as
medine, " city," but the feminine form of the adjective is
regularly used with the (collective) plural (see p. G8 below),
and very generally the -a*, -e*, ending is added to denote the
individual of a species, e.g. naml = "ants", namle* = "a
single ant ", etc., so we must not assume that grammatical
gender (whatever its origin) is always connected with sex,
nor are we entitled to assume that the Arabs because they
make all nouns masculine or feminine therefore regarded
every object in nature as alive, an unverified idea which has
become popular with some theorists.
(6) The Simple Nominal Statement
We see that ragil kebir = "great man", and er-ragil
el-kebir = " the great man ", in either case the adjective
THE FIRST LESSON 25
agrees with the preceding noun in being defined or undefined.
If we say —
er-ragil kebir
we get a simple nominal statement meaning " the man is
great ". There is no need to translate the word " is " into
Arabic, the sentence is complete as it stands, and on this
model a large number of simple, but very useful, sentences
can be formed. The simple form we thus use as a model
contains two elements, (i) a defined noun referring to some
person or thing already known to us, and (ii) a new piece of
information now first added to our previous knowledge.
Thus:—
er-ragil marid = The man is ill
er-ragil el-kebir marid = The great man is ill
Muhammad esh-shekh el- = The great sheikh Muhammad
kebir marid is ill.
We shall see later that as the sentence becomes longer it
becomes more usual to " resume " the thread of our speech
by inserting a pronoun, as " the great sheikh Muhammad
(he) is ill ", etc., but we still have a perfectly sound model
in our general scheme of : —
(i) A noun defined and already known ;
(ii) An additional piece of information conveyed by a noun
undefined.
Sentences of this "nominal" time are only descriptive;
they cannot be used to describe events taking place in time.
Thus I can say " Muhammad is great " in two words,
(i) the defined name (defined by its own nature), and (ii)
the undefined information now added ; but if I mean
" Muhammad is great " in the sense that he is so now but
was formerly not so, i.e. " he has become great ", or if I mean
26 THE FIRST LESSON
" lie is great " in the sense that he now is but will cease to
be so, in either of these cases I must use a verb meaning
** be, is ", etc. A sentence without a verb can be only
descriptive without reference to a happening in time.
(7) The Interrogative Sentence
Any sort of statement in Arabic can be turned into a
question in any one of three ways, (i) it may be spoken in an
interrogative tone of voice, and this rising tone is denoted
in the following pages by the use of the sign (?) : thus er-ragil
kebir = " the man (is) great," er-ragil kebir ? = " is the man
great ? " — interrogative simply by reason of the tone in which
it is uttered, (ii) Or the particle hal, or the prefix 'a- may be
used before the sentence ; this is the classical usage and is
now rare save in the speech of the educated. Or (iii) an
interrogative pronoun or compound derived from a pronoun
may be used, as el-medine fen ? = " the town (is) where ? "
(i.e. " where is the town ? ").
A fourth way (iv) may be mentioned as heard in vernacular
(or vulgar) speech, which adds -sh, or -esh, meaning shay =
" thing, somewhat," etc., to the word which is the subject
of question, e.g. 'etshan = " thirsty," 'etshanesh ? = " at
all thirsty ? " i.e. " are you at all thirsty ? "
(8) General Summary of this Lesson
(a) Nouns are defined (made to refer to a particular
individual) (i) by their own nature (proper names, pronouns,
etc.) ; (ii) by the prefixed article.
(b) Article " the " = 1-, al-, el-, il-. 1- assimilates before
t, t, th, d, d, dh, s, s, sh, z, z, r, n.
(c) Order : substantive — adjective (or descriptive noun),
both of same gender, equally defined or undefined.
(d) Nominal sentence : (i) Subject of which statement is
THE FIRST LESSON 27
made — defined, (ii) Predicate, the statement made about
it — ^undefined.
(e) Interrogative : Made so (i) by tone of voice, (ii) by
particle hal, or prefixed a-, (iii) by interrogative pronoun,
(iv) by added -sh, -esb.
VOCABULARY I
(i) Adjectives of the measure qdU.
It will greatly ease our labour in learning vocabularies of
Arabic words if we note that many words are formed on
regular " measures ". Thus we note that adjectives such as
kebir " great ", ketir " much ", saghir " little ", etc., are
formed on the measure -a-i-, or -e-i- (where -e- is, of course,
a dialectal variation of -a-), that is to say, each contains
three consonants with -a- or -e- between the first and second,
long -i- between the second and third. All these form their
feminine by adding -a or -e which becomes -at, -et, before a
suffix or connected word. In the vocabulary adjectives of
this kind are fairly numerous. For the present we wiU content
ourselves with twelve specimens of such adjectives : —
faqir = poor ne^if = dean
gedid = new qelil = little, small (quantity)
kebir = great qasir = narrow, short
ketir = much qawi = strong
letif = pretty saghir = small {in size)
marid = ill tawil = long
All these are of the same " measure" qatil, though one (qawi)
does not at first seem to fit in. This introduces us to what is
called an " irregular " form, though, in fact, the majority of
such irregularities in Arabic are simply instances of phonetic
modifications which are all subject to certain fixed principles.
28 THE FIRST LESSON
This word, for example, is properly qawiy and might be so
written, but it is impossible to give a separate consonant sound
to -y after -i in any language unless another vowel follows,
then it can be sounded clearly, and thus the feminine is
qawiyye*. In Lower Egypt the words qelil, qawi, will sound
as 'elil, 'awi (see p. 19 above), and in 'Iraq qawi sounds gawi,
guwi, with hard g- (see p. 18 above). Thes6 difTerences occur
whenever a word contains q, and we shall not return to them
again in each case, but content ourselves with noting the
general dialectal tendency.
(ii) Strengthening of the Adjective.
The adjectives ketir, qawi, as well as the adjective giddan =
" very " can be added to other adjectives as a means of
strengthening, thus letif = " pretty ", letif qawi = " very
pretty", letif qawi ketir = "very very pretty", "very pretty
indeed", also halqet (peculiar to Palestine). Adverbs properly
do not occur in Arabic, they are nouns (or adjectives) used
adverbially and (originally) with the accusative -an added,
so that the classical forms would be ketir-an, qawiy(y)-an,
gidd-an.
Sometimes we are told that bi-ziyade = " by excess "
serves for the English " too ", or the adjective zayid=
" excessive " is thus used, and bi-1-kifaye = " by the
su£&ciency " for " enough ", as kabir bi-ziyade, " too large,"
kab'r bl-1-kifaye, " large enough," and huwa <uluh zayid, " it,
its length (is) excessive," but these forms, though they would
be understood by an Arab, would never be used by him, they
are essentially alien to the spirit and character of Arabic,
and we must reconcile ourselves to the fact that " too " and
"... enough " cannot be expressed in Arabic. Our only way
of saying " too large " is " very, very large " (see Van Ess,
Spoken Arabic of Mesopotamia, p. 108).
i
THE FIRST LESSON 29
(iii) Particular note must be made of the measure qutayil
(for qutayl), which is a diminutive form, and is very much
used in colloquial Egj^tian and by the Arabs living along
the rivers in Mesopotamia. Some of the commonest instances
are : —
sughayir for saghir = little
kuwayis = good, pretty
tayyib (for tuyayib) — good
(iv) Interrogatives.
The following list gives the commonest forms of interrogative
particles and pronouns : —
en, wen ('Iraq, S}t.), fen = Where?
To this we can add prepositions, and say : —
min en ? (min wen ?) = from where ? {whence ?)
ila en ? (ila wen ?) = to where {whither ?)
kef, kif (Syr.) = how ?
min,men ('Iraq) = who ? whom ? whose ?
may be used of singular or plural,
ma (only of things) = what ?
in colloquial only used in a few expressions, such as : —
ma lu ? = what is the tnatter with him ?
(lit. what to him ?)
ana ma li ? = what is tliat to me ?
eh, ey, e = what ? singular or plural,
the more usual form in
colloquial speech.
May have the prepositions added : —
'eh ? ( = b-eh) = Jor what ?—why 1
bi-sabab ey ? = jor what reason ?
30
THE FIRST LESSON
*ala slian ey ? ('ashan ey ?)
shu (Syr.), shinu ('Iraq), esh
(Egypt.)
= why ? (Egyptian)
= what ? all these are com-
pounds of shayy = thing
(cf . Egyptian *ala shan ey 1
above)
(v) Other particles in common use.
aiwa (Eg.), na'am (Eg., Syr., = yes
'Iraq), belli ('Iraq only)
1& = no. In classical Arabic,
sometimes in the speech
of those who affect the
literary style, and in the
dialects of South Arabia
this can be used for the
ordinary negative not
aho, ahe (Egyptian, chiefly) = here is (really a demon-
strative made from a-
(ha-) with the personal
pronoun suffixed, see p. 40
below)
(vi) Nouns Substantive.
bab
bet
dar (fern.)
bint (fem.)
moya (ma)
ragil (ragul)
tariq (masc. or fem.)
: door
house (household, house in
town, etc.)
house (word used by the
Bedwin people of Upper
Egypt, etc.)
girl,
water
man
road, way.
THE FIRST LESSON 31
EXERCISE
(1) bet kebir- -«I-bet el-kebir = A large house — the large
— el-bet kebir house — the house is large.
(2) dar saghire — ed-dar es- = A little house — the httle
saghire — ed-dar saghire house — the house is small.
(3) et-tariq tawil ? — ^aiwa, et- = Is the road long? — Yes, the
tariq tawil ketir qawi road is very long indeed.
(4) fen el-bab ? — ^ahe el-bab = Where is the door ? — Here
is the door.
(5) fen moya ? — aho moya = Where is there water ? —
ketir Here is plenty of water.
(6) el-bet tayjib ? — aiwa, el- = Is the house all right ? — Yes,
bet tayyib qaAvi the house is quit* all right.
(7) el-bint kebire ?— la, el- = Is the girl big (old) ?— No,
bint saghire (sughayire) the girl is a httle one.
(8) ed-dar tayyibe ? — aiwa, = Is the house nice ? — Yes, the
ed-dar kuwaise kuwaise house is very nice indeed.
(9) el-moya ketir ? — ^la, el- = Is there much water ? — No,
moya qelil giddam - the water is very scanty,
(10) er-ragil faqir qawi = The man is very poor.
(11) fen el-moya ? — ^aho el- = Where is the water ? — Here
moya is the water.
(12) el-bet fen ? — ahe el-bet = Where is the house? — ^Here
it is.
(13) ed-dar es-saghire fen ? = Where is the httle house ?
Notes
In the words given above long vowels within a word are
marked, but final long vowels are not. It may be taken as a
general rule that short final vowels have been lost and those
32 THE FIRST LESSON
represented are, as' they stand, long; indeed it is not so easy to
pronounce a final short, which is probably the reason why they
have dropped out. When suffixes are added, the long, now no
longer final, may be shortened or it may remain long, and in
this latter case this long vowel is noted like every other long
occurring within a word.
It is probably needless to say that it is not practicable to
translate literally from one language to another and it is
certainly not desirable to make the attempt. In translating
from English to Arabic, or from any language to another, the
first thing is to observe the meaning at the bottom of the
sentence, the next is to express it naturally in the language
into which we are making the translation : to translate word
for word means certain disaster, we ought not to try to repro-
duce what we say in the language of the Arab, but rather to
express in Arabic the meaning previously expressed in English.
For example, if we want to say in Arabic " Is there much
water ? " the sentence contains four words, but we can
dispense with two of these, one " there " thus used is a peculiar
English idiom, another " is " is not necessary in an Arabic
nominal sentence ; it is quite sufiicient to say " the water —
much ? " in an " interrogative " tone of voice, i.e. rising
inflection, and we have all that is necessary for an Arabic
sentence ; the essential points are (1) that we define the
" water " as already known to us, and (2) do not
define the "much" as being that about which we need
information.
Supplementary Note on the Interrogative Pronouns
who ? — Classical Arabic man — 'Iraq men. mi ? Central
Arabia, Egypt, Syria, min.
what ? — (1) ma (as class. Ar.) rare, m'hu, mu, Oman, 'Iraq.
THE FIRST LESSON 33
(2) ajy (class.) ej, e, (eh), Egypt, ev, e, eiya, Syria,
Palestine, C. Arabia. (With interrogative -sh), esh, she, sh,
'Iraq, esh (Damascus), S. Arabia, Egypt, ash, Morocco,
wush, Transjordania. shu, Syria ( = ash-hu).
(3) en-hu, -hi, hum (Egypt), en-u, -a, -hom, Syria.
which} — class. Ar. anna(y),ani, Egypt, anu, anu, Palestine.
Chapter IV
THE SECOND LESSON— THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS
AND THE NEGATIVE SENTENCE
(9) We have already used two kinds of nouns, the substantive
and the adjective, we now turn to the third kind, the pronoun.
The commonest pronoun is the personal " I ", " he ", " she ",
etc., and because of its very common use there are perceptible
differences in the several dialects, though these are for the
most part no more than phonetic modifications.
The personal pronoun appears in two forms, (a) the separate
form which is used in the nominative " I ", " he ", etc., and
(b) the suffixed form which is used for the possessive " my ",
" his ", etc., or for the objective " me ", " him ", etc. The
first form stands alone, the second can only be used attached
to a noun, verb, or certain particles.
(10) The Personal Pronoun : Separate Form
Sing. 1. " I " ana, ani.
2. masc. "thou" ente (Eg.), ent (Syr.), inte (Eg.,
Ir.).
fern. " thou " inti (Eg., Ir.), enti (Eg., Syr.).
3. masc. "he" huwa (Eg., Syr.), hu (Syr.), hu'a
(Ir.), hua ('Ir.).
fem. "she" hiya (Eg., Syr.), hi (Syr.), hi'a
('Ir.), hie ('Ir.).
Plur. 1. "we"ehna(Eg.,'Ir.),ihna(Eg.,Syr.),nehn(Syr.).
2. " you " entu (Eg., Syr.), entum (Eg.), intu ('Ir.),
intum ('Ir.).
3. " they " hum (Eg., Syr.), humma (Eg., Syr., 'Ir.).
THE SECOND LESSON 35
The plural " we " is very often used for the singular " I ",
and the plural " you " is used for " thou " though this is not
at all so common as in the European languages, and the 2nd
person singular is neither familiar nor discourteous. In the
compounds hadretek = " your honour ", etc., it is the most
respectful form.
The 3rd person may be used very much as a demonstrative,
as in huwa mush salih . . . = " is it not true that . . ."
It is generally possible to omit the personal pronoun when
it is obvious, thus 'atshansh ? = " thirsty ? ", i.e. " are you
thirsty ? "
The personal pronouns are all defined by their own nature
as they refer to known persons or things : thus we form
sentences : —
ana faqir = / am poor
ente keslan = Thou art lazy
huwa kebir qawi = He is a very great one, etc.
Very often a personal pronoun is added to a word already
defined, and this added pronoun may become necessary when
the predicate is also defined. Thus used the pronoun seems
to be an equivalent to the verb " to be ", thus —
el-walad huwa keslan = The boy {he) is lazy
ana huwa et-tagir = I am the merchant
{I am he who is the merchant)
ente huwa er-ragil ? = Art thou the man ?
ente marid ? = Are you iU ?
luya maride = She is ill
(11) The Negative Sentence
A sentence may be made negative by inserting ma ('Iraq
mu) before the part denied, as er-ragil ma kebir = " the man
36 THE SECOND LESSON
is not great ", but colloquial speech, especially in Egypt and
Syria, commonly adds -sh (-she before a following consonant),
a corruption of shayy = " thing ", after the word negatived,
thus ma anish rayih = " I am not going ", tegi = " come ",
ma tegish = " do not come ", etc.
Combined with the personal pronouns we get negatives : —
manish (ma anish) = / am not
mantash (ma enta-sh) = Thou art not
mantish (ma enti-sh) = Thou (fem.) art not
mush (ma hu-sh) = He is not
ma hish = She is not
malmash (ma ehna-sh) = We are not
mantush (ma entu-sh) = You are not
ma humsh = They are not
The 3rd sing. masc. mush is in very general use as a negative
particle and may be found with the other persons, thus mush
kebir = " not great ", ana mush gu'an = " I am not hungry "
(vulg.).
Summary of Lesson II
I. Personal pronouns as separate words ana = " I ", ante =
" thou ", etc., are used as nominatives.
By nature they are defined as referring to known
persons, etc.
In sentences they acquire the meaning of " is ", " are ",
etc.
11. Negative Sentences.
Necessary to use ma (mu) = " not ".
Colloquial commonly adds -sh (-she).
la = " no " (used for " not " in classical Arabic and in
South Arabia).
THE SECOND LESSON
37
VOCABULARY TO LESSON II
(i) Conjunctions, we- (wa-, wi-)
" and " (must be attached to
following word), lakin, we-
lakin " but ".
(ii) Adjectives with -an, /cm. -ane*,
added to the stem.
'at-shan = thirsty
gu'an = hungry
keslan = lazy, idle
ta'ban = tired
za'lan = angry
(iii) Other words.
'esh = bread (Egypt),
life (ebie-
where).
habl = rope
hawa
= weather, air
himar
= ass
bi^an
= horse
khubz
= bread (Syria,
•Iraq)
kitab
= book
mal
= property
mara*
= woman
9a'ab (sa'b)
= difficult
shughl
= task, business,
work
= merchant
tagir
walad
= child
keman
= likewise, also.
similarly
EXERCISE
(Fob Fobms of Address, see p. 39 below).
(1) ente walad keslan
(2) la, ya sidi, manish keslan
(3) el-bint hiya maride ? — la,
ya sitt, hiya ma hish
maride
(4) ana faqir
(5) huwa ta'ban qawi
(6) ya bint, enti keslane ketir
(7) ente 'atshansb ? — la, ana
gu'an
(8) el-habl mush tawil ? —
aiwa, el-habl tawil ketir
(9) el-mara hiye faqire
(10) ana ta'ban we-gu'an
(11) huwa za'lan ketir qawi
You are an idle boy.
No, sir, I am not idle.
Is the girl ill ?— No, madam,
the girl is not ill.
I am poor.
He is very tired.
Girl, you are very idle.
Are you thirsty? — No, I am
hungry.
The rope is not long
(enough) ? — Yes, it is very
long ( = it is long
enough).
The woman is poor.
I am tired and hungry.
He was very angry indeed.
38 THE SECOND LESSON
(12) ed-dar ma hish nedife = The house is not clean.
(13) el-walad es-saghir huwa = The httle boy is very lazy.
keslan qawi
(14) el-mara hiye ta'bane ketir = The woman is very tired.
(15) el-walad es-saghir = Is the httle boy tired ?
ta'bansh ?
(16) el-'esh (khubz) tayyib ? — = Is the bread good?— No,
la, el-'esh mush tayyib the bread is not good.
(17) el-mara el-faqire hiye = Is the poor woman tired ?
ta'bane ?
(18) la, we-lakin hiye gu'ane = No, but she is very hungry.
ketir
(19) er-ragil huwa za'lan qawi = The man is very angry.
(20) 'atshansh ?— la, we-lakin = (You) thirsty ?— No, but I
ana gu'an qawi am very hungry.
(21) esh-shughli huwa sa'ab = The work is very hard.
ketir
(Here, as often, it becomes necessary to insert a vowel to prevent three
consonants coming in contact. Usually the inserted vowel is -i- or -e-,
but it often becomes -u- when the vowel -u- follows in the next syllable.
Thus " shughl huwa ..." has three consonants in contact (of course
-gh- is only one consonant sound, though we are obliged to represent it by
two letters) and so -i- is inserted between -1 and h-, but this must be a very
short vowel sound hurried through as much as possible. The necessity
of these inserted vowels is increased in the modern colloquial by the loss
of the final short vowels used in classical Arabic to denote the cases of nouns
and moods of verbs.)
(22) la, esh-shughli mush sa'ab = No, the work is not very
ketir hard.
(23) gu'ansh ? — aiwa, we-ana = (You) hungry? — Yes, and I
'atshan keman am thirsty as well.
(24) el-mal ketir ? — la, el-mal = Is the property much? —
mush ketir No, the property is not
much.
(25) er-ragil el-faqir huwa = The poor man is hungry and
gu'an we-ta'ban keman tired as well.
THE SECOND LESSON 39
(26) el-himar huwa keslan = The donkey is very lazy.
qawi — la, mush keslan No, it is not lazy.
(27) el-hisan el-kebir huwa = The big horse is very tired.
ta'ban qawd
(28) el-bint es-saghire fen ?— = Where is the little girl?—
ya sidi, ahe el-bint es- Here is the Uttle girl, sir.
saghire
(29) er-ragil huwa tagir we- = The man is a merchant and
huwa mush faqir he is not poor.
(30) el-mara el-faqire hiya = The poor woman is very
ta'bane ketir we-1-bint hiya tired and the girl is tired as
ta'bane keman well.
(31) ente keslansh ? — la, = Are you lazy? — No, I am
manish keslan not lazy.
APPENDIX TO LESSON II
Terms used rs Addbess, etc.
ya = 0, call to one near
ayy- = call to one distant
walad = boy
eabiyy = boy
shabb = boy (courteous form)
ghnlam = boy (only to servant, boy of the lower order, etc.)
kebir = old man (courteous)
'aguz = old woman
(la Egypt 'aguz = old man, 'aguze = old vx>man)
'ammi = my uncle (polite to elderly man)
shekh = sir (to elderly man, courteous)
ente = you (to person unknown, familiar)
sayyid = sir (to those who claim to be of the kindred of the
Prophet)
sidi = sir (used by servants, etc., addressing their master)
khawaga = sir, Mr. (middle classes, etc., much used " up country "
to Europeans)
effendi(Turki8h)= sir, Mr. (ofi&cials, clerks, professional classes, etc.)
sitt, sitti = madam
sayyide == madam (to lady of rank)
khatun = (in speaking of, not to, a young lady of good position,
in addressing letters, etc.)
h^hratek = your honour (proper form of courteous address)
genabek = your honour (chiefly to clergy, Europeans, etc.)
Chapter V
THE THIRD LESSON— THE PERSONAL PRONOUN
AS SUFFIXES
(12) The personal pronouns ana, ente, etc., which we have
already considered, are only used in the nominative, i.e. as
meaning " I ", " he ", " she ", etc. ; for the oblique cases,
possessive such as " my ", " his ", " our ", etc., or objective
such as " me ", " him ", " us ", etc., a different system is
employed and the pronoun is expressed by a shortened form
which is added to the end of a noun, verb, or certain particles.
Thus -i is used for " my ", e.g. beti = " my house ", hisani =
" my horse ", etc. The suffixes thus used are : —
Sing. 1. -i
2. masc. -ak, -ek, -k*
fern, ik, -ki*
3. masc. -uh, -u, -o, -h*
fern, -ha
Plur. 1. -na, -ne
2. -ku, -kum, -kon
3. -hum, -um, -om
The forms marked (*) are only used after vowel endings.
For the most part these endings hardly differ in the various
dialects, but perhaps 2nd plur. -ku is more often heard in
Egypt than elsewhere. The tendency of Syrian Arabic is
towards the -o sound for the 3rd masc. sing, and very often
the 2nd and 3rd plural in Syria sound -kon, hon. 'Iraq has
a peculiar form (sometimes) heard in the 2nd fem. sing. :
after a consonant instead of -ik we may get ech, the -ch
sounding like the first two letters of " church ", which is
a palatalized rendering of " kirk ". In 'Iraq also we may
THE THIED LESSON 41
get -eki, for this person, and -ekum, -ehum in the 2nd and
3rd pluT. after a consonant.
Thus beti = " my house ", betek = " thy house ", betuh =
" his house ", betna = " our house ", etc.
A pronominal suffix added to a noun defines it completely
just as the article would do, for " my house " specifies a
particular house as much as " the house ". Hence we are
able to form sentences : —
shughli sa'ab = My work i^ difficult
betek wasi' = Your house is spacious
daruh hiya saghire = His house is small
betna mush kebir = Our house is not large
huwa tagir = He is a merchant
huwa shughli = It is my business
hiya darek = It is thy house
betkum fen ? = Where is your house ?
When an adjective is added to a word having a suffixed
pronoun it is necessary to make the adjective definite to agree
with the noun and for this purpose the defining article has
to be used : —
beti el-kebir = My large house
daruh es-saghire = His little cottage
(13) The Suffixes with a Feminine Noun
Feminine nouns in -a*, -e*, as already noted, make this
termination into -at, -et, before a suffix, or rather the original
-t is preserved by the protection of the suffix. So, medine
" city ", medineti = " my city ", medinetek = " thy city ",
medinetha = " her city ", etc.
(14) The Three Nouns of Kinship
The three nouns, ab = " father ", akh = " brother ", and
ham = " father-in-law ", are treated as though they ended
42 THE THIKD LESSON
in -u and so make abuk = " thy father ", abuna = " our
father ", abuh = "his father ", akhuk = " thy brother ", etc.
In the 1st pers. sing, we (usually) find -ye, -ya, -yi added, thus
abuya = " my father ", akhuye = " my brother " (also
akhui). The " Western " dialect (Morocco, Algiers, etc.) has
buy a = " my father ".
abuk huwa za'lan ? = Is your father angry ?
akhukum es-saghir huwa ta'ban = Your little brother is very
qawi tired
hamuha mush^hani = Her father-in-law is not
rich
(15) Colloquial Insertion of " Property "
Colloquial speech frequently introduces an entirely
superfluous noun denoting " property " with the suffixed
pronoun after the noun to which the possessive refers, it
then becoming necessary that that noun be defined by the
addition of the defining article, thus in Egypt we find beta'
{fern, beta't, plur. butu') as —
el-kitab beta'i = kitabi = My hook
ed-dar beta'tek = darek = Thy house, etc.
In Syria the inserted word appears as taba*, fem. taba't,
which is employed in the same way ; and in 'Iraq the word is
mal, as —
al-himar mali = himari = My ass
Sometimes also haqq is thus used, chiefly by Bedwin and by
tribes bordering on Arabia, as el-kitab haqqi = kitabi =
" my book ".
The form beta' is used in Egypt and Palestine, but in
Palestine it often becomes taba', presumably a " Spoonerism ".
Its original form was meta', and in Tripoli this is still used
and may occur anjrwhere up to Mex on the western outskirts
of Alexandria. In Morocco this contracts to n'ta' (= neta'
THE THIRD LESSON
43
with a very short -e-, note that the -t- has become emphatic)
and to ta', e.g. I'm'dma ta'at s-sultan = " the Sultan's city ",
which gives a fair idea of the way in which the vowels are
" swallowed " in the west, one of the chief difficulties in
adapting colloquial Arabic to Western use. In the ^■emacula^
of Malta (which is Arabic with a large intrusion of Italian
in the vocabulary not in the grammar) this produces the
possessive ta = " of ".
In Palestine and Syria we also get shet, jH. shiyut, which
appears in the vernacular of Damascus as shit, both derived
from shayy(et) " thing ". The form mal is common in 'Iraq,
spreading do\sTi south into Oman and north into Mesopotamia
as far at least as Mosul ; haqq or hagg properly belongs to
South Arabia and is likely to be met with in the speech of
seamen from Aden and the district east of that port, practically
the only area from which Arab seamen come in any numbers.
WORD
LIST
(i) Adjectives in ' -i ' maMng
ism
= name^
femimne ' -iwe* '.
Ubaa
= garment, clothes
'ali
= high
liasa
= not yet, no longer
ghali
= dear (in price)
medine*
= cUy
ghani
= rich
mubarak
= blessed*
radi
= bad
nehar
= day {not night)
(For ' gentile
' nouns in ' -i ' see
rigl
= foot
P-
46 below)
sa'id
= prosperous
(ii)
9abib
= friend, master
ab, abu-
= father
«alih
= honest
akh, akhii-
= brother
9anduq
= box
beled
= country, town.
ukht
= sister
district
amm
= mother
baiy
= alive
was'
= broad, spacious
bal
= condition
yom
= day {twenty-fovr
hours)
* Classical Arabic does not treat the ' i- ' as part of the stem but simply
as a prefixed vowel which is dropped after a preceding vowel, but the
colloquial treats it as though ' 'ism *.
* It is common to hear words beginning in ' mu- ' pronounced as though
beginning ' em- '.
44 THE THIRD LESSON
EXERCISE
(1) shughlukum sa'ab ketir ? = Is your work very hard? —
— aiwa, huwa sa'ab Yes, it is hard.
(2) al-walad es-saghir ismuh = What is the little boy's
ey ? — ^ya sidi, ismuh Mahmud name ? — Sir, his name is
Mahmud.
(3) er-ragil el-faqir betuh fen ? = The poor man, where is his
house ?
(4) fen kitabek ? — ya = Where is your book ? — Sir,
khawage, ahe cl-kitab beta'i here is my book.
(5) er-iagil huwa abiiya we-1- = The man is my father and the
walad huya akbuya s-saghir boy is my httle brother.
(6) ahe ummi we-ukbti keman = Here is my mother and my
sister as well.
(7) et-tagir huwa ghani we- = The merchant is wealthy and
maluh ketir qawi his property is very great
indeed.
(8) cl-*esh (khubz) ghali = The bread is very dear.
giddan
(9) esh halek, ya sahibi ? = How are you, my friend ?
(10) himarek (el-himar beta'ik) = Your ass is very sturdy and
huwa qawi giddan, we-himari my ass is stiu:dy also.
(el-himar beta'i) huwa qawi
keman
(11) betek fen ? = Where is your house ?
(12) shughli huwa sa'ab ketir = My work is very hard and I
we-ana ta'ban qawi am very tired.
(13) beto saghir = His house is small.
(14) beto es-saghir mush = His little house is not clean.
nedif
(15) es-sanduq malek wen ? — = Where is your box? — My
es-sanduq mali hena (ahe as- box is here.
sanduq beta'i)
THE THIRD LESSON 45
(16) darhum hiye saghire we- = Their house is small but my
lakin dari wasi'e ketir house is very spacious.
(17) min huwa ?— hliwa abuna = Who is he ?— He is our
father.
(18) abukum ismuh ey ? — = Your father, what is his
ismuh Ahmed we-ismi name ? — His name is
Ahmed keman Ahmed, and my name is
Ahmed as well.
(19) we-akhuk es-saghir esh = And your Uttle brother, what
ismuh ? — ismuh Muhammad is his name? — His name
is Muhammed.
(20) abuh tagir ghani ketir = His father is a very rich
qawi merchant.
(21) et-tagir el-ghani mush = The wealthy merchant is not
saUh trustworthy.
(22) abukum huwa haiy ? — = Is your father ahve ?— No,
la, ya sidi abuna lissa haiy sir, our father is no longer
ahve.
(23) libasi el-gedid huwa = My new clothes are not
kuwayyis mush ketir altogether good.
(24) ente huwa Muhammed = You who are called
we-ismuh akhuk ? Muhammed, what is your
brother's name ?
ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES
neharkum sa'id = May your day he prosperous ( = Good day)
(Reply) neharkum sa'id we-mubarak = May your day he
prosperous and hlessed
kef halkum ? \ .
eshhalek?(S>Tian)|^"^'''-^2^^-
(When inquiring after anyone's health the inquirer should gaze earnestly
into the face of the one he addresses as though searching for any sign of
ill-health. To neglect this makes the inquiry seem perfunctory and even
supercilious.)
46
THE THIRD LESSON
we-kef akhuk ? = And how is your brother ?
(It is becoming to ask after male relatives or friends but not after anyone's
family as this would include the women, and virtuous women may not
have their names dragged into conversation amongst males nor even be
thus referred to by implication.)
riglek ! = Your foot !
yeminek ! = Your right !
(These and such like are street cries warning the foot-passenger to take
care of some one riding, driving, or carrying a burden.)
min ? = Who {is there) ?, Who is it ?
(Challenge of sentry, or call of one inside to know who is knocking.
The most proper reply is to invoke the name of God (see p. 89) or to bless
the Prophet (see p. 89).)
el-wa'd din = A 'promise is an obligation.
(Example of nominal sentence formed of two nouns instead of noun and
adjective, din = " religion," not religious opinions in the European
fashion, but the observance of sacred obligations. Muslims do not talk
of missionaries " bearing the gospel " but describe them as " introducing
the sacred law ".)
dinek ey ? = What is your religion ?
APPENDIX TO LESSON III
Gentile nouns in -i, fern, iyye : some of these use the fem.
as a (collective) plural.
Singular.
Plural.
Abyssinian
habeshi
habash
(so often for negro)
Arab
'arabi
'arab
(desert Arab)
bedawi
bedawi
Copt
qibti
qibt
(Egyptian Christian)
Christian
nasrani
nasara
masihi
masihiyye
(The former term is in more general use, but Christians often prefer the
latter.)
THE THIRD LESSON
47
Egyptian
English
European
French
German
Singular.
misri
inkelizi
firengi
faransawi
nimsawi
Plural.
misriyye
inkeliz
afrang
faransis
nimsawiyye
(Really thia denotes Austrian, the branch of the German race which had
earliest contact with the Muslim world. More correctly (but not commonly)
the North German is " alamani ".)
Greek
rumi
vunani
rum
yun
(rumi = " Roman," i.e. subject of the Byzantine Empire, yunani
Ionian. The Greek language is called rumi, Latin is firengi.)
Indian
Italian
Jew
Muslim
Persian
Syrian
Turk
Western
(Morocco, etc.)
hindi
italiya
yehudi
muslim
hunud
talyani
yehud
muslimin
(Do not use the term " Muhammedan ".)
agemi agem
farisi furs
shami sham
turki etrak
'usmani
'usmanli
( = Turkish horseman)
maghribi magharibe
Chapter VI
THE FOURTH LESSON— THE SUFFIXED PRONOUNS
WITH PREPOSITIONS
(16) The suffixed pronouns may be attached to prepositions
and then denote the objective " me ", " thee ", " him ", etc.
Thus ma' = " with ", ma'i = " with me ", ma'ek = " with
thee ", etc.
List of Commoner Prepositions
*an " with, from ".
'ala " upon ", really *alay ('ale) and so 'ale- with a suffix,
as 'alek = " upon thee ", 'alekum = " upon you ",
etc. With the 1st sing, -i the suffix becomes -ya,
-ye, or -yi (as with abu-) thus 'aleya = " upon me ".
'and "with".
bi- " in ", bi = " in me ", bek = " in thee " (for bi-ek),
buh, bo = " in him ", biha = " in her ", bina =
" in us ", etc.
f! " in ", fi = " in me ", fik = " in thee ", fih = " in
him ", etc.
ila " to, towards ", like 'ala its final -a = -ay and so -e
before suffixes, ileya = " towards me ", ilek =
" towards thee ", etc.
ka- " like ".
li-fi "to", li = "to me", lik = " to thee", luh = " to
him ", lana = " to us ", lakum = " to you ",
lahum = " to them ".
1
THE FOURTH LESSON 49
ma' "with".
min " from ", with suffixes minn-, as minni = " from me ",
minnek = " from thee ", etc.
The prepositions bi-, ka-, li- can only be used as prefixes
before nouns or pronouns, the others can stand alone, though
still of course before the nouns they govern. Thus we can
say fi 1-medine = " in the city ", but " to the city ", if we
use li-, must have the li- joined up as in " li-1-medine ".
(17) Special Use of Fi
The form fih = " in it " is conmionly used in the colloquial
as meaning " there is ", and so fish as " is there ? " and ma fish
" there is not ". Thus :—
honak fih moya = There is water there
(Of course this can be a
question if uttered in an
interrogative tone.)
fish khubz ? (Eg. 'esh) = Is there aiiy bread ?
ma fish moya = There is tw water
(18) Special Negative is Syrian Arabic
In Syrian dialect we find mann- (=ina aim-, the ann-
being a particle) with the personal suffix used as a
negative, thus manni katib = " I am not writing ", mannek
katib = " thou art not writing ", mannuh katib = " he is not
writing ", etc.
(19) Ways of Expressing " Have "
The preposition 'and means " with ", " in the possession
of ", and with the personal suffixes this conveys the sense of
" have ", thus : —
50
THE FOUETH LESSON
'andi
= I have
'andek
= Thou hast
'andik
= Thou (fern
) hast
'anduh
= He has
'andiha
= She has
'andine
= We have
'andukum
= You have
'anduhum
= Thefj Jiave.
'and
'and-u-hum, -u- by assimilation.
Possession can be represented by li-, 'and-, or ma'-. The
first of these means " have " in the sense of being the owTier,
'and- is used for smaller things actually in one's possession
and ma'- for movable things which are with one at the
moment. Thus " the house belongs to me " = el-bet li
(I am the owner of the house) ; " have you any books ? "
addressed to a shop-keeper = 'andikum kutub ? Again owner-
ship but of smaller movable articles : " have you your books
with you V — kutubkum ma'ek ?
In such a sentence as " come for a walk with me " the
witn IS
01 course ma - as n
leanmg m my company .
WORE)
LIST
'abd ('ebd)
= slave
gawab
= letter
AUah, -llah
= God
badir
— present, ready
'azba*
= farm
^akim
= governor
ba'id
= remote
bakim
= physician
baqare*
= cow
^amd
= praise
bardan
= cold (of persons)
baqq
= right, justice,
barid
= cold {of things ;
claim
also of persons
burriye*
= liberty
in tbe sense of
izn (idhn)
= permission
irresponsive,
kelam
= speech
indifferent)
khatir
= danger
dahab
= gold
le'ab
= sport, play
felus, fuliis
— money
mahir
— skilful
fikr
= thought, opinion
matar
= rain
gamuse*
— buffalo
sa'a*
= hour, watch
THE FOURTH LESSON 51
EXERCISE
(1) rain en entum ? — = Where are you from ? — Your
'abadkum min el-Higaz servants are from the
EQjaz.
(2) fish 'andukum moja ? — = Have you any water ? — Yes,
aiwa, ahe moya ketir here is plenty of water.
(3) 'azbetek fen? — el-'azba = Where is your farm?— My
beta'eti hiya qaribe min farm is near here.
hena
(4) 'andek baqare ? — aiwa, = Have you a cow ? — Yes, here
ahe el-baqare beta'eti is my cow.
(5) 'andek felus ? — ma'ek = Have you any money ? —
f elus ? Have you any money with
you?
(6) ia, ma fish ma'i felus = No, I have no money with
me.
(7) el-moya barid ? — la, -el = Is the water cold ? — No, the
moya mush barid water is not cold.
(8) 'andi sa'a min dahab = I have a gold watch.
(9) fi fikri sa'at^k mush min = I think your watch is not
dahab gold.
(10) el-hakim hadir ? — la, ya = Is the doctor present ? — No,
sidi, ma fish hakim fi beledna Sir, there is no doctor in
GUI village.
(11) min el-khawage *ala = Who is the gentleman on
yeminek ? — el-khawage huwa your right? — The gentle-
el-hakim man is the governor.
(12) ker akhiilnim ? — akhuna = How is your brother? — Our
huwa marid 'ala khatir brother is dangerously ill.
(13) fih ma'ek sikkin ? — aiwa, = Have you a knife with you ?
ma'i sikkin — Yes, I have a knife.
52 THE FOURTH LESSON
(14) li haqq *alek — I have a claim against you.
(15) 'andek waqt ? — ma = Have you any time ? — I have
'andish waqt li-1-le'ab no time for play.
(16) 'andek akhbar ? = Have you any news ?
(17) mush li khof = I have no fear.
(18) Mahmud fen ?— huwa fi = Where is Mahmud? — He is
1-gami' el-azhar ma' abuh in the al-Azhar mosque
with his father.
(19) li kelam ma'kum = I want to have a word with
you.
(20) 'ala 1-bab hammal we- = There is a porter at the door
ma'uh sanduq and he has a box with him.
(21) 'and min cl-haqq ? — el- = Who is in the right? — I am
haqq 'andi, el-haqq 'alek in the right, you are
incorrect.
(22) bi-abuya ente = You are like a father to me.
(23) 'an iznek (idbnek) = With your leave.
(On taking a seat, on taking leave, on going away from the company
for any purpose, and on entering a latrine in which case the expression
is a propitiatory remark addressed to the evil spirits which haunt such
places, the more necessary because guardian angels do not accompany men
there but wait for them outside.)
(24) ya li-r-rigal = Help, 0 men (=0 to the
men).
(25) lesh ente heua ? = Why ( = for what) are you
here P J
(26) fi Masr ma fish hurriya = There is no Uberty in Egypt. '
(27) fish'esh? — la, ya sidi, ma == Is there any bread?— No,
fish 'esh sir, there is no bread.
(28) ahe gawab li-hacjretek = Here is a letter for your
honour.
THE FOUETH LESSON
53
(29) bedelek Mye ba'ide min = Is your town far from here ?
hena ?
(30) ya salam,
marid
fi fikri ana == Good heavens, I think I am
ilL
(31) et-tariq ila medineti huwa = It is a long way to my city,
tawil qawi
(32) enta malek
(33) ma'alesh
(34) honak fih maqam
(What is the matter? (Syria).
= iMind your own business
I (Egypt).
= No matter.
— There is a holy place there
(Damascus).
(35) salam 'alekum-
'alekum salam
-we- = Peace be on you. — And on
you be peace.
(Greeting of one Muslim to another. It should not be used by Muslims
to unbelievers or by non-Muslims at all. If addre-ssed by a non-Muslim to
a Muslim it should not be retiimed. Non-Muslims use some such form
as : — )
(36) neharkum sa'id — = May your day be prosperous
neharkum sa'id we-mubarak and blessed.
(It is very seemly, though not necesspry, to return a compliment with
interest.)
(37) kef halkum ?
ezayyek? (Egypt,
familiar)
esh halek % (Syria)
(38) el-hamdu li-Uah
(The -u properly (but not always) given at the end of hamd- is the
classical nominative termination. Only the tone of voice shows whether
this is thanks for good health or resignation in ill-health. To say " I am
well " is unlucky, as it has a tone of boasting and invites the attention of
malevolent spirits, whilst to say " I am ill " sayonrs of petulance.)
How are you ?
= Praise be to God.
54 THE FOURTH LESSON
(39) khatirek. — ma'a (ma') = (Guest about to depaxt says)
8-selame or awaqatek sa'ide •* Your permission. — (Go)
with peace or May your
times be prosperous".
(40) ma 'anduhumsh 'esh = They have no bread.
(41) 'andekshe heteb li-l-bi' ? = Have you any fuel for sale?
(42) ya khangi, kam el-hisab ? = Landlord, how much is the
bill?
(-gi is a Turkish ending, khan-gi means " man of the khan (inn).")
(43) ya khangi, 'esh 'andek = Landlord, have you anything
li-l-'asha (li-l-ghada) ? for supper (dinner) ?
Chapter YJl
THE FIFTH LESSON— THE DEMONSTRATH^ES AND
RELATmE
(I) The Demonstrative
Farm (i) " this ", " these ".
In the form and use of the demonstrative there is a marked
difference between the various dialects, and when such is the
case it is generally a saving of time to begin with the classical
form and trace the way in which the dialects diverge from it.
The classical " this " may appear as dha, or reinforced
by the prefix ha-, which probably was at first an emphatic
as ha-dha. From these we get : —
Singular. Plural.
Masculine. Feminine.
(a) dha (ti) ('ula)
(6) hadha hadhi ha'ula
These may be used (1) as demonstrative pronouns, as
hadha kitab = " this is a book ", hadhi bint = " this is
a girl ", such a pronoun being naturally defined ; or (2) as
demonstrative adjectives attached to nouns which must then
be defined, as hadha 1-kitab " this book "', hadhi 1-bint " this
girl ", etc., used thus adjectivally it is necessarily followed
by the defining article.
The Dialect of 'Iraq foUows this very closely, save that
it discards the rather peculiar plural and forms a new one
from the singular stem, thus : —
hadha hadhi hadhol
56 THE FIFTH LESSON
These are used (1) as demonstrative pronouns, hadha bet =
" this is a house ", hadhi bint — " this is a girl ", etc., but
(2) used as adjectives they tend to contract with the definite
article which invariably follows and so make : —
hadhel hadhil hadhol
The plural hadhol is as before, but the two singular forms
include the article, thus hadhel-bet — " this house ", hadhil-
bint = " this girl " and the final -1 assimilates like that in
the article, thus hadher-rigal " this man ", etc. Both these
singular forms can be further contracted into hel as hel-kitab=
" this book ", her-rigal = " this man ", etc., and this hel
can even be used for the plural provided it refers to things not
persons. Thus : —
hadhel (hel) kitab tayyib = This book is good
hadhil (hel) bint marida = This girl is ill
hadha kitab tayyib = This is a good hook
hadhi dar kebira = This is a large home
Very much the same holds good with Maghrabi (Moroccan)
Arabic where we find sing. masc. hadha, fem. hadhi, plur.
hadhum ; but no contraction with the article takes place.
In the dialect of Syria naturally dh becomes d but other-
wise the same forms are maintained, thus : —
hada hadi hadol
These are used (a) as pronouns, as hada kitab = " this is
a book ", hadi bint — " this is a girl ", hadol 'arab = " these
are Arabs " ; (b) as adjectives where they may either stand
before the article or contract with it to hal, thus hada 1-kitab
or hal-kitab " this book ", hadi 1-bint = " this girl ", or
hal-bint, hadol el-'arab or hal-'arab = " these Arabs ", the
hal being capable of free use with either gender or number,
though it is more commonly found with the singular. The
THE FIFTH LESSON 57
-1 ol hal assimilates in the usual way, thus har-ragul = " this
man", has-sa'a = " this hour ", etc.
In Syrian Arabic we also hear (rarely) the form sing. masc.
hai-da,/ew. hai-di.
In Egyptian Arabic the ha- prefix is missing altogether
and so we get —
sing. masc. da fern, di plur. dol
These forms are used (a) as pronouns, thus da bet = " this
is a house ", di shughli sa'abe = " this is a hard task ",
ey dol = " what are these ? " ; (h) as adjectives they follow
the noun which must have the article before it, as el-kitab da =
" this book ", el-bint di = " this girl ", el-'arab dol =- " these
Arabs ". If the noun has a descriptive adjective attached
the demonstrative may follow the noun itself or the descriptive
and so for " this great man " we can say er-ragil da el-kebir
or er-ragil el-kebir da, and for " this little girl " either el-bint
di es-saghire or el-bint es-saghire di.
Form (ii) " this {is) ", etc.
This is a special (and occasional) use of the ha- which we
have already seen prefixed to the demonstrative dha in
hadha ; it occurs : —
(1) In Palestinian Arabic as hei (heiy ) " here is ", which
can take the personal suffixes. With the suffix of the Ist
sing, a " supporting n " is used, as heini = " here am I ",
with the other persons heiy- is used, as heiyek = " here
you are ", heiyo = " here is he ", etc.
(2) In Egyptian Arabic it appears as a-, which can only be
used with a suffix of the 3rd sing, as aho, ahe : properly
the first of these is masculine, the second feminine, but this
distinction is no longer carefuUy observed : fen kitabi ? —
aho kitabek = " where is my book ? — Here is your book ".
58 THE FIFTH LESSON
Form (iii) " that ", " those ".
" Tliat " is formed from " this " by adding the " k of the
remote ", thus : —
classical sing. masc. dhak Jem. tilk 'plur. 'ula'ik
In the dialect of 'Iraq we get (by adding -k to the " nearer ",)
this : —
hadhak hadhik hadholak
hadhich
The reduction of -k to -eh (like the ch- in " cheese ") we
have already observed in the suffixed pronoun (cf. p. 40
above). These forms can be used as pronouns or adjectives,
thus hadhak bet = " that is a house ", hadhak el-bet =
" that house ", etc. The plural hadholak must be used with
persons, but for things in the plural it is permitted to use the
feminine hadhik, hadhich.
Syrian dialect uses hak for all genders and numbers but
permits an alternative haidik for the singular and plural
masc. hadolak, fern, hadolik, but the use of these forms is
commoner in Palestine and is (perhaps) a mark of Palestinian
dialect.
Egyptian Arabic uses dik, dak, for all, but permits also : —
sing. masc. dukha fern, dikha 'plur. dukham, dukhamma
In Syria and in 'Iraq this demonstrative, like " this, these "
has to be placed before the noun when used adjectivally and
the noun must have the article, thus hak el-kitab mufid =
" that book is useful ", etc., but in Egyptian it is placed
after the noun defined by the article, as er-ragil dak huwa
tagir = " that man is a merchant ", etc. It is a marked
peculiarity of Egyptian that even the ha- is placed at the I
end, and so we get duk-ha, etc.
We have given the forms for both " this " and " that ",
but in fact Arabic often uses " this " where we would have
THE FIFTH LESSON
59
" that ", thus da o da = " this or that " and very often the
hada, da, of Arabic can best be translated in English by " that"
rather than " this ".
Summary of the Demo>"stkati\'e Forms.
Classical.
'Iraq.
Syria.
Egypt.
(i) "this"
dha
ti
'ula
da
di
dol
hadha
hadhi
ha'ula
hadha
hadhi
hadhol
hada
hadi
hadol
(ii) "this"
(ha-)
hei (heiy-)
a-
(iii) "that"
dhak
tilV
'ula'ik
hadha k
hadhik (-ch)
hadholak
hak haidik
rhadolak
\hadolik
( dak dukha
\dik dikha
dukham
EXAMPLES
(Chiefly Egyptian)
1) el-bab da maftuh ?
2) di lokanda tayyib ?
3) el-lokanda di mush taliq
U-hadretek
4) el-6da di nedife ?
5) aiwa, el-oda di nedife
= Is that door open ?
= Is this a good hotel ?
— That hotel is not suitable for
for your honour
= Is this room clean ?
= Yes, this room is very clean
ketir
6) fi fikri hadi 1-lokanda = / think this hotel is not dean
mush nedifa
7) na'am, ya sidi, hal- = Yes, sir, this hotel is clean
lokanda nedifa
8) da hisan da'if
9) el-hisan da da'if
= That is a weak horse
= That horse is weak
60
THE FIFTH LESSON
(10) ed-darsi da sa'ab qawi
(11) di shughli sa'abe
(12) ]ek dar fi 1-beled di ?
(13) min el-khawage da ?
(14) el-khawage da huwa el-
qonsul faransawi
(15) eydi?
(16) ey da fi miqtafek ?
(17) hada nawari asli (Syr.)
(18) da kelam mufid
(19) hadol el-'arab (el-'arab
dol) haramiye
(20) en-nas dol hum bedawiye
min es-Sina
(21) er-ragil dak huwa et-
tagir el-'agcmi
(22) es-sitt di hiya inkclizi
(23) el-inkelizi da huwa min
el-Hind
(24) hada asad
(25) hal-asad
(26) hada 1-bortuqan taiyib
(27) hal-bortuqan mush
tayyib
(28) hada bortuqan tayyib
(29) da huwa el-mudir
(30) di hiya s-sitt Zeinab
(31) hadha kitab mufid
(32) hel-kitab mufid
= This lesson is very difficult
- This is a hard task
- Have you a house in this
town ?
- Who is thai gentleman ?
- That gentleman is the French
consul
-- What is this ?
- What is that in your basket ?
-- This man is a thorough gipsy
- That is a useful remark
■ Those Arabs are thieves
■■ These men are bedwin from
Sinai
That man is the Persian
merchant
That lady is English (E.)
That Englishman is from
India (E.)
This is a lion (S.)
This lion (S.)
This orange is good (S.)
This orange is no good (S.)
This is a good orange (S.)
That is the mudir (E.)
This is the lady Zeinab (E.)
This is a useful book (I.)
This book is useful (I.)
THE FIFTH LESSON 61
(IE) The Relative
In 'Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt colloquial Arabic uses
iJli, elli, as the relative, occasionally ma. The relative refers
normally to a defined antecedent, with an antecedent unde-
fined the relative may be altogether omitted or, if it is
a thing, ma can be used.
It is sometimes said that Arabic has no relative : that is
not true, but it must be admitted that the Arabic relative
is very restricted in its use. One noteworthy peculiarity is
that it is nominative only and so can only express the possessive
or objective by means of a suffixed pronoun following : thus
for " the man whose horse (came, etc.) ..." we must say
" the man who his horse (came) . . . " = er-ragil iUi hisanuh
. . . : for " I saw the man whom you saw " it has to be
" I saw the man who you saw him ", etc.
el-kitab illi 'andekum = The book ichich you have
(This is quite straightforward because " have " is expressed
" is with you ".)
el-kitab illi ketebtiih = The hook which I lorote
(= which I wrote it)
In many cases, however, Arabic does not express the relative
where it would be needed in English, thus : —
ragil ga = The nuiJi who came
ragil huwa sahibi = The man who is my friend
marret bi-ragil abuh nayim = / passed by tlie man, his
father was asleep
(= whose father . . .)
Very often the article with a participle serves for a relative
clause, as el-mu'menin = " the believers " = " they who
believe ", etc.
62
THE FIFTH LESSON
WORD
LIST
ayye?
= of what kind ?
sir^g = lamp
dara
= lesson
taliq = suitable
gaz
= petrol
tarabeza = table (Greek)
kh6f
= fear
5'6m (pi. aiyam) = day (twenty-four
kitab {pliir.
= book
hours)
kutub)
el-yom — to-day ('Iraq)
lei, lele* (masc.
= night
hal-y6m = to-day (Syr.)
or fem.)
zet = oil
ma'rife
= knowledge,
mush kida ? = is it not so ?
sense
(= ka-da)
meshghul
= busy
(kida also as
mufid
= useful
kiza, cf. p. 11)
^ehar
= day (not night),
da 1-waqt da = it is already . . .
en-nehar da =
(this is this
to-day (Eg.).
time (that) . . .)
otom6bil
= automobile (Fr.)
we-fi aiyam = and in those
qalam
= pen
dol . . . days . . .
qon^ul
— consul
ragil (plur. rigal,
== man, men
but cf. p, C£
\
below)
EXERC
)ISE A
(The use of the demonstrative is one of the few cases in which there is
a material difference between the colloquial of Egypt, Syria, and 'Iraq, and
therefore this first exercise illustrates the way in which the demonstrative
is employed in these various dialects, the English of (I) being rendered
according to each in the three sections following.)
(I) (1) This is a large house. This house is large. This
large house. (2) This is a small house. This house is small.
This small house. (3) What is this? — this is a pen. And
what is this ? — this is my book. (4) Is this book large ? — no,
this book is small. (5) Where are these books ? — these books
are on the table.
(II) Egyptian. — (1)
el-bet el-kebir da. (2)
ed dar di es-saghire.
(w-ey da) ? — da kitabi.
da bet kebir — el-bet da kebir —
di dar saghire — ed-dar di saghire —
(3) ey da ? — da qalam — ^we-ey da
(4) el-kitab da kebir ? — la, el-kitab
THE FIFTH LESSON 63
da saghir. (5) fen el-kutub dol ? — el-kutub dol 'ala t-tarabeza
('at-tarabeza).
(Ill) Syrian.— (!) hada bet kebir— hada 1-bet (hal-bet)
kebir — ^hal-bet el-kebir. (2) badi dar saghire — ^had-dar
sagbire — ^bad-dar es-sagbire. (3) ey bada ? — ^bada qalam —
w-ey bada ? — ^bada kitabi. (4) bal-kitab kebir ? — la, bal-
kitab sagbir. (5) en bal-kutub ? — bal-kutub 'ala t-tarabeza.
[TV) Iraqi. — (1) badba bet kebir — ^badbel-bet kebir —
badbel-bet el-kebir. (2) badbi dar sagbire — badbed-dar
sagbire — ^badbed-dar es-sagbire. (3) ey badba 1 — ^badba
qalam — ^w-ey badba ? — badba kitabi. (4) bel-kitab kebir ? —
la, bel-kitab sagbir. (5) wen badbol-kutub ? — ^badbol kutub
'ala t-tarabeza.
EXERCISE B
(1) ayye el-kitab da (badba = What kind o! book is this ?
1-kitab, bal-kitab) ?
(2) el-kitab da mufid = This is a useful book.
(3) ed-darsi da sa'ab ? — aiwa, =Is this lesson hard? — Yes,
ed-darsi da sa'ab ketir this lesson is very hard.
(4) esb-sbugbli da sa'ab ? — = Is this task diflficult ? — Yes,
aiwa da sbugbli sa'ab this task is difficult.
(5) da nebar letif ? — en-nebar = Is it a fine day ? — To-day is
da letif fine.
(6) er-ragil da huwa 'arabi = This man is an Arab from the
min el-Higaz Hijaz.
(7) er-rigal dol bum 'arab = These men are Arabs from
min es-sina Sinai.
(8) el-kelam da mufid qawi = That statement is very useful.
(9) mafisb zet fi s-sirag da = There is no oil in this lamp.
64 THE FIFTH LESSON
(10) el-hakim da huwa = Is this doctor very busy? —
meshghul qawi ? — la, huwa No, he is very indolent.
keslan ketir
(11) en-nehar fi s-sef huwa = The day is long in summer.
tawil
(12) el-lele di liiya tawile = This night is very long.
tawile
(13) el-hakim el-kebir dak = That chie! governor is to-day
huwa el-yom mari(J 'ala seriously ill.
khatir
(14) fi r-ragil da mafish khof = In this man is no fear.
(15) fi l-otomobil beta'i mafish = There is no petrol in my
gaz automobile.
(16) fi r-ragil da ma'rife ketir = There is much good sense in
this man.
(17) ey di ? — di gaz. w-ey = What is this ?— It is petrol.
di ? — di moya. And this ? — It is water.
(18) el-kitab da kebir, we-1- = This book is big, and that
kitab da saghir, mush kida ? book is small, is it not so ?
(19) fen el-kutub dol ? — el- = Where are these books? —
kutub dol hum 'ala t-tarabeza These books are on the
table.
(20) el-walad es-saghir en- = Where is the little boy
nehar da i en ?— el-walad to-day? — To-day the
es-saghir huwa ma' abuh little boy is at home with
fi 1-bet beta'uh his father.
(21) has-sa'a hiya tayyib mush =This watch is not very good.
ketir
(22) el-bet da lek ?--aiwa, el- = Does this house belong to
bet da li you ?— Yes, this house is
mine.
THE FIFTH LESSON 65
(23) er-ragil da huwa inkelizi = This man is English.
(24) el-inkelizi da huwa el- = This Elnglishman is the
qonsul consul.
(25) dik huwa el-qonsul el- = That is the English consul,
inkelizi
(26) el-yehudi dik huwa el- = That Jew is the Grerman
qonsul el-nimsawi Consul.
(27) hadha 1-bedawi hiiwa min = That Bedawi is from the
el-Higaz Higaz.
(28) di lokanda tayvibe ? — la, = Is this a good hotel ?— No,
el-lokanda di mush taliq li- that hotel is not fit for your
hadretek honour.
(29) lokanda nedife fen ? — = Where is there a clean hotel ?
'ala fikri el-lokanda di hiye — In my opinion this is a
nedife clean hotel.
(30) aiwa, ya khawage, el- = Yes, sir, this is a very clean
lokanda di nedife giddan hotel.
(31) esh el-kalam da ? = What is the meaning of this ?
( =what is this saying ?)
(32) da 1-waqt el-ezan (edan, = This is the time for the call to
edhan) prayer (it is already . . . )
(33) da lek ? = Is this yours ?
(34) esh min shagare di ? = What kind of tree is this ?
(35) el-kitab da kebir *an = This book is bigger than that
dukha one ( = is large above
that one).
(36) 'andakum kutub inkelizi ? = Have you any English books?
(37) aiwa, ya khawage, 'andi = Yes, sir, I have.
(38) ayye el-kutub illi = What sort of books have
'andalmm 1 you ? ( = what sort the
books which you have ?)
Chapter VIII
THE SIXTH LESSON— THE PLURALS OF NOUNS
Formation of the Plural
In Arabic there are two kinds of plurals which are commonly
termed the " strong " and the " weak " or " broken " plurals.
The former are formed by adding plural terminations to the
stem just as English adds plural -s, -es, to the stem in such
words as " book, books ", " house, houses ", etc. — the weak
or broken plurals are those formed by internal change similar
to that employed in English in forming such plurals as " mouse.
hu until/ euijjiuy eu ill Ji/iigiisu .
mice ", " man, men ", etc.
Strong Plurals Masculine
Strong plurals of masculine inouns are formed by adding -in
to the stem, thus mu'allim " teacher ", mu'allimin " teachers "
— ^Muslim, Muslimin, etc. Strong plurals of this kind are formed
with nouns (adjectives, etc.), which were originally participles
of verbs, as shatir " crafty ", pi. shatirin — mablul " wet ",
mablulin, etc. ; with words of the form qattal denoting
trades such as haddad " smith ", haddadin, etc. A selection
of some of the commonest words of this kind will be found in
the word list below.
Strong Plurals Feminine
The strong plural of the feminine is formed by changing
the -a, -e, of the singular which, as we have already noted
(p. 24), really represents -at, -et, into at- and in this plural
the final -t does not fall away. It must be noted, however,
THE SIXTH LESSON 67
that not all feminines ending -a, -e, in the singular make this
strong plural, there are many which make broken plurals
instead : on the other hand, there are feminine nouns not
ending in -a, -e, in the singular which nevertheless make their
plural by adding -at. Thus : —
hara = " street " pi. harat
muslima = " Muslim woman " musUmat
gawab = " letter " gawabat
Especially it must be noted here that the singular -a, -e does
not always denote a feminine singular, but it is sometimes used
to form the noun of the individual from the noun of species,
as tin = " fig, figs ", tina = " a single fig ", in such cases
of course the plural is simply the noun without the -a, -e,
used to form the name of the individual.
The Dual
A special termination in -en is used to denote the dual,
i.e. two things. This is chiefly used for words which naturally
denote things which are in pairs, thus id " hand ", iden " two
hands ", etc., but it is used (though not consistently) for
other instances of twos, as sa'a " hour ", sa'aten " two
o'clock ", etc. There is no " weak " alternative for the dual
and the same termination is used for masculine and feminine
nouns.
Broken Plurals
Broken plurals are formed by internal change, such
as kitab = " book ", kutub = " books ", kelb = "dog",
kilab = " dogs ", etc., some of these plurals adding termina-
tions such as -an, or prefixes such as a- but preserving the
three (or four) basal consonants of the stem. When the singular
has more than four letters (i.e. consonants and long vowek)
the plural always reduces the number to four.
68 THE SIXTH LESSON
The broken plurals are fairly numerous and usually prove
a difficulty to the learned, though by no means so serious a
one as at first appears. The various " measures " must be
found from the dictionary or from word-lists. There is indeed
a system, but little if any time will be saved by trying to
learn it. For example, plurals of the measure qital are formed
from singulars, of measures qatl, qitl, qutl, qatal, qatul, qatle*,
qatale*, qutle*, qatil, qatil ; and singulars of the measure
qatl form plurals of the measures qitla*, qitala*, qutul,
qutula*, qital, qatil ; so the different forms of the singular
do not regiilarly correspond with fixed plural forms. But many
of the forms given in the lists of the grammarians are very
rare in colloquial speech so that it is best, perhaps, to content
oneself with learning the plural forms as they occur. In the
word-lists following the plurals are given in brackets after the
singular. Some nouns, of course, do not admit any plural,
e.g. shems " sun ", and in some cases there are alternative
forms of broken plural and (occasionally) one dialect prefers
one of these whilst other dialects prefer another.
The broken plurals are treated as feminine singulars, no
doubt because they were originally collectives. Thus : —
el-gibal hiye 'ahyye = The mountains are lofty.
Those, however, which denote males may be treated as
masculine plural or (less commonly) as feminine singular, as : —
er-rigal sahhin = The men are honest.
This lesson does not lead to any very important principles
as to the use of word forms, but is chiefly concerned with
matters of vocabulary. Most of our attention therefore will
be given to the lists following. First we shall give lists of
common words forming strong plurals, then certain exceptional
forms, and finally some lists of the more usual broken plurals,
these latter being continued for the next two lessons. After
THE SIXTH LESSON
69
that it will be necessary to note the broken plurals as they
occur and finally to prepare one's own lists and leam them as
vocabularies.
WORD LIST
(a) Masculine Nouns forming Strong Plurals in -in.
(i) Participial and kindred forms.
mahir
= skilful
nafi'
= useful.
mablul
= wet
ahatir
= crafty
mabsut
= happy
wasi'
= spacious
muslim
= Muslim
And the
adjectives in -an such as keslan, etc.
(ii) Trades, etc., of measure qattal.
(cl. p. 37).
bayya'
= dealer
khayyat
= tailor
haddad
= smith
naggar
= carpenter
hallaq
= barber
sammak
= fisherman
Mammal
= porter, carrier
§arraf
= money changer
khabbaz
= baker
§ayyad
= hunter (fisher)
khaddam
= servatU
(6) Strong Feminine Plurals in -at.
= post office I hara* ^
gara* = neighbour \ lokanda*
gawab,j**kkHv«iirtr= letter | mahatta*
busta*
= street
= hotel .
= railway station
(c) Anomalous Feminine Forms.
bint, pi. banat = girl, daughter I umm,j)Z. nmmahat= mother
ukht, pi. akhawat = sister \
(d) Broken Plurals of form qital.
beled, pi. bilad
dar,* pi. diyar
farkhe,* pi. firakh
gebel, pi. gibal
gemel, pi. ginal
= town, country
= house
= fowl
= mountain
= camel
babl, pi. hibal
kelb, pi. kilab
ragil, pi. rigal
rih,* j)i. riyah
(c) Broken Plurals of the form qutul.
= book I tariq, pi. turuq
rope
dog
man*
wind
road
kitab, pi. kutub
medine*,j)Z.mudun = city
^ Hara really denotes a quarter of the town, the more correct name for
a street in the modem sense is shari' (pi. shawari').
* It will be noted that the plural restores the original consonants which,
if weak, often are absorbed in the neighbouring vowel in the singular, thus
rih = riyh, and dar = dayr, etc.
' Ir. also rigagil, riyayil which Van Ess notes as " vulgar ",
70 THE SIXTH LESSON
EXERCISE
1 ) er-rigal dol hum haddadin = Those men are smiths.
2) el-harat tawile = The streets are long.
3) el-haddadin dol (hadol el- =^ Those smiths are very idle.
haddadin, hal-haddadin)
hum keslanin qawi
4) fi 1-medine el-qaribe = There are many barbers in
hallaqin ketir the neighbouring city.
5) el-beyut illi fi 1-medine = The houses in this city are
di (hadi (hadhi) 1-medine) very lofty.
hiya 'aliyye ketir
6) fi 1-medine di lokandat = There are many inns in this
ketire city.
7) en-neharat fi s-sef tawile = In the summer the days are
xva^qi very long.
8) fi 1-mudun el-kebire = In large towns there are
hammalin ketir many porters.
9) min er-ragil da ?— huwa = Who is that man? — He is
khaddami my servant.
10) fish khayyat fi 1-beled di ^ Is there a tailor in this
(hal-beled, hadhi 1-beled) ? village ?— Yes, sir, there
— na'am, ya khawage, fih is.
11) fen el-mahatta ? — el- = Where is the railway station ?
mahatta hiya fi sh-shari' — The railway station is in
dak 'ala yeminek that street to your right.
12) el-'arab dol (hal-'arab, = Those Arabs in my opinion
hadhol el-'arab) 'ala fikri are hunters.
hum sayyadin
13) et-turuq illi fi beledek = The roads in your country
mush wasi'e are not wide.
THE SIXTH LESSON 71
(14) min en er-rigal dol ?— = Where are those men from?
hum 'arab we-hum hammalin — They are Arabs- and
min el-Higaz they are carriers from the
Hijaz.
(15) fi Masr malik dilwaqt = There is a king now in
Egypt.
(16) min el-wilad dol ?— ya = Who are those children?—
Bidi, hum wiladna Sir, they are my children.
(17) ahe gawabat li-hadretek = Here are letters for your
honour.
(18) fi 1-mahatta hammal ?— = Is there a porter at the
aiwa, ya Jkhawage, fi 1- station? — Yes, sir, there
mahatta hammalin ketir are many porters at the
qawi station.
(19) 'andukumkutubinkelizi? = Have you any EngUsh
— na'am, ya khawage, books?— Yes, sir, we have,
'andena
(20) ayye el-kutub illi = What kind of books have
'andekum ? you ?
(21) 'andek gaz li-otomobili ? = Have you petrol for my
— la, ya sidi, ma fish gaz fi automobile ? — No, sir,
1-beled di there is no petrol in this
town.
(22) fish sarraf fi hal-medine ? = Is there a money changer in
— na'am, fih sarraf in fi sh- this town ? — Yes, there
shari' 'ala shemalek are money changers in the
street to your left.
(23) fen lokanda tayyibe fi = Where is there a good inn
1-beled di ? in this town ?
(24) fib lokandat we-lakin hiye = There are inns but they are
mush tayyibe. not good.
Chapter IX
THE SEVENTH LESSON— THE NUMERALS
The Cardinal Numbers
1 " One," masc. wahid, fern, wahde ('Iraq also waMda).
This word is also used for " only ", the indefinite
" a (certain) ".
2 etnen, also t'nen (Syr.), ithnen ('Iraq) ; here as usual
the original " th " is preserved in 'Iraq but becomes
" t " in Egypt and Syria. The termination -en is
dual and that termination alone often sufl&ces to
denote "two", thus sa'a (= sa'at) "hour",
sa'aten = " two o'clock ", etc.
3-10. The numerals " three " to " ten " have each two
forms, one masculine the other in -a, -e (-at, -et) feminine, but
in the colloquial speech the genders are no longer observed,
usually the -a, -e form (properly feminine) is used before a
word beginning with a consonant, the masculine before one
beginning with a vowel, thus khamse buyut = " five houses ",
khams aiyam = " five days ".
3 talat, talate.
4 arba', arba'a.
5 khams (khamas) khamse.
6 sitt, sitte.
7 seba', seb'a.
8 teman, temaniye.
9 tisa' (tis'), tis'e.
10 'asher, 'ashere.
THE SE\^NTH LESSON 73
In 3 and 8 the t- represents original th- and so in 'Iraq
we find the more correct forms — 3 thalath, thalathe, 8 thaman,
thamaniya. The t- in 8 is itself the original form, and so
does not produce th- in 'Iraq,
11-19. The decimal numbers are formed by combining
the units -with 'asher " ten ", thus : —
11 had'asher.
12 etn'asher ('Iraq, ethn'asher).
13 talat'asher ('Iraq, thalath'asher).
14 arba't'asher.
15 khamsast'asher.
16 sitt'asher.
17 seba't'asher.
18 tamant'asher (Iraq, thamant asher).
19 tis'at 'asher.
20 For "twenty" the plural of "ten" is used, thus
'ashrin.
30-90. The plurals of the units, thus :—
30 talatljin (thalathin).
40 arba'in, etc.
With these the units are used first and connected with the
tens by we- " and ", thus 21 = wahid we- 'ashrin, 25 =
khamas we-*ashrin, etc.
100 miye, miyat, mit.
200 dual of 100, miten.
300 tultemiye (thulthemiye).
400 rub'emiye.
500 khumsemiye.
600 suttemiye.
700 sub'emiye.
800 tumnemiye.
900 tus'emiye.
1000 alf.
74 THE SEVENTH LESSON
2000 alfen.
3000 telat alaf.
4000 arba't alaf, etc.
377 = tultemiye we-sab'a we-sab*in, etc.
The numerals 3 to 10 take the accompanying nomis in the
plural, but after this the nouns are in the singular, thus : —
one book = kitab.
two books = kitab en (dual).
three books = telate kutub.
twenty books = 'ashrin kitab (noun in sing.).
For addition we use we- " and ", thus etnen we-telate =
" two plus three " ; for subtraction, min " from ", thus
etnen min telate = " two from three (three minus two) '" ;
for multiplication, fi " in ", as etnen fi telate = " twice
three " ; division, 'ala as temanye 'ala etnen = " eight
divided by two ".
" half " = nuss.
The Ordinal Numbers
1st awal (awwal, owal), fem. awale, owale.
The succeeding numbers are formed on the measure qatil,
fem. qalte.
2nd tani, taniye.
3rd taht (thalith), talte (thalthe).
4th rabi', rab'e.
5th khamis, khamse.
6th sadis, sadse.
7th sabi', sab'e.
8th tamin, tamne.
9th tasi', tas'e.
10th 'ashir, 'ashre.
THE SEVENTH LESSON 75
(The original " six " was aid-, wliich has become sit- by
assimilation to the (feminine) -t ending so that in the ordinal
" 6th " the true stem appears.)
The word tani is also used in the sense of " another ", and
as an adverb meaning " again ".
NOTES
(a) Price.
kam, bi-kam = " how much ? "
qadd "j
si'r '- = " price ".
taman J
(tamm = " complete ")
/ bi-kam da ? (how much this ?)
" !.«« ™«„». ;» f KJa •» " ' bi-qaddesh ey ? (at what price ?)
now mach is this 7 = ^ . , , , ,, , ., • ,»
tamannn kam : (how much its pnce 7)
i qaddeah ee-si'r ? (how muchis the price 7)
(6) Time, etc.
es-sa'a kam ? = " what time is it 7 "
kam sene 'umrek 7 = " what is your age 7 " (how many years yonr age ?)
kam sene luh 7 = " how old is he 7 " (how many years has he 7)
(c) Ariihmetical processes.
Addition, we- or ila : telata we- (ila) arba's = " three plus four ".
Subtraction, min : khamse min sab'a = " seven minus five ".
Multiplication, fi : khamse fi sab'a = " five times seven ".
Division, 'ala : 'awhrin 'ala khamse = " twenty divided by five ".
Proportion, nasba . . . ila . . . ka-nasba . . . ila . . ., nasba arba'a ila
teman ka-nasba talata ila dtt = 4 : 8 :: 3 : 6.
EXA.AIPLES
bi-kam da ? = Hoio much is this ?
bi-talat qiirush = Three 'piastres
da ghaK bi-s-si'r da = It is dear at that price
la, da rakhis giddan bi-s- = No, it is very cheap at that
si'r da price
76 THE SEVENTH LESSON
'andek sa'a inkelizi ? = Have you an English watch ?
aiwa, ya khawage, ahe wahida — Yes, sir, here is a good one
tayibe
tamanha kam ? = How much is it ?
tamanlia arba' giniye = Its price is four pounds
ya salam, biya ghaliya giddan = Indeed it is very dear
bi-kam el-'esb (khubz) di = How much is bread at present?
1-waqt ?
bi-kam el-lahmi da ? = How much is that meat ?
bi-khamse qurusb er-ratl — Five piastres the pound
bi-kam 'alek sa'atek ? — How much did your watch
cost you ?
el-ugre kam ? = How much is the fare ?
ed-darage el-awali wahid gineb = First class one pound
hena kitaben, wahid, itnen = Here are two books, one, two
bi-qaddesh da ? = How much is that ?
bi-riyalen we-nuss = Two and a half dollars
kam el-beled ba'ide min hena ? = How far is the village from
here ?
hiya mil tamm min hena = It is a whole mile from here
kam sene 'umrek ? = Hoiv old are you ?
'umri 'ashrin sena taqriban = / am nearly twenty {my age
is twenty nearly)
akhuk kam sene leh ? = How old is your brother ?
akhiiya luh etnen we-'ashrin = My brother is twenty-two
sene
akhuk es-saghir kam sene = How old is your little brother ?
'umruh ? ( Your little brother how
many years his age)
'umruh sitt senin = He is six years old
tani yom el- 'id — The day after the feast
ana ma'i telate qm*ii8h bass = / have only three piastres
with me
THE SE^^NTH LESSON 77
WORD LIST
Broken Plvrala of type qrU&l
bet, pi. buyut = house
baqq, pi. buqiiq = claim, right
melik, pi. iniiluk= king
qalb, pi. quiub = heart
qa§r, pi. qu§ur = palace, castle
Broken Plurals of type qutal — qital
64a*, pi. awad = room | ^ura*, pi. ^uwar = picture
Broken Pluralt of type qiUtdl
bakim, = governor \ tagir, pi. tuggar = merchant
pi. bukkam j ^alib, pi. tullab = student
(For terms expressing "how much ? " etc., see above. For coins, \< eight.s,
et^"., see supplementary list, p. 79.)
rakhis = cheap
{or rikhis)
sena, pi. sinin = year
ngre = fare
'umr = age
= only
darage = class
gukh = cloth
nasba = proportion
nu9? = half
EXERCISE
(1) 'andek kutub 'arabi ? — = Have you any Arabic books ?
aiwa, ya khawage, 'andena, — Yes, sir, we have, here
ahe kutub gedide are some new books
(2) el-kitab da (hal-kitab) = What is the price of this
kam tamanub ? — tamanub book ? — Its price is twenty
'ashrin qirsh piastres
(3) da gbali ketir bi-s-si'r da = It is very dear at that price
(4) la, buwa rakbis qawi bi-s- = No, it is very cheap at that
si'r da price
(5) bi-qaddesb da ?— bi- = How much is this?— Two
qirsben piastres
(6) bi-kam ed-dira' min el- = How much an ell is that
gukb da ?— bi-riyal}n cloth ? — Two dollars
78 THE SEVENTH LESSON
(7) ma'kum felus ? — ^aiwa, = Have you any money with
ma'na 'ashrin qirsh you ? — Yes, I have twenty
piastres
(8) ya salam ana ma'i tamane = Good heavens, I have only
qurusli bass eight piastres with me
(9) kam sene 'umrek ? — 'umri = How old are you ? — ^I am
temant 'asher sene eighteen
(10) el-bet da kebir qawi, fih = That house is very large,
uwad ketire there are a great many
rooms in it
(11) min er-ragil da ? — ^huwa = Who is that man ? — he is
tagir min et-tuggar fi 1- one of the merchants of
Iskandariya Alexandria
(12) fi 1-medine di buyut = There are many houses in
ketire this city
(,13) el-Qahira medine kebire = Cairo is a great city and there
we-fiha shawari' letife are beautiful streets in it
(14) kam el-ugre ila l-Qahire ? = How much is the fare to
— ed-darage el-awale kbam- Cairo ? — First class it is
sin qirsh, we-itnen khamse fifty piastres, and second
we-'ashrin class twenty-five
(15) tis'a we-telata kam ? = How much is nine plus
three?
(16) khamse min 'ashrin kam ?= How much is five from
twenty?
(17) sab'a fi telata tarn ? = How much is seven times
three?
(18) khamse we-'ashrin 'ala = How much is twenty-five
khamse kam ? divided by five ?
(19) nasba miye ila alf ke- = A hundred is to a thousand as
nasba khamse ila khamsin five is to fifty
(20) ahe mahatta, ismiha ey ? = Here is a station, what is its
— ^ismiha el- Qusur name ? — ^Its name is Luxor
I
THE SE\\ENTH LESSON
79
Jl) beta' min el-qasr da ? —
huwa qasr min el-qusur
illi li-1-melik
(22) kam lek 'aleh ? li 'aleh
tamaniya wetamanin qirsh
-3) 'andi dar fiha talat biyut
we-sath
124) akhu kiiamsin
_j) qabel senten
(2G) awwal wabde . . . tani
wahde . . .
Who does this palace belong
to? — It is one of the
palaces of the king
How much does he owe you ?
He owes me eighty-eight
piastres
I have a house with three
rooms and a verandah
A man of fifty
Two years ago
First item . . . second item
APPENDIX TO LESSON MI
Some of the Commoker Coins ajst) Measures
Cains. (Values must be looked out in current rate of
exchange.)
= para {Syr.).
— piastre = 40 paras.
= silver coin, i.e. piastre.
=fiv€ piastres.
= dollar, usually about 17-18
piastres.
= 20 piastres.
= 5 dollars, or 100 piastres.
= Turkish pound, jive megidi.
bara*
qirsh (quriish)
fadda
beshlik (Sjria)
riyal (riyale) (Syr.)
megidi ^Syr.)
ginih fginiya) (Eg.)
lira 'usmanli (Syr.)
Measures.
qadam
dera*
mil
= foot.
= Bpan.
= mile.
80 THE SEVENTH LESSON
Weights. (Only roughly approximate, subject to local
variations.)
miskal
oqqiye = 8 miskals.
rutl (artal) = pound, 12 oqqiye.
qantar = 100 rutl.
tulunata* = ton.
Chapter X
THE EIGHTH LESSON— THE GENITI\T:
We liave seen that a sufl&xed pronoun attached to a noun
denotes the possessive as in bet-i = " my house ". Instead of
that miffiy we can add a noun in the same position and
similarly convey a possessive meaning, e.g. bet er-ragil =
" the man's house ". Grammarians have observed that there
are two kinds of genitive or possessive : (i) the true or logical
genitive and (ii) the formal genitive.
(i) The true genitive causes the preceding word to be
defined, e.g. kitab el-walid, " the boy's book " or " the book
of the boy ". This specifies a particular book and so defines
it as sharply as if the article were prefixed to the " book ".
This definition by the following genitive debars us from
applying the article to the word so defined, so when we translate
into Arabic " the book of the boy " we must be careful not to
put " the " before '" book " as the following possessive conveys
a complete definition and the article would be redundant. So :
kitab Muhammad = The hook of Muhammad
" Muhammad " is defined by its own nature because it Ls
a proper name and so it strictly defines the preceding word,
which consequently cannot have the article. And so : —
kitab abuk = Thy father's book
Abuk is defined by the possessive suffix and so defines the
preceding " book ". In aU these instances of the true genitive
the rule is that the first word (the thing or person possessed)
may not have the article but still must be regarded as fully
defined by the second noun (denoting the possessor or author)
82 THE EIGHTH LESSON
which must have its definition either by the article or by its
own nature or by a suffixed pronoun.
In Arabic consequently we are unable to express directly
" a merchant of the city ", for the following genitive would
define the " merchant ", so we are reduced to say " one of
the merchants of the city " or "a merchant of the merchants
of the city ". In modem colloquial beta', taba', shiyye, or
mal (cf. sect. 14 above) can be inserted and then it is this
inserted word which is defined by the possessive and so the
preceding noun may or may not have the articles. Thus: —
el-ldtab beta' er-ragil = The man's hook
(lit. the hook property of the man)
No doubt one reason why these words have become so usual
in the colloquial is that they enable the uneducated speaker
to evade some of the stricter requirements of classical grammar.
These two nouns, the construct (= the thing or person
possessed) and the genitive (=the possessor), are bound
together in a close connection which the grammarians term
" idafat " (occupation), and two points must be carefully noted
about this : (1) the connection is so close that the genitive
is treated like a suffix and so the feminine nouns ending in
-a (-e) change this to -at (-et) before the genitive just as before
a pronominal suffix, and so —
The city of the Prophet = medinet en-nabi
Remember, therefore, to use -at, -et in such feminines when
followed by the genitive. Again, of course, the use of beta',
etc., avoids this. (2) So close is the connection that nothing .
ought to intervene between the construct and its genitive : I
usually the qualifying adjective foUows the noun it qualifies,
but if the genitive follows it has to be postponed so as not to
break the connection. So if I want to say " the man's large
book " I must express it as " book (of) the man the large " =
THE EIGHTH LESSON 83
Kitab er-ragil el-kebir. As the kitab is defined by the following
genitive the adjective has to be defined ako and this is done by
giving it the article. Unfortunately the resultant expression
looks to the English reader like " the book of the big man ",
but if this had been meant the phrase would have been " (the)
book (of) the man and he (is) big ". Again the use of beta',
etc., enables us to evade all these requirements.
The Formal Genitive
(ii) The Formal Genitive is that which does not define but
merely describes : it does not denote author or possessor but
only material, etc. Thus sahni nehas = " a dish of copper ".
In this sort of genitive the second (or genitive) word is not
necessarily defined — in classical Arabic the second word may
be genitive, or accusative, or in apposition with the first ; so
with a genitive of this sort either both may have the article,
or both may be without, or the second may have it and the
first not. It is not possible, however, for the first to have it
and the second to be without, nor can we use beta', etc., in
this sort of genitive. Thus mesafit yom = " a day's distance ",
yom es-safar = " day of departure ", etc.
So the genitive can be used to express material, e.g. bab
khashab = " a door of wood ", which could also be expressed
as bab min khashab = " a door (made) from wood ", or the
two words can be treated as in apposition " a door a (piece of)
wood " ; in classical Arabic where the cases are shown by
distinctive endings it is apparent that the formal genitive of
the second, or its apposition with the first, are alternative ways
of expressing the material. So sa'a dahab, or sa'a min dahab
= "a gold watch", etc., lahm ghanam= "mutton" (i.e. meat
of sheep). In these cases both words may take the article,
or both may be undefined, thus bab khashab = " a wooden
door ", el-bab el-khashab = " the wooden door ".
84 THE EIGHTH LESSON
The Formal Genitive Governed by an Adjective
The formal genitive may be governed by an adjective or
its equivalent (i.e. tbe participle of tlie verb, etc.). Thus : —
ketir el-mal = Great of wealth
qalil el-'aql = Scanty in intelligence
huwa faqir el-hal = He was of poor condition
katib el-kitab — Writer of the hook {=he who wrote the
book, the katib being a participle
equivalent to a verb in sense, to an
adjective in form)
Peculiar Use of " Master ", " Father ", etc., with the
Genitive
It is characteristic of all the Semitic languages to use such
words as " master ", " owner ", " father ", etc., with abstract
(sometimes with other) nouns as descriptives. The words thus
used in Arabic are dhu or du (fem. dhat, dat) " owner ",
sahib (fem. sahibe) "master", ab^ "father", umm
" mother ", ibn " son ", etc. Thus " father of lies " ~
" liar ".
du 'ilm = Wise man ( = owner of wisdom)
du 'aql = Intelligent mun
el-yom du matar = To-day is rainy ( = oivner of rain)
du temam qawa'id = An eight-sided figure
shagare dat zill = A shady tree
sahib 'adl = Upright man
sahib mal ketir = Very wealthy man
abu 1-fadl = Excellent man (father of excellence)
abu shawarib = Man with long moustaches
abu gu'ran = Father of dung (name of carrion
beetle)
^ Note that ab, akh, ham before the genitive take -u as before a suffix.
I
THE EIGHTH LESSON 85
umm arba' we-arbain = Mother of forty-four {=centiTpede)
ibn 'ashrin sene = Man twenty years old
ibn nas or ibn bet = Man of good birth
ibn awa = Jackal, etc.
All, Every
The words kull, gemi' mean " all " or " every " ; used with
the article they denote " all, the whole ", without the article
" every ".
kull n-nas, or gemi' en-nas = All men
en-nas kulluhum, = All men
or en-nas gemi'hum
kull el-medine, el-medine kulliha = All the city
kull(i) medine = Every city
kull el-yom, el-yom kulluh = All the day, the whole day
kull(i) yom = Every day
kull(i)na = All of us
kull wahid = Every one
Part
The word ba'd (ba'ad) denotes "part, some", and is followed
by the genitive. Thus : —
ba'd en-nas = Some men
ba'd et-tiggar = Some merchants
ba'dina = Some of us
ba'di (ba'ad) min en-nas = Same of the men
Like
Similar in use is misl (mithl) " like ", as : —
huwa misl el-wahsh = He is like a tcild beaM
( = the like of a tcild beast)
86
THE EIGHTH LESSON
huwa misli — He is like me ( = my like)
In Egyptian dialect zayy, ziyy = " like ".
huwa zayyi = He is like me
'ala zayy el-hunud = In the Indian fashion
Hence ezayy = what like ? how ? ezayyek = how are you ?
Unlike
Gher is used for " other than ", " unlike ", thus : —
ragil mutemaddin — A civilized man
ragil gher mutemaddin = An uncivilized man
er-ragil gher el-mutemaddin = The uncivilized mun
Thus gher becomes a simple negative used before an
adjective or its equivalent whose descriptive is denied.
WORD LIST
Plurals of
the type aqtdl
nahr anhar
= river
walad awlad
shagare* ashgar
= child (this is the literary plural, the
vernacular generally prefers wilad)
= tree
mal amwal
hal ahwal
= property
= state, condition
Plurals of type qitldn or qutldn
beled buldan
faris fursan
= town, country
= horseman
ghulam ghilman
shabb shubban
= hoy, youth, slavt
= young man
'adad
= number
lahm ghanam
= mutton, etc.
ahl = family, people
akh (ikhwan) = brother
bunn = coffee (in berry)
dukkan = shop
dukhkban = tobacco
musafir (-in)
qahwa
qon^ul
sarg
shekh
= traveller
= coffee (beverage)
= consul
= saddle
= old man, chief
galale*
lahm
lahm baqar
= majesty
= meat
— beef
suq (iswaq)
wadi
y6m (aiyam)
= market
= valley
= day
THE EIGHTH LESSON 87
EXERCISE
(1) kef hal el-hawa ?— en- = What is the state o! the
nehar da el-hawa radi weather ? — To-day the
weather is bad
(2) huwa min wadi n-Nil = He is from the Nile valley
(3) er-rigal dak hum min esh- = Those men are from
Sham Damascus
(4) wen el-kitab mali ? — = Where is my book ? — Here
hena el-kitab malek is your book
(5) huwa fi ba'd al-aiyam fi = Some days he is in the
s-suq market
(6) zoget el-qonsul hiya = The consul's wife is very ill
maride giddan
(7) baghl el-musafir da ma fish = This traveller's mule has no
luh sarg saddle
(8) kam 'adad ahl el-Iskan- = What is the population of
deriya ? Alexandria ?
(9) beta' min el-qasr da? — = Whose palace is that ? — That
da qasr Muntaza we-huwa is the palace of Muntaza
wahid qusur galalet el-melik and it is one of the palaces
of his majesty the king
(10) el-gebel da ismuh ey ? — = That mountain, what is its
da huwa Gebel Musa name? — That is Gebel
Musa
(11) min en el-musafir ? — = Where is that traveller
huwa el-qonsul el-faran- from ? — He is the French
sawi consul
(12) sahibi fen 1 — ^huwa fi = Where is my friend ? — He is
d-dukkan beta' et-tagir in the merchant's shop
(13) beta'e min el-gimal di ? = Whose are those camels? —
hiya el-gimal beta'et esh-shekh They are the sheikh's
88 THE EIGHTH LESSON
(14) min esh-shekh ? — esh- = Who is the sheikh? — His
shekh da ismuh Mahmud name is Mahmud and he is
we-huwa kebir el-beled the chieftain of all the
kuUha country
(15) et-tagir da huwa sahib = That merchant is very
mal ketir wealthy
(16) huwa faqir el-mal = He is very poor
(17) abuya huwa tagir we- =My father was a merchant
lakin huwa mush ghani but he was not wealthy
(18) ba'd el-musafirin hum fi =Some of the travellers are in
l-Iskanderija, we-be'duhum Alexandria and some of
fi 1-Qahire them are in Cairo
(19) en-nas ba'duhum inke- = Some of the men are EngUsh
liziyye we-ba'duhum faran- and some of them French
sawiyye
(20) ba'dina muslimin we = Some of us are Muslims and
ba'dina nasara some of us are Christians
(21) wahid et-tuggar huwa = One of the merchants is a
habashi negro
(22) ibnek fen ?— ibni huwa = Where is your son? — My
fi 1-bet beta' et-tagir el- son is in the Persian
'Agemi merchant's house
(23) kull en-nas hum ikhwan = All men are brothers
(24) kull wahid fi 1-mudun di = Every one in these towns is
muslim a Muslim
(25) fi kulli medine muslimin = There are Muslims in every
town
(26) 'andek lahm el-baqar? — = Have you any beef? — Yes,
aiwa 'andi I have
(27) bi-kam tamanuh ? How much is it ?
(28) bi-kam er-ratl bunn ? = How much is coffee a
pound ?
(29) et-tagir el-kebir el-mal = The very wealthy merchant
THE EIGHTH LESSON 89
(30) barudna share 'e4-<Jarib = Our muskets are the law of
the warrior
(31) ya bint, va umm el- = 0 girl, mother of big earrings
medalat
(32) mal ma 'endna, mal ma = We have no property, we
'endna have no property
gher el-dagage el-etqaqi except a cackling hen and a
we-dek ma 'ha yeqaqi cock to go with it
ensunat ma 'endna hezunat We have no fine women
(These last three sentences (30-2) are from Bedwin songs given in the
Palestine Exploration FuTuTs Quarterly Statement fat A^tH, 1925 (pp. 87-8).)
ADDITIONAL EXA^klPLES OF THE USE OF THE
GENITIVE
bi-smi-llahi r-rahmani r-rahim = In the name of God the
merciful, the com-
passiorMte
(Invocation said at the beginning of any undertaking, before partaking
of food, etc., and exclamation on seeing the unexpected. As a quotation
the classical forms are (usually) preserved, so ism loses its initial i- after
bi-, as this t- is not part of the stem, but -» is added after {i)sm, (A)llah
and rahman as termination of the genitive which follows the preposition, but
it is omitted after rahim because final short vowels are not sounded at the
" pause ", i.e., before full stop.)
ya gemel el-bet = 0 camel of the hxruse
(Women's cry in wailing for the dead master of a house.)
ya shekh el-'arab = 0 sheikh of the Arabs
(Salutation to the saint Abmed el-Bedawi who is buried at Tanta and
whose disciples, one of the most popular fraternities of darwishes in Egypt,
are known by their wearing red turbans.)
rahmet allah 'aleh = The mercy of God he on him,
(To be said after mentioning by name any person who is dead.)
salat allah 'aleh we-salam = The 'prayer ( = blessing) of
God he on him {and 'peace)
(Used after every mention of the Prophet. If the speaker does not use
thia formula a bystander usually says it in a low voice.)
90 THE EIGHTH LESSON
'ala l-'en we-r-ras, Ya sayyid = On the eyes and head, 0 lord
en-nas of men
(Meaning, I am entirely at your disposal. Note the dual in en = " eyes ",
see p. 67 above.)
kulli belad bi-'adetha = Every country has its customs
kuUi sliayy fi yid allah. = Everything is in God's hands
fi man allah (= fi aman . . .) = In the keeping of God {= good-
bye)
salam hiya hatta matla' el- = It is j)eace until break of day
fagr
da 1-waqt da nuss en-nehar = Already it is midday
kulli yom arba' marrat = Four times every day
fi yom min ba'd el-aiyam fi = On a certain day at noon
waqt ed-dohr
ibn haram ! = Rascal ! ( = son of thieves !)
sitt denanir dahab = Six dinars of gold
(dinar = ancient coin, silver in the lands conquered from the Persians,
gold in those taken from the Greeks.)
lahm ghanam barid = Cold mutton
luqmet 'esh (khubz) = A morsel of bread
kubbayet moya = A glass of water
(These five last are formal or improper genitives.)
kef hal el-hawa ? = What is the weather like ?
( = what is the state of the
weather ?)
esh 16^ kef iyetek ? = How are you (dial, of Aleppo) ?
(lit. what is the colour of your condition ?)
ma fish hadde gherna fi 1-bet = TJiere is no one but us in the
house
ya bu naddare = 0 you with spectacl&t
(bu = abu)
Chafter XI
THE NINTH LESSON— ADJECTI^T.S OF THE
MEASURE AQTAL
The Comparative Degree
The comparative degree of adjectives is formed on the
measure of aqtal, thus kebir " great ", akbar " greater " ;
sa'ab " difficult ", as'ab " more difficult " ; tawil " long ",
atwal "longer"; 'aU "high", (= 'ahy), a'la (= a'lay)
" higher " ; harr " hot ", aharr " hotter ", etc. The com-
parative may be followed by min or an " from " which thus
used serves to express " than ", and in " western " Arabic
'ala may be used similarly. Thus : —
atwal minnek = Taller than you
ash-shams honak aharr = The sun there is hotter than here
minnha hena
For " better " use ahsan, but the positive hasan = " good "
is now used only as a proper name. For " good " use kher,
or tayyib.
ahsan min da ma fish = There is no better than this
"We can also make a comparative by using the word aktar =
" more " (from ketir = " much ") and this is the usual
method when the adjective contains more than three con-
sonants, thus : —
ana 'atshan aktar minnek = / am thirstier than you
(Classical Arabic has a feminine form for the comparative
in the measure qutla, e.g. " greater " = masc. akbar, fern.
kubra, but this is no longer used in the colloquial speech.)
92 THE NINTH LESSON
The Superlative
The same form is used for the superlative and may then
take the article or be otherwise defined, thus el-akbar = " the
greatest ", el-as'ab = " the most difiicult ", etc.
akbar el-kuU ^ n ^ ^ r n
, , 1 n 1 h = Greatest of all
akbar kulluhumj "^
akbarhum = The greatest of them
aqsar et-turuq = The shortest way
{= shortest of the ways)
aqsar tariq = {The) shortest way is . . .
bi-1-ketir = At most
bi-l-aktar = Generally
The word kebir " great " is often used in a superlative sense,
as kebir en-nas = " greatest of men ". Applied to God, akbar
serves as superlative, e.g. Allah akbar = " God is greatest ".
Attention should be given to the use of the preposition
'ala ('ale-) with an adjective : very often this expresses a
quasi-superlative which very nearly corresponds to the
English " too ", thus :—
el-burnus beta'i huwa qasir = My cloak is too short for you
'alek
el-kitab da el-inkelizi huwa = That English book is too hard
sa'ab 'ala 1-walad es- for the little boy
saghir
Adjectives Denoting Colour
Adjectives denoting colour have, in the masculine, the
same form as comparatives but make their feminine in the
measure qatla, thus : —
abyad fern, bayda = white
aswad sawda (soda) = black
ahmar hamra = red
THE NINTH LESSON 93
azraq
zarqa
= blue
asfar
safra
= yellow
akhdar
khadra
= green
Adjectives Denoting Bodily Defects
The same measure is used to denote bodily defects but with
the feminine qatla. Thus : —
ahbad fern, hadba = hunch-backed
akhras kharsa = dumb
a'rag 'arga = lame
a'ma ( = a'mav) 'amya = blind, etc.
ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF THE " AQTAL "
FORMS
el-*udr aqbah min ed-denb = The excuse is more shameful
than the offence
ed-darsi da asab min et-tani = This exercise is harder than
the last
el-yom ente keslan aktar — To-day you are idler than you
minnek ems u>ere yesterday
huwa angas min faret el-liabs = He is more cunning than the
prison rat
haqq el-qawi aqwa = The right of the stronger is
strongest ( = might is right)
el-hara di atwal el-an mimma = This street is longer now than
saqiban it was formerly
(mimma = min ma, than what)
huwa mush aktar min nuss = Itis not more than a half mile
mil
el-bet d-akbar min dak = This house is larger than that
(d-akbar = da akbar)
94
THE NINTH LESSON
huwa akbar miimi bi-shahren = He is older than I
months
huwa akbar bi-ketir = He is much older
asfar 'ala akhdar = Yellowish green
hy two
WORD
LIST
'alim
=mse
harr
= hot
'aqil
= reasonable.
kher
= good, better
sensible
mesgid (mesagid)
= mosque, oratory
bahr (abtior)
= sea (in Egypt
(ru)t congrega-
al80 the Nile)
tional)
dulb
= plane tree
nahr (anhar)
= river {canal in
dunya
= world
'Iraq)
embarili
= yesterday (Eg.)
nakhl, -e*
= palm-tree {date
ems
= yesterday (Syr.
palm)
'Iraq)
nur
= light
'en ('eyun)
= eye
qamar (masc.)
= moon
farhan
= cheerful
rib (aryah)
= wind
gahil
= foolish
shahr (ashhur)
= month
garni' (gawame')
= congregational
shedid
= severe, violent
mosque (i.e.
tarfa
= tamarisk
where there is
waraq
= paper
a Friday
zahra* (ezhar)
= flower
sermon)
EXERCISE
(1) ente akbar minni
(2) et-tariq da huwa atwal min
et-tariq et-tani
(3) ed-darsi da (had-dars) as'
ab 'aleya
(4) en-nakhle di hiya a'la min
darna
(5) ma fish nahr atwal fi d-
dunya kullha min bahr en-
Nil el-mubarek
You are older than I am
This road is longer than the
other one
This lesson is too hard for me
This palm-tree is higher than
our house
In all the world there is no
river longer than the
blessed Nile
THE NINTH LESSON 95
6) et-tarfa di ahsan min ed- = This tamarisk is more
dulb beautiful than the plane-
tree
7) al-'alim ahsan min el-gahil = The wise man is better than
the fool
8) huwa akbar minnek, ente = He is older than you, you are
a'lan minnuh taller than be
9) er-rigal dol 'atshanin akbar = Those men are thirstier
Tninni than I
10) fi Tbabr el-akhmar el- = In the Red Sea the weather
hawa abarr minnuh hena is hotter than here
11 )el-gimalbiyeaqwa min el- = Camels are stronger than
hamir asses
12) esh-sbagare hiye kbadre = The tree is green and its
we-ezbarba safra flowers are yellow
13) el-mara di biye 'amye = This woman is blind
14) el-yom ente keslan ketir, = To-day you are very lazy,
aktar minnek embarih more than you were
yesterday
15) el-yom abrad min ems = To-day is colder than
yesterday
16) akbuk en-nebar da = Is your brother better to-
ahsan day ?
17) gbulam aqil kber min = A sensible youth is better
sbekh gahil than a foolish old man
18) el-kbawage Mahmud fen ? = Where is Mr. Mahmud ?
19) huwa fi 1-gami' el-akbar = He is in the principal
mosque
20) nur esb-sbems aktar min = The hght of the sun is
nur el-qamar stronger than the light of
the moon
21) buwa akbar minnek bi- = He is older than you by two
shabren months
96 THE NINTH LESSON
(22) el-yom er-rih ashadd bi- = To-day the wind is much
ketir minnuh ems stronger than yesterday
(23) el-'abd el-aswad huwa = The black slave is his
'abduh
(24) el-bahr huwa azraq = The sea is blue
(25) huwa min el-bahr el- = He is from the Red Sea
akhmar
(26) 'enha hiye soda = Her eye is black
(27) el-waraq huwa abyad = The paper is white
(28) el-waraq da huwa abyad, = This paper is white, is it
mush kida ? not so ?
(29) el-bet d-akbar min da = This house is larger than
that
(30) el-'aguze di hiye faqire = This woman is very poor and
ketir we-'amya blind
(31) el-bint es-s6da farhane = The black girl is very
qawi cheerful
(32) di ahsan lokanda fi = Is this the best hotel in your
beledek ? town ?
(33) ente akbar qader = Your position be greater
(Apology for some impropriety in speech.)
Chapter XII
THE TENTH LESSON— THE VERB, PERFECT
TENSE, REGULAR FORM
General Idea of the Verb
The Semitic verb is built up from a root which normally
consists of three consonants which make a kind of skeleton
around and in which the verb stem is formed. The
" irregular ", or more properly the " defective " verbs, are
simply those in which one or other of the root consonants is
a weak letter such as w or y which is absorbed by a neigh-
bouring vowel, the resultant modifications following clear
phonetic principles.
Tenses
The verb has three " tenses " so-called, but these are not
quite " tenses " in the European sense. These are generally
known as (i) the Perfect, (ii) the Imperfect, and (iii) the
Imperative. The Imperative is, of course, the form used for
command, the Perfect most often refers to the past, but
not necessarily so, and the Imperfect to the present or future.
In reality the time of the sentence is expressed by means of
an adverb, or particle, just as in English we may say " I go "
in the present, and also " I go there to-morrow ", using the
same tense for future time.
The Perfect Tense
In the Perfect of the Primary form of the verb the three
consonants of the root are vocalized bv two vowels inserted
98 THE TENTH LESSON
between the two pairs of consonants : the second of these
may be -a-, -i-, or -u- ; the first is properly an obscure -a-.
Generally the -i- or -u- occurs in the second place when the
verb expresses a state not an action, and most often -u- if the
state is a lasting one, -i- if it is merely temporary. Thus,
action qatal = " kill " with -a- in the second place, temporary
state ghadib = " be angry ", permanent state hasun = " be
beautiful ". There is, however, a tendency, especially in
Egypt and Syria, to make the first vowel assimilate to the
second and so we get birid = " be cold " (for barid), tilim =
" be blunt " (for talim), suqut = " fall " (for saqut), sughur =
" be small " (for saghur), kusul = " be lazy " (for kasul), etc.
In all cases it will be remembered that the first vowel was
originally -a- and, when one of the " throat " sounds (h, ',
gh, etc.) is next this, -a- is preserved, otherwise it genera ly
weakens to -e- or -i- in the usual way. In every case the -a-
sound is held to be correct but it sounds a little pedantic and
is not colloquial unless a ** throat " consonant comes next.
The persons of the tense are formed by adding pronominal
forms to the stem produced by vocalizing the root. Thus : —
Sing. 1. darabt (*darabet) = / heat
2. masc. (Jarabt (*(jlarabet) = thou didst heal
fem. darabti = thou (fem.) didst heat
3. masc. darab = he heat
fem. (Jarabet, darabit = she heat
Plur. 1. darabna = we heat
2. 4arabtu = you heat
3. (Jarabu = they heat
The forms marked (*) are characteristic of 'Iraq, especially
when the next word begins with a consonant. In Egypt and
Syria it is more usual in such case to add -i to prevent three
consonants coming together, as : —
I
THE TENTH LESSON 99
hafazt-i taqriban talat awgoh = I have learned nearly three
jxi^es
where the verb hafazt (sing. 1st) has -i thus added.
Exactly the same terminations are used with verbs con-
taining -i-, or -U-, and those in which both vowels are -i-i-
and -u-u- by assimilation, but in Sjria (chiefly) the
vernacular often loses an unaccented -i- or -u-, thus in the
3rd fem. sing, the verb sharibit = " she has drunk ",
commonly becomes shiribit in Egypt and Syria, and Syrian
then permits shirbit, and in the 3rd plur. shirbu. Some other
dialects tend to leave out the unaccented short vowel when
it comes before an accented syllable, e.g. in Oman ktebt =
ketebet = " I wrote ", etc., where the vowel between the
k and t is really a very short half vowel. These contractions
form the most characteristic features of the different dialects,
and, as they are all symptoms of general tendencies, the
learning of a new dialect when one is known is no great
difficulty, least so when the parent form and basal system is
understood.
The following summary of the Perfect terminations will be
found convenient : —
Singular Plural
masc. fem.
1. -t (-et) -na
2. -t(-et) -ti -tu
3. — -et, -it -u
The Verb with Suffixes
The pronominal suffixes already given (p. 40) can be added
to the verb and then denote the object. The -i of the 1st sing,
when added to the verb has a " supporting ' N inserted and
80 becomes -n-i.
100 THE TENTH LESSON
Thus darab = he heat
darabni = he beat me
darabek = he beat thee, etc.
80 darabna = we beat
darabnak = we beat thee
darabnah = we beat him
darabnaha — we beat her, etc.
and darabt = / beat
darabtek = / beat thee
darabtiha = I beat her
darabtuhum = / beat them (-u- inserted by
assimilation to following
It will be noticed that in such a form as darabnak there
are three elements (1) verb darab, (2) subject -na, and
(3) object -k, and this order is the classical model for the
verbal sentence, although colloquial speech commonly permits
the subject to come before the verb as in English, provided
of course the subject is a noun substantive ; but the subject
after the verb is more strictly correct. In general summary
the arrangement of the sentence is : —
(a) Verb — Subject — Object : normal order,
(b) Subject — Verb — Object : permitted in colloquial.
(c) Verb — Object — Subject : necessary when the subject is
" restricted " by the use of ilia = " only, except ",
as ma (Jarabshi Muhammad ilia ana = " no one beat
Muhammad but only I ".
(d) Object — Subject — ^\^erb : interrogative, as ey ragil
(Jarabt ? = " which man did you beat ? "
The Negative Veeb
The verb is made negative by ma ('Iraq mu) before it, and
colloquial speech commonly adds -sh (-shi), thus : —
I
THE TENTH LESSON 101
ma ^arabtish. — I did not heat
ma darabtish = thou didst not beat
ma darabsh = he did not beat
Dia darabetsb = she did not beat
ma darabnash = we did not beat
ma darabtush = you did not beat
ma darabusb = they did not beat
The -i- is inserted when three consonants come together
and it is permissible to add -i after -sh when it is preceded by
a consonant and the next word begins with a consonant,
thus bringing three consonants into contact.
The negative can be added after the suffix has been attached,
as ma ^arabtuhsh = " I have not beaten him ".
The Interrogative Verb
A verb sentence in the interrogative may be so simply by
the tone in which it is spoken, or -sh (-shi) may be added to
the verb, as darabnash = " did we beat ? ", (jlarabtish =
" didst thou beat ? ", etc.
Another form of interrogative is produced by using ya'ni,
thus ya'ni kharagu 'aleh ? = " did they rebel against him ? "
Note ox the Uses of the Persons
The first, second, or third person of the verb must be
used according to the person of the subject : if the subject is
feminine singular or a broken plural the 3rd fem. singular
should be used. When the nominative does not follow after
the verb the verb must be put in the plural with a plural
subject but if the subject is definitely expressed and follows
the verb it is optional whether the verb is in the plural or
singular.
102
THE TENTH LESSON
WORD LIST
(i) Verbs
(The vowels in brackets denote thofte
required in the imperfect.)
'amal (a) = do
dakhel (u) = enter
darab (a) = strike
fahim (a) = understand
hafaz (a) = learn by heart
ha^al (u) = happen
keteb (u) = write
khalig (u) = finish
kharag (u) = </o out
misik (u, i) = seize
nizil (i) = go down
qa'ad (u) = sit
raga' (i) = return
sami' (a) = hear
shirib (a) = drink
shirib dukhkhan = smoke
?araf (i) = dismiss, waste
talab (u) = seek
tala' (u) = rise {sun) go up
'askari
'inab
karm
mahatta
(ii) Nouns
= soldier
= grapes
= vine, vineyard
= railway station
niektub (mekatib) = letter
qalam = pen
9abah = morning
saroq = thief
9ed = hunting, fishing
teskeri = ticket
wagh (awgoh) = page
(iii) Particles and Nouns used as
particles
amam = before, in
presence of
dilwaqt = now, at once
emta = when
fe- = and, and so
lamma = when
qabl = before
qabl ma = before that . . .
taqriban = nearly
EXERCISE
(1) kharag dilwaqt
(2) ya walad, esh 'amalt ? —
hafazti talat awgoh taqri-
ban
(3) tala'et esh-shems
(4) hasal hasal
(5) ketebt bi-qalam
(6) nizil min 'ala gemel
(7) nizilt li-karm el-'inab
(8) ma da 'amalti es-sabah da,
ya bint ? — ^ana katebt
He has just gone out
Boy, what have you done ? —
I have learned nearly three
pages by heart
The sun has risen (sun fern.)
It certainly happened
I wrote with a pen
He dismounted from a camel
I went down the vineyard
What have you done this
morning, girl ? — I wrote a
letter
THE TENTH LESSON 103
9) ente qa'edte kam yom fi = How long did you stay in
Misr ?— qa'edt arb'a yom Cairo ?— I stayed four days
10) nizilt ila 1-mahatta we- = I went down to the station
telebte teskari and asked for a ticket
11) sami'u we-lakin ma = They heard but did not
fahimiisli understand
12) ma semi'nash 'annuh = We have heard nothing about
him
13) telebtuna n-nehar da ?— = Have you been looking for us
la, ma telebnakumsh to-day ?— No, we have not
been looking for you
14) er-ragil misikni min idu = The man seized me with his
hand
15) entu qa'edtu fen ? = Where are you staying ?
16) fahimtush entu kelami ? = Do you understand what I
said?
17) aiwa, ehna (-bna) fahim- =Yes, we understand
nah
18) darabtesh kbaddami ?— = Did you strike my servant?
la, ma (Jarabtesb khaddamek —No, I did not strike your
servant
19) darabkum el-'askari ?— = Did the soldier strike you ?
ya'ni (Jarabek el-'askari ? — Did the soldier strike
thee?
20) emta raga'te min es-sed ? =When did you come back
— raga'te sa'atcn from hunting ? — I came
back at two o'clock
21) esh talab ?— ma fahimtisb = What was he looking for ? —
esli talab I do not know what he was
looking for
22) fen el-gawab elli ibnek = Where is the letter your son
ketebtub ? wrote ?
104 THE TENTH LESSON
(23) telebt min ente ? — ana = Who were you looking for ?
telebt el-kliawage Mahmud — I was looking for BIr.
Mahmud
(24) min darab el-walad es- = Who beat the Utile boy ?
saghir ?
(25) min en kharagt ? = Where did you come out
from?
(26) wabid Rumi nizil min el- = A Greek went down from
Quds ila Jafa Jerusalem to Jaffa
(27) fi tani yom kharag. = The next day he went off
(28) lamma khalis re-kbarag = When he had finished he
went out
(29) fulan hadir amam el-qadi = So and so appeared before
the judge
(30) min qable sikin fi dari = Formerly he lived in my
house
(31) es-saraq dakhel fi 1-lel fi = The thief entered by night
dar el-khubbaz into the baker's house
(32) nefed es-sabm we-1-hamdu = The arrow has passed and
li-llah basal kber 'ala kede the praise of God has
prevailed beyond that of
this person
(Some worda in praise of a person or created thing have been uttered
and all present fear their blighting effect until some passing accident has
befallen the person or thing praised or some words have been uttered which
have transferred the praise from the creature to the Creator, then the
dreaded omen is averted, " the arrow has passed . . .")
Chapter XHI
THE ELE\'ENTH LESSON— THE BH^EEFECT TENSE
OF THE REGULAR VE^B
The Form of the Imperfect
The Imperfect has the same three consonants as the Perfect,
but only one vowel is inserted and this is placed between the
last two consonants, the first consonant being vocalised by
the help of the prefix which denotes the person. In the
2nd fem. sing, and in the 2nd-3rd plural a suffix is added
also. The inserted vowel may be -a- (-0-), -i-, or -u-, and that
vowel is not always the same in the difierent dialects : this
can only be learned from the dictionary. In the case of the
verb 4-r-b = " beat " the inserted vowel is -a-, thus -^rab,
and the tense is then formed as follows : —
Singular.
1.
a^rab
= Ib€a
2.
masc.
ti(Jrab
= thou beatest
fem.
tidrabi
= thmi (fem.) beatest
3.
masc.
yidrab
= he heats
fem.
tidrab
= she heats
Plural.
1.
nidrab
= ic€ beat
2. tidrabu = you heat
3. pdrabu = they heat
The same prefixes and sufl&xes are used when the vowel
8t€m has -u- or -i-, as askim = " I dwell ", tiskun = " thou
dweUest ", etc., aktib = " I write ", tiktib = " thou writest ",
etc. We have given the prefixes above with vowel -i-, except
in the Ist sing., thus ti-, yi-, ni- : but this is the " obscure "
106 THE ELEVENTH LESSON
vowel (originally -a-) and may sometimes sound as -e-^ some-
times as -a-, this last usually before a " throat " sound
such as h, ', gh, etc. ; in Egypt it often happens that the
vowel of the prefix is modified to agree with the vowel of the
stem so that yiskut " he is silent " becomes yuskut, etc.
In 'Iraq, on the other hand, the prefix more often has -a-,
especially when the following consonant is emphatic, thus
tadrab, yadrab, etc., for tidrab, yidrab. In Egypt one may
hear both ya'rif and yi'rif " he knows ". The accent given
above is true for Syria, but in Egypt it is carried forward when
there is a suffix, so that we get tidrabi, tidrabu, yidrabu;
in 'Iraq it is still further carried forward when there is a suffix,
and so we get tadrabi, tadrabu, yadrabu.
Summary
The following summary shows the Imperfect formatives
in general : —
Singular. Plural.
masc. fern.
1. a— a— ni—
2. ti~ ti~i ti~u
3. yi— ti~ yi--u
Prefixed bi-, be-
The modern colloquial of Egypt and Syria often prefixes
the syllable be-, bi- (from badd = " remove ", whence
colloquial baddi = " I want to . . . "). With a- this makes
ba-, with yi- it makes bi-, otherwise it is prefixed to the
personal formative. Thus : —
badrab = / beat
betidrab = thou beatest
beti^rabi = thou (fem.) beatest
THE ELEVENTH LESSON 107
bidrab = he heats
betidrab = she heats
benidiab = we heat
betidrabu = you heat
bidrabu = they heat
But sometimes beyidrab(u) may be heard for bidrab(u) :
when the first vowel is -u- we do not of course get contraction
in the 3rd masc, thus in Egjrptian with yuskum "dwell"
for yiskun we get beyuskum (not biskun), etc. It will be
understood that the whole formation is a vulgarism and
avoided in formal speech and in converse with the educated.
Finally the b- sometimes becomes m- before n- and so we have
menidrab " we beat " for benidrab, menuskun " we dwell "
for benuskum (= beniskun), etc.
Thus : talet wahde bisbogh daqno u-shawarbo = " third
item, he dyes his beard and moustaches " (Malinjoud : Textes
en dialecte de Damas in J. Asiat. (1924), p. 271). This is a
specimen of the speech of an illiterative native of Damascus,
note the use of u- " and " for we-.
The Imperfect with Suffixes
The Imperfect takes the suffixes in the same way as the
Perfect, thus yetlub or yitlub (Eg. yutlub) " he seeks ",
yitlubni = " he seeks me ", ptlubna = " he seeks us ",
tetlub = " she seeks ", tetlubni = " she seeks me ", tetlubek
= " she seeks thee ", tetlubha = " she seeks her ", tetlubhum
= " she seeks them ", yitlubu = " they seek ", yitlubuni =
" they seek me ", yitlubukun = " they seek you ", etc.
The Interrogative axd Negative
The Interrogative and Negative are formed with the same
additions as in the perfect : adrabsh = " do I beat ? "
tidrabsh = " dost thou beat ? " etc. ; negative ma adrabsh =
108 THE ELEVENTH LESSON
" I do not beat ", ma tidrabsh = " thou dost not beat ",
ma yidrabsb = " he does not beat ", always allowing the
addition of -i before a consonant to prevent three consonants
in succession : so colloquial ma bidrabsh, ma betidrabsh, etc.,
and with the suffixes ma tidrabnish, ma yic^rabush, ma
tidrabuhash, etc.
Principal and Subordinate Verbs
The subordinate verb can follow the principal verb in
Arabic and have its proper person and tense. Thus the
English " I am able to beat " = "I am able (that) I beat " =
aqdar adrab ; there is no need to express the " to " or " that "
of English, but simply to render the two verbs in the same
person, in this case in the 1st sing. So " he is not able to write "
= ma yeqdarsh yektub ("he is not able he writes "), etc.
Imperfect Modified to Express the Present
Modern colloquial speech introduces 'ammal before the
imperfect to give the sense of the present, the 'ammal
becoming feminine 'ammale*, or plural 'ammalin where
necessary to agree with the agent. Thus, ana 'ammal
aktub — "1 am writing ", ente 'ammal tektub = " thou art
writing ", hiya 'ammale tektub = " she is writing ", hum
'ammal in yektub = " they are writing ". It is permissible
to add the be- as well, thus ente 'ammal betektub, etc. This
is a somewhat clumsy way of expressing the present, though
in common use ; a much simpler method is to use the active
participle as in ana katib = " I am writing ".
Imperfect Modified to Express the Future
There are several ways employed in modern colloquial to
express the future : —
THE ELEVTENTH I^SSON
109
(i) The particle bidd with the suffixed pronoun may be
placed before the imperfect, thus ente biddek tergi' = " thou
wilt return ", huwa bidduh yergi' = " he will return ",
ehna biddina nergi' = " we will return ", etc.
(ii) The participle mashi ( = " walking "), fem. mashiye*,
plural mashiyin, may be added before the imperfect, thus
esh mashi te'mal ? = " what are you going to do ? " hiye
mashiye tektub = " she is going to write ", entu mashiyin
tektubu = " you are going to write ", etc.
(iii) The participle rayih, fem. rayihe*, plur. rayihin
meaning " going " can be used in a similar way, thus ana
rayih adrab = " I am going to beat ", ente rayih tektub =
" thou art going to write ", etc.
Mashi is the participle of a verb with weak final (cf. p. 149
below) and rayih of one with a weak medial (cf. p. 138
below).
Note on the Imperfect
It must be carefully noted that the a- of the 1st person
singular is a fixed personal prefix which does not modify ;
in the other persons the vowel may sound -i-, -e-, or -a-, as
ti-, te-, ta-, etc., according to dialect, but -a- is generally (and
should be always) before a " throat " letter, whilst it is common
(especially in Egypt) to assimilate before stem vowel -u-,
thus yuskut (also yiskut), ya'raf (rarer yi'raf), etc.
WORD
LIST
Verba
•arif
feeder
feaaab
kasar
(i)
(a)
(u)
(a)
— know
= be present
= reckon
= break
lazim
naqa? (a)
qadar (i)
sa'al (a)
= be obliged
= reduce
= be able, can
= oak (qtiestion
no
THE ELEVENTH LESSON
Other words
'ala ahan,
'ashan
= because ; 'ala
in
= that
shan ey ? =
lezum
= necessity
why ?
sabn (sutun)
= plate
(Egypt)
sikka
= road ; sikket el-
ba'id
= far away, remote
hadid= mi^
foq
= above
way {lit.
fulan
= so and so ; el-
chemin de fer)
khawage fulan
tebeqa
— apartment, flat
=Mr. N.
{in a house)
ghuriib
— setting {of the
talg
= snow
sun)
zabit
= officer
tiisab
— reckoning, bill,
account
EXERCISE
(1) titlub min ente ?— ana = Who
are you looking for ? —
atlub
el-khawage Ahmed, I
am
looking for Mr.
yeskun fen
2
Ahmed.
Where does he
(2) huwa ynskum fi shari'a
1-Madebegh
(3) ma a'rifshi fen yeskun
(4) yinzil talg
(5) nirgi' fi s-sikka di ?
(6) emta tirgi'u min es-sed ?
— ^nergi' ba'd ghurub esh-
Bhems
(7) ez-zabit da yuskun fen ? —
huwa yuskun fi t-tebeqa illi
foq et-tebeqa illi askun
fih
(8) ta'rif el-khawage (fulan) ?
— ^a'rifuh haqq el-ma'rifa. —
yuskun fen ? — ^yuskun fi
l-Khunmfish. — ^huwa ba'id
live?
He hves in Madebegh Street
I do not know where he lives
Snow is falling
Shall we come back this
way?
When will you return from
hunting? — We shall
return after sunset
Where does the officer Uve ?
— ^He hves in the flat above
mine
Do you know Mr. N. ? — I
know him very well indeed.
— Where does he live? —
He lives in the Khurunfish.
THE ELEVENTH LESSON 111
min hena ? — huwa mush — Is that far from here ? —
aktar min wahid mil Not more than a mile
(9) bituskun fen ? — baskun fi = Where do you hve ? — I live
wast el-medine in the middle of the city
(10) ma aqdirsh asma' = I cannot hear
(11) bete'rifuhsh ? = Do you know him ?
(12) esh el-kalam da, tehsubni = What is that statement ? —
gahil bi-kull shayy (bage) ? Do you suppose that I am
altogether an idiot?
(13) ma a'rifshe wahid bi-l-ism = I do not know anyone of that
da name
(14) esh te'mal ?— aktub = What are you doing ? — I am
gawab writing a letter
(15) beteskrabsbi qabwe ? = WiU you drink some coffee ?
(16) eshente'ammalbete'mal ? =What are you doing? —
— ^ana *ammal baktub ba'd I am writing some letters
mekatib
(17)teqdirtefliamel-kitabda ? = Can you understand that
la ma aqdirsh afhamuh book? — No, I cannot
'alishan huwa sa'ab ketir understand it because it
is too difficult
(18) yeqdir yehsub el-hisab da ? =Can he reckon that account ?
— fi fikri ma yeqdirsh — ^I tb'Tilr he cannot
yehsubuh
(19) esh bitlub ?— ma a'rifsh = What is she looking for ?—
esh bitlub I do not know what she is
looking for
(20) betes 'al 'an ey ? = What are you inquiring
about ?
(21) teqdirsh tehdar ente ? = Can you be ready ?
(22) 'alishan ey te'mel kida ? = Why is she acting like that ?
— ma a'rifsh — I do not know
(23) haqq 'alek in te'mal kida = It is necessary for you to do so
112 THE ELEVENTH LESSON
(24) ma yelzim an te'mal da = It is not necessary for you
to do that
(25) ma leksh lezum tes'aluli = You have no need to ask him
(26) we-ba'd yomen kharag == And after two days he went
away
(27) el-moya kuUe yom betin- = The water gets less every day
qas
(28) ana lazamtek leinnek = I charge you to remain here
tefdal hena
(29) ti'rif tiktub bi-l-'arabi ? = Can you write Arabic ?
(30) ma a'rifsh el-qiraye fadlan = I cannot read, much less
*an el-kitabe write
I
I
Chapter XIV
THE T\^^LFTH LESSON— THE IMPERATIVE, THE
PARTICIPLES, THE PASSIVE
(a) The Imperative : Form
The Imperative uses the same stem as the Imperfect, has
the same suffixes, but does not employ the personal prefixes.
When the stem begins vrith a consonant which is followed
immediately by a vowel this can be pronounced without
trouble, and this, as we shall see later (cf. p. 124 below),
actually is the case with verbs whose roots have a weak
consonant such as w or y as their second radical. In
the ordinary three consonant verbs, however, this gives a
group of two consonants at the beginning, e.g. drab " strike ",
which as it stands cannot be pronounced. Ordinarily,
therefore, a vowel is prefixed and this vowel is i-, thus idrab
" strike ", etc., but when the vowel in the stem is -u- this
prefixed vowel assimilates to it and so we get urqud " lie
down " (also irqud). In Syrian dialect we often find a very
short inserted vowel (half-vowel) instead of the prefixed,
thus sherab (sh'rab) " drink " for ishrab, mesik (m'sik)
" seize " for imsik, etc. This vowel, whether prefixed or
inserted, has no bearing upon the meaning and is merely
a phonetic addition to enable the initial group of consonants
to be pronounced. The imperfect-imperative stem thus
vocalised expresses the command given in the masculine
singular, i.e. to one man, addressed to a woman the termina-
tion -i is added, and to more than one person the plural
ending -u.
114 THE TWELFTH LESSON
Thus we get the Imperative system : —
Singular masc. idrab = heat
fern. idrabi
Plural idrabu
Imperative with suffixes.
The imperative may take the same suffixes as the perfect
and imperfect, provided the sense of the verb allows a direct
object, thus idrabuh = " beat him ", irsaluni = " do you (pi.)
send me ", etc.
(6) The Imperative : Use
The imperative expresses the direct command, thus : —
uskut = Be silent
ighsil yedek we-wishshek = Wash your hands and face
infah el-hammal = Call for the porter
ya sayis, ighsil hisani = Groom, wash my horse
ya walad, inzil ila 1-bustan = Boy, go down to the garden
ya bint, irgi'i = Girl, go hack
irsalu wiladkum ila l-medrese = Send your children to the
school
ya bint, uqfuli 1-bab = Girl, shut the door
ighsilu ayadikum = Wash your hands
idkhul, ya 'ammi = Come in, my uncle
Sometimes the command is expressed by the imperfect and
not by the imperative. Thus : —
(i) In Arabic, as in all the Semitic languages, the imperative |
may not be used in the negative, but the imperfect must be
employed in its place, thus for " do not beat him " we must
say ma tidrabuhsh. Always the Semitic languages insist on*
" thou shalt not steal ", not " do not steal ". So : —
THE TWELFTH LESSON 115
ya walad, ma tesraqsh = Boy, do not steal
ma tis'alsh = Do not ask
ma tedrab el-kelb dik = Do not beat that dog
ma teshrab min el-moya da = Do not drink of this uater
(ii) Out of politeness the imperfect may be substituted for
the imperative, as —
tek tub gawab li = Write me a letter
tetla foq, min fadJek = Please go up above
(iii) After ma = " but " it is necessary to substitute the
imperfect for the imperative, thus —
ma teshrab dukhkhan, min fadlek — But please smoke
(iv) Usually the imperfect is used in commands with
ya . . . ya . . . = " either ... or ... ", as —
ya teq'ud ya tekhrug — Either sit down or go out
ya teskut ya tesduq = Either be silent or speak the truth
(v) After the (pleonastic) imperative of baqa, i.e. sing,
masc. ibqa, fern, ibqi, plur. ibqu, meaning " be, continue ",
the imperfect is used as the imperative is abeady expressed
by ibqa, etc. So —
ibqa tergi' halan = Return shortly
ibqu tesduqu = Speak the truth
But here it is also possible to use the baqa in the imperfect, as
tibqa tesaUim li 'ala abuk = Pray remember me to your father
tibqu tefaddal = Please sit down
(vi) The imperative has only the second person as this
alone can be employed in a direct command. An indirect
command or jussive in the first or third person necessarily
uses the imperfect, thus : —
116 THE TWELFTH LESSON
argi' = Let me turn hack
ma yergi'sh = Let him not turn hack
nekhrug min el-bet = Let us go out of the hou^e
Allah ma yihrimnash wiladna = May God not bereave us of
our children
Thus commands sometimes find expression as imperatives,
sometimes as imperfects. But it is also possible to use nouns
for command as in English where " silence " means " be
silent ". Arabic grammarians regard all words of command
which cannot receive the feminine -i or plural -u as nouns
and amongst these include the cries made in driving animals,
etc. Other commands again assume a verb which is implied
but not expressed, as andek = " with thee ", meaning " halt ",
and ala mahlekum — " at your leisure ", meaning " (go)
more slowly ".
ta'ala = come
hat = give (me)
yalla = go quickly
mashi = go quickly (imperat. of mashi =
= walk)
'ala mahlekum = go slowly
osbur = stop
'andek (-kum) = halt
waqqif = stop
(c) The Active Participle : Form
The active participle has the form singular masculine ,
qatil, fern, qatile, plural qatilin. Properly it is a noun ^
(adjective) and all we have said about the use of the noun
in sentences applies here. Thus : —
huwa sakin fen ? — Where is he living ?
hiye sakine fen ? = Where is she living ?
hum gaUsin fen ? — Where are tJiey staying ?
THE TTNTILFTH LESSON 117
(d) Active Participle : Use
The active participle is used as equivalent to the present
tense, but as the participle is a noun the sentence in which it
occurs without a verb is void of time sense and is merely
descriptive, though coUoquial usage assumes a present time.
Thus:—
ana katib — I am icriiing
When a verb is used the participle belongs to the same time
as the verb, thus using kan — " he was ".
kan gahs ma'uh we-hadani — He uxts sitting vyith him and they
wahid 'aivan brought to him a certain sick
person
As the participle is a noun adjective it is descriptive of the
accompanying or implied substantive and not (as may be
the case in English) of the circumstances in which the action
of the verb takes place, thus " having closed the door I went
away " must be " after I had closed the door I went away " =
ba'd ma qafalt el-bab kharaget ; " knowing that it was raining
I did not go out " becomes " because I knew it was raining
I did not go out " = madam 'irift inn nizil matar ma
kharagetsh.
But it may be used to describe the agent or object at the
time of the verb's action, as —
qa'adet sharib = I sat drinking
ana dakhil shuftuh = / saw him as / was going out
ana shuftuh dakhil = / saw him going out
This is especially the case when the description is introduced
as a kind of parenthesis by means of we-, thus : —
wahid nadahna we-hna mashiyin = .-1 certain man called to
fi sh-shari* (we-hna = we-ehna) us, and we were walk-
ing in the street
118 THE TWELFTH LESSON
(e) The Passive Participle : Form
The passive participle has the form mektub (maktub)
with fern, -e*, plural -in.
{/) Passive Participle : Use
The passive participle describes a condition already made
effective and so not contemporary with the action of the
verb, e.g. : —
wagadtuh maqtul = I found him {already) killed
qataluh el-magruh = They killed him who had been wounded
It is not possible to use the passive participle in such as
" I saw the man being beaten ", we must say " I saw the
man, they were beating him " = shuft er-ragil yedrabuh.
(g) The Passive Voice
(i) Some verbs are quasi-passive, i.e. verbs of state con-
veying a sense equivalent to a passive, thus tilif — " perish "
(talaf -= " destroy "), sikin = " be inhabited " (sakan =
" inhabit "), fiqir — " become poor " (faqar — " be poor "),
niqis, nuqus — " be diminished ", etc.
(ii) Derived forms in t- (really reflexive) often convey
a passive sense (on these verbs see p. 125 below).
(iii) Very often the third person plural is used where we
should employ the passive, thus "it is said " is rendered
" they say ", etc.
(iv) The passive participle is the one passive form which
admits of free use as conveying a passive sense, thus : —
mektub = It is written (i.e. it is God's decree, reply to a
beggar who shows deformities with the
intention of exciting compassion).
I
1
THE TWELFTH LESSON 119
When a verb is transferred from the active to the passive
the logical object becomes the new (formal) agent, thus " he
beat the boy " becomes " the boy was beaten " : the original
agent may then sometimes be expressed by the help of the
preposition min — " by ", e.g. " the man beat the boy " =
" the boy was beaten by the man ", but this is unpleasing
in Arabic and so unusual that it is not easily understood, so
that when the true agent is expressed it is strongly preferable
to use the active ; thus to translate " the boy was beaten by
the man " say " the boy was beaten, the man beat him " =
el-walad medrub darabuh er-ragil ; or better still transfer
the whole to the active and say simply " the man beat the
boy " = er-ragil darab el-walad.
WORD LIST
Verbs
Other words
fatab
(a)
= open
dat el-yom
= one day
qafal
(u)
= shut
kursi
= chair
rasal
(i)
= seTid
qarib
= near
heya
= up
sayis
= groom
seket
(u)
= be silent
EXE
eha'ir
ahabbak
RCISE
= poet
= xcindow
(1) ya walad, ma tedrabsh el- = Boy, do not beat your donkey
himar beta'ek
(2) ya bint, ma teskar es-sahn = Girl, do not break this plate
da
(3) ya bint, uskuti = Girl, be silent
(4) uqful el-bab, ya walad = Boy, shut the door
(5) iftah esh-shubbak, ya = Boy, open the window
walad
(6) ente sakin fen ? = Where do you live ?
120 THE TWELFTH LESSON
(7) ana sakin fi I'wast el- = I live in the middle of the city
medine
(8) hiye sakine qarib minnek = She lives near you
(9) hum sakinin fi I'beled di = They Uve in this village
(10) huwa galis 'andi = He is sitting at my side
(11) hiya qa'ide 'ala I'kursi = She is sitting on the chair
(12) lazimni 'esh we-moya = I have need of bread and
water
(13) we-Iazimhum 'esh keman = And they need bread also
(14) huwa masik sigara fi idu = He is holding a cigarette in
his hand
(15)anatalibmu*allimtayyib = I am looking for a good
teacher
(16) fih mu'allim tayyib qawi = There is a very good teacher
fi beledna, huwa esh-shekh in om* village, he is the
'Abd el-Magid, we-huwa sheikh Abd el-Magid, who
'alim ketir we-sha'ir keman is very learned and is a
poet as well
(17) khaddami qafalsh el-bab ? = Has my servant shut the
door?
(18) la, khaddamek huwa = No, your servant is very lazy
keslan ketir
(19) dat yom we-huwa galis = One day he was sitting by the
'and abuna we-abuna huwa side of our father and
sakit we-r-rigal ketir hum our father was silent and
hadirin there were many men
present
(20) el-bab maqful ? — la el- = Is the door shut? — No, the
bab maftuh door is open
(21) ma teqfulsh el-bab, el- = Do not shut the door, the
hawa harr ketir air is very hot
(22) inzil min 'ala 1-hisan = Dismount from the horse
THE TWELFTH LESSON 121
(23) ya walad, inzil min 'ala sh- = Boy, get down from the tree
shegare
(24) ighsil idenek we-wishshek = Wash your hands and face
we-iq'ad 'ala l-kursi and sit down on the chair
(25) ente, teqdireh te'rif = Do you understand what I
kalami ? — Aiwa, ya sidi, ana say ? — Yes, sir, I undei-
'arif kalamek haqq el-ma- stand what you say very
'arife well
(26) el- walad fen ? — huwa fi = Where is the boy? — The boy
odatna we-huwa qa'id we- is in our room sitting and
masik sigara fi idu holding a cigarette in his
hand
(27) huwa 'amil ey ? — mush = What is he doing ? — I do not
a'rif know
(28) ma tesalnish = Do not ask
(29) esh huwa 'amal ? = What is it he is doing ?
(30) hadretek nazil fi ey = In what hotel is your honour
lokanda staying
(31) esh huwa talib ? = What is he looking for ?
(32) nazil matar ? = Is it raining ?
(33) el-matar nazil shuwaiye = It is raining just a little
(34) el-mudir qa'id 'ala = The mudir is sitting on my
yemini right
(35) inna li-llah we-inna ileh = To God we belong and to
la-ragi'in him verily we return
(la- before verb or participle = " verily ". ) (This sentence is conventionaJ
when it is perceived that anyone is near death.)
(36) la hoi we-la quwwa ilia = There is no might or power
bi-Uah al-'ali el-'azim save in God the exalted
and great
(la " no " used here in the classical sense as " not ".) (Said in the presence
ol danger or before a very important undertaking.)
122 THE TWELFTH LESSON
(37) sami' we-fahim = (I am) hearing and under-
standing
( = "to hear is to obey.")
(38) ea-sa'a kam lazin = At what hour must I send my
ashayya' 'afshi ? luggage?
(39) heya ! heya ! tala'et esh- = Up, up, the sun has risen
shems
Chapter XV
THE THIRTEENTH LESSON— THE DERI\T:D STEMS
OF THE YEBB
So great is the regularity of word-building in Arabic that
we are able to classify most forms containing more than
three consonants (other than nouns borrowed from other
languages) as having definite relations with the primary
form of the three-consonant verb, and consequently much
which in other languages would be catalogued in the
dictionaries as separate words in Arabic may be reduced to
a system and so the range of our vocabulary can be very
easily extended. These derived forms of the verbs have the
same tenses and persons as the ordinary three-consonant verbs,
the only difierence is that there is something added to the
stem which affects the original meaning of the verb. After
getting some idea of these derived verbal forms we shall find
that the great majority of noun forms containing four or
more consonants are themselves dependent on those derived
verb stems, so that the subject enables us to make a very
considerable extension of our vocabulary with very slight
difficulty.
(1) The Stem with Doubled Medial (D)
Sometimes the basic three consonants are increased to four
by doubling the middle one and this usually either intensifies
the meaning or else makes a causative (i.e. the neuter verb
becomes transitive), thus kasar = " break ", kassar =
" break into small pieces " ; birik = " kneel ", birrik =
124 THE THIRTEENTH LESSON
" force anyone to kneel ", etc. Very often, however, the four-
consonant verb thus produced is in colloquial use but the
original three-consonant form which occurs in classical
Arabic is no longer current in the spoken language, and
sometimes the four-consonant form is produced from a noun,
as sabbin — " to use soap " from sabiin — " soap ".
Properly the vowels in the Perfect of the stem with doubled
medial are -a--a-, but if the final is not a " throat " letter the
second vowel is often modified to -i-, at least in Egypt and
Syria, and the first vowel is reduced to -e- (or -i-) under the
usual conditions, thus barrik, sabbin, etc. The imperfect
stem of these verbs of course needs two vowels and these are
-a(e)-i-. The imperative uses this two-vowel stem of the
imperfect and so does not require any prefixed or inserted
vowel. The participle is mu-a~i- (e.g. mu'allim = " teacher ",
from 'allim — " teach ", 'alim = " know "), the prefixed mu-
often modified to me-, mi- in the colloquial. This may be
illustrated by the following summary : —
1st sing.
2nd sing.
Srd sing
Perfect.
birrikt
birrikt
birrik
Imperfect.
abarrik
tebarrik
yebarrik
Imperative.
barrik
Participle.
mubarrik
(2) Shortened Form of the Doubled Medial (D*)
Sometimes the medial consonant is doubled and then one
of the doubles falls away with compensating lengthening
of the preceding vowel, thus birik becomes birrik (barrak) |
and then barik, the distinctive feature being the first vowel "
long. In all other respects it follows the scheme already
given for the doubled medial and if this is borne in mind there
ie nothing fresh to learn about this form. Thus : —
THE THIRTEENTH LESSON 125
Perfect. barikt (barakt) = / blessed
barik (barak) = He blessed
Im'perfect. abarik, tebarik, yebarik, etc.
Imperative, barik, bariku.
Participle. mubarik.
(3) The Eeflexive
The reflexive, which in modem colloquial often serves as
the passive (cf. p. 118 above), is formed by prefixed t-, thus : —
(a) From the primary stem, as qafal = " lock ", itqafal =
" be locked ", fatah = " open ", itfatah = " be opened ",
etc. In the classical language this t- is transposed with the
first consonant and so generally in 'Iraq and Syria, thus
keteb = " write ", iktateb, etc. (It is important to notice
that there is a dialectal difference in which iqtafal = itqafal,
the meaning of both words being the same and the t- in both
cases forming a reflexive from original qafal.) The scheme
is : —
Perfect. itqafal (iqtafal)
Imperfect (3rd sing.), yitqifil (yiqtifil)
Imperative, itqifil (iqtifil)
Participle, mutqafil (muqtafil)
(6) The same reflexive t- can be added to the form with
doubled medial (D above), thus tekallem = " converse ",
from kallem = " speak ".
Perfect. tekaUem
Imperfect. yetekellem (yetkellem)
Imperative. tekeUem (itkeUem)
Participle. muketeUim
Thus taqarrab = " approach ", tenaddem = " regret ", etc.
In Egyptian it is fairly common to find etnaddemfor tenaddem,
etkallem (or itkaUem) for tekallem, etc.
126 THE THIRTEENTH LESSON
(c) The reflexive t- may be added similarly to the reduced
form of the doubled medial (D*) as tebarik, Egyptian
itbarik, etc.
Perfect. tebarik (itbarik)
Imperfect. yetebarik (yetbarik)
Imperative, tebarik (itbarik)
Participle. mutebarik
So itshagir = " quarrel " (Eg.).
{d) The reflexive may appear as ist-, the reflexive of the
Causative which had s- in proto-Semitic (as we can see by
survivals in various Semitic languages), but this s- after
becoming h- finally weakened to '- and so produced forms
such as 'ifqar or 'afqar = " make poor " from faqir = " be
poor ", but verbs of this measure are so rare in the colloquial
speech that it is hardly necessary to linger over them. In
the reflexive the ancient s- has survived, and so we get :—
Perfect. istahsen — " admire "
(hasun = " be beautiful ")
Imperfect. yestahsin
Imperative, istahsin
Participle. mustahsin
This ist- form is rare as derivative from the regular three-
consonant verb, but occurs more frequently with the verbs
which have one of their consonants weak (w or y, see pp. 133,
etc., below).
The formation of these derived stems has become rather
a matter of lexicography than of grammar in the ordinary
sense ; it is only because word-building in the Arabic follows
such regular lines that we are able to include this subject
within the limits of morphology at all. In the word lists we
mark those forms which have doubled medials as (D), those
which have had doubled medials but have reduced them with
I
THE THIRTEENTH LESSON 127
lengthening of the first stem vowel as (D*), and use (t) for
the reflexive prefix, so that (Dt) describes such a form as
tekeUim or itkeUim, (D*t) such as tebarik, or itbarik, and
(st) such as istahsen.
AU these derived forms are vocalised, as shown in the above
summaries, with the ordinary modifications of -a- short to
-e- and -i- according to dialect, and there is no difierence due
to derivation from primary qatal, qitU, or qutul.
Summary of this Lesson
Chief derived stems of verbs whose primary form is qatal,
qitil, or qutul.
D. Type qattal (qettil). Intensive or transitive
D*. Type qatal (qatil). from intransitive
primary,
t-. Reflexive (t) itqatel (iqtat^l)
(Dt) taqattel (itqattel)
(D*t) taqatel (itqatel)
(st) istaqel
All these make their tenses and persons in the same way as
the ordinary three-consonant verb.
EXERCTSE
(Refer to vocabularies at end of book.)
(1) te'rif el-'arabi (el-loghet = Do you know Arabic (the
el-'arabiyye) ? — aiwa, a'rif Arabic language) ? — Yes,
shuwaiye I know a little
(2) fen te'aUamt el-'arabi ?— = Where did you learn Arabic ?
fi Masr (el-Qahire) — In Cairo
(3) li tisa' ashhur bass ate- = I have been learning Arabic
'allim el-'arabi for nine months only
128 THE THIRTEENTH LESSON
(4) we-min 'allimek ? — mu- = And who has taught you ? —
'allimi huwa sh-shekh 'Abd My teacher is the sheikh
el-Megid Abd el-Magid
(5) tetekellim bi-l-'arabi ? — = Can you converse in Arabic ?
ma aqdirsh atekellim ketlr — ^I cannot converse very
much
(6) yumkin li ta'allum el- = Could I learn EngUsh without
inkelizi bi-gher mu'allim ? a teacher ? — Perhaps, but
— ^yumkin, we-lakin 'ala I think it would be very
fikri da sa'ab ketir difficult
(7) ahsib el-loghet el-inkeli- = I consider that the English
ziyye mufide giddan language is a very useful
one
(8) haddiru l-khel we-neham- = Bring here the horses and we
milha ana we-nte will load them, you and I
(9) ahe el-khel we-lakin es- = Here are the horses, but the
sayis ma ha(J(jlirshe bisanek groom has not brought out
your horse
(10) lesh ma tehaddir el-khel = Why did you not get the
halan ? horses ready at once ?
(11) ana biddi asafir ila d-dir = I am going to travel to the
en-nehar da monastery to-day
(12) tariq es-selame. — Allah = (May it be) a journey of
yesellimek peace. — God give you
peace
(13) min beyekhabbit (bikhab = Who is knocking at the
bit) 'ala 1-bab ? door ?
(14) ana mush musafir wahadi = I am not travelling alone
(15) safirt min Masr ila hena = I have travelled from Cairo
we-ma'i sahibi we-sayisna and with me is my friend
and our groom
(16) tefad(Jal (itfa(^4el), el- = Please enter, the dinner is
ghada ha^ir ready
THE THIETEENTH LESSON 129
(17) ehna mabsutin ketir iUi = We are very pleased to have
ente ma'na s-sa'a di you with us at this time
(18) ihteres ! = Be careful !
(19) min tetlub ? — ^ana talib = Who are you looking for ? —
el-khawage (fulan) I am looking for Mr. N.
(20) el-bet menafEad = The house is closed
( The house is closed ( = not at home). ' ' maqf ul ' ' not used in this connection
as implying that the house is deserted, a very iJl-omened suggestion.)
(21) khatirek. — AUah yesaUim = Your mind (= farewell). —
khatirek God preserve your mind
(22) el-'abd ye'ammel we-r- = The slave ( == man) plans,
rabbi yekemmel and the Lord carries out
(23) betefattish *ala ey ? = What are you disputing
about ?
(24) kaUimna bi-l-'arabi 'ala = Speak to us in Arabic so that
shan kalamek yitfibim min what you say may be
kull ennas understood by everyone
(25) ana afabhimba lekun = I will explain it to you
(26) ente bitbammil bimarek = Why are you loading your
bamla qadde keda teqila donkey with such a heavy
leb ? burden ?
(27) kbaddami isbtara bi-seb'a = My servant bought cloth at
frank gbuk seven francs
(28) 'All buwa kesser el-qulla = It was Ah who broke the jug
(29) sbarraftena = You have honoured us
(Salutation to guest, frequently repeated at any pause in the conversation.)
{reply) Allah yebfazkum (-ek) = May God protect you
(30) khatirek = Your mind. ( = Good-bye)
{reply) AUah yesaUim khatirek = God protect your mind
(31) ti'allamt el-'arabi fen ? = Where did you learn Arabic?
(32) tisallim U 'ala akbuk — Remember me to your
brothel
130 THE THIETEENTH LESSON
(33) el-'abd yi'ammal we-r- = The slave (= man) plans and
Rabb yikemmel the Lord carries out
(34) min beyekhabbet 'ala = Who is knocking at the
1-bab ? door ?
(35) betifattish 'ala ey ? = What are you disputing
about ?
(36) tariq es-salame = The journey of peace (Fare-
well to a traveller)
{reply) Allah yisellimek = God give you peace
(37) tesharraft bi-an asabbih = I have the honour to wish you
'alekum good morning
(38) Allah yisabbihkum bi-1- = May God prosper the
kher morning to you
(39) ana mush musafir wabadi = I am not travelling alone
(40) safirt min Beirut ila 1- = I travelled from Beirut to
Iskanderiya Alexandria
(41) tefacjdal (itfaddal) = Please (sit down, eat, etc.)
(42) itfaddal ila 1-batata 6 = Please help yourself tc
gherha min el-buqul potatoes or other vege-
tables
(Or other than it of the vegetables.)
(43) itwakkil = Commend yourself (to God)
(Meaning, please go away.) S
(44) el-bet menaffed = The house is closed ( = no^
at home)
(Do not use " maqful ", which is unpropitious in this connection.)
(45) astaghfir Allah el-'azim = I ask pardon of God the
great
(Apology after breach of manners.)
(46) titkellem bi-l-'arabi ? = Do you talk Arabic P
na'am ya khawage atkallam = Yes, sir, I talk a httle
shuwayye
f:
THE THIRTEENTH LESSON
131
APPENDIX TO LESSON XUI
Table of derived steins including those rarely used in
colloquial Arabic.
Pej/. Imjpf.
I. Primary (qatal, qitil,
qutul)
11. (D) Intensive, etc. qattal yeqattil
III. (D*) Intensive, etc. qatal yeqatil
'aqtal yuqtil
Rare in colloquial,
taqattal yeteqattal
(itqattal) (yetqattal)
taqatal yeteqatal
(itqatal) (yet qatal)
inqatal yenqatil
Rare in colloquial,
iqtatal yeqtatil
(itqatal)
iqtall yeqtall
Rare.
X. Reflexive of IV (st-) istaqtal yestaqil
IV. Causative
V. Reflexive of II
VI. Reflexive of III
VII. Passive in n-
Vm. Reflexive of I
IX. Colours, etc.
Chapter XVI
THE FOUKTEENTH LESSON— VERBS WITH WEAK
INITIAL
As we have already seen, the Arabic verb normally is based
on a root containing three consonants : but one of these may
be a weak consonant such as w, y, or Hamza (', cf. p. 12)
and that weak consonant may be merged in a neighbouring
vowel, or else the second and third consonants may be alike.
Any of these conditions may produce certain phonetic changes
which have now to be considered, though those changes hardly
deserve to be called " irregularities ".
First Radical Hamza
The first radical or root consonant may be Hamza, which is
merely a check in the enunciation, and such a verb will
appear as though commencing with a vowel, as amar =
" command ", akal == " eat ", etc. In the ordinary way
this has no effect in the perfect, but in the imperfect where the
prefixed person is in contact with a vowel check the -a- of
the prefix follows the general rule by which -a'- becomes -a-.
It must be remembered that the te-, ye-, or ti-, yi-, etc., of ;
the personal prefix was originally ta-, ya-, and so we get the i
personal prefixes of such verbs a-, ta-, ya-, na- as in akul = j
" I eat ", takul = " thou eatest ", yakul == " he eats ", '
nakul = " we eat ", etc. In the active participle the Hamza
becomes w- and so gives wakil = " eating ", fern, wakile, etc.
Perfect of (a)kal and (a)khad
The two verbs akal = " eat " and akhad = " take "
commonly drop the first syllable in the perfect tense and
reproduce the same process in the imperative. Thus : —
THE FOUETEEXTH LESSON
133
Perfect.
Sing.
1.
2.
masc.
khadt
khadt
kalt
kalt
fern.
khadti
kalti
3.
masc.
khad
kal
fern.
kliadet
kalet
Plur.
1.
khadna
kalna
2.
khadtu
kalnu
3.
khadu
kalu
Imperfect.
Sing.
1.
2.
masc.
akhud
takhud
akul
takul
fem.
takhudi
takuli
3.
masc.
yakhud
yakul
fem.
takhud
takul
Plur.
1.
nakhud
nakul
2.
takhudu
takulu
Imperative.
Sing.
3.
masc.
fem.
yakhudu
khud
khudi
yakulu
kul
kuH
Plur.
khudu
kulu
Participle.
Act.
Pass.
wakhid
wakil
makiil
From khad we get the derived (D*) akhiz (for akhidh) in
the expression ma takhiznish = " do not blame me " used as
introductory to a remark which might be resented as a liberty :
from kal we have (D) wakkil = " cause to eat ", etc.
Verbs with Initial w-
In the perfect and participles verbs with initial w- are
perfectly regular, thus wasal = " arrive ", etc. In the
imperfect the consonant -w- following the (original) -a- of
the prefixed person naturally makes -o- which is the regular
product of -aw- (see p. 13 above), but sometimes we may hear
134
THE FOURTEENTH LESSON
1.
osal or
awsal
2.
masc.
tosal
tusal
fern.
tosali
tusali
3.
masc.
yosal
yusal
fern.
tosal
tusal
1.
nosal
nusal
2.
tosalu
tusalu
3.
yosalu
yusalu
in the first person aw- (sounded like ow in " how "), and -u-
(as a modification of -o-) in the other persons. Whether we
get -o- or -u- is a matter of dialect and follows the general
tendency of local speech. Taking as type wasal = "arrive"
we have : —
Imperfect Sing.
Plur.
In the Imperative (which is always closely allied with the
imperfect) the same phonetic principles are followed, thus : —
Imperative sing. masc. osal usal
fem. osali usali
plural osalu iisalu
Verbs with First Radical y-
Verbs with first radical y- are rare. All that has been said
above for verbs with initial w- holds good save that the
prefixes in the imperfect of these verbs are ay-, ti-, yi-, ni- :
thus yibis — " harden ", imperfect aybas, tibas, yibas, nibas,
etc., and consistently with this the imperative ibas, ibasi,
ibasu. J
Derived Stems of Initial w/y Verbs
For the most part these derived forms are normal save that
in the reflexive (t-) form we find ittasal for itwasal. Following
this analogy khad gives reflexive ittakhid, kal has ittakil
(D*t). i
THE FOUETEENTH LESSON
135
kal(=akal)
khad (=akhad)
wagad
waBaah
WORD LIST
= eat
= take
— find, occur
= bereave
= arrive
'agal
'arabiya
'askari
ferkhe*
*ilm
8uq
= speM
= cart, cab
= soldier
= fowl
= wisdom
= fish
= market
EXERCISE
(1) esh takul ?
(2) takul qalil samak
(3) akhud qalil, 'an iznak
(4) ente ma takulsh
= What will you eat ?
= Eat a little fish
= I will take a little, please
= You are not eating
(To guest pressing him to eat more.)
(5) ma aqdirsh akul *ala z- = I cannot eat any more
ziyade
(6) yugad samak ketir fi
s-suq {
(7) ma qadartish agid samak
fi 8-suq
(8) nusil qabli ma yeghlaq es-
suq
(9) kul aktar
(10) kul ka-ente fi betek
(11) min fadlak, kul shuwayya
min el-ferkhe di
(12) kewayyis ketir
(13) wasalni mektubek
(14) khadt felus minnuh
(15) el-khabr esh-sbum yusal
bi-l-'agal
Is there mnch fish in the
market ?
I could not find any fish in
the market
We came before the maiket
closed
Eat more
Eat as if in your own
house
Please eat a Uttle of this
chicken
It is excellent
I have received your letter
I took money from him
Bad news arrives with speed
136 THE FOURTEENTH LESSON
(16) huwa biyakul ey ? = What does he eat ?
(17) khud lek kisret khubz = Take a morsel of bread
(18) wahashtena = Thou hast made us lonely
(To acquaintance after period of absence.)
(reply) alJah ma yiihish fik = May God make no lonehness
for thee
(19)tefaddalkulma'na = Please eat with us
(20) ente ma kaltesh = You have eaten nothing
(21) ana shibi't = I have had enough
(22) kelkaza (Syr.=kul ka-da) = Eat such as this
(23) kkudni ila 1-khawage = Take me to Mr. N.
(fulan)
(24) khud 'ala yeminek = Take (the way) to your right
(25) yelzamek takhud 'arabiya = You must take a cab
(26) ya'ni telibt el-khawage ? = Were you looking for the
gentleman ?
(27) weselnash ? = Have we arrived?
(28) esh kalt es-sabah da ? = What have you eaten this
morning ?
(29) ma kaltesh = I have eaten nothing
(30) bi-kam akhud el-kitab da ? =^ For how much shall I get
this book?
(31) ma yakhudsh min gher = He takes nothing but money
felus
(32) kef wagadtu hal = How did you find your
sahibkum ? friend?
(33) esh-shagar da ma yugad == This tree is not found in
ilia fi dilad el-masr Egypt
(34) mim min kbadtuha ? = Who did you get it from ?
(mim min — min min.)
(35) ma yosilni shayy minnuh = I have received nothing
from him
THE FOUETEENTH LESSON 137
(36) lahaqni el-'askari we- = The soldier overtook me and
khadiii took me away
(37) kalabslmh we-khuduh = Handcuff him and take him
away
(38) kalu we-shirbu hadd = They ate and drank until
shabi'u (Syr.) they had had enough
(badd = Ijatta.)
(39) khadt el-'ihn'anuh = I acquired knowledge o! him
Chapter XVII
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON— VERBS WITH WEAK
MEDIAL
Verbs with weak medial are of two kinds (i) those with
medial -w-, as q-w-1, and (ii) those with medial -y-, as g-y-b.
We need not consider those with medial Hamza as either
the Hamza remains and so the verb is regular, or else it becomes
w/y and so it falls within one of the classes given above.
Verbs with Medial w : Perfect
Verbs with medial -w- merge that medial in the neigh-
bouring vowel sounds and so form one syllable. Before one
consonant -awa- becomes -a-, and before two consonants -u- :
thus qal (for qawal), qalet (for qawalet), qalu (for qawalu) ;
and quit (for qawalt), qulti (for qawalti), qulna (for qawalna),
and qultu (for qawaltu). Such verbs appear in the vocabulary
as words of one syllable, e.g. qal = " he said ", and after
them is noted the root form (qwl, etc.). The formation of
the persons is regular in all respects. Thus : —
quit = I said
quit = thou saidest
qulti = thou (fem.) saidest
qal = he said
qalet = she said
qulna = we said
qultu = rjou said
qalu = they said.
In 'Iraq quiet may be heard for quit, still the rule holds good
for modern qulat is for ancient qultu, qulta. £
i
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON 139
Imperfect.
In the imperfect these verbs have vowel -u-, and this with
the -w- makes -u-, so we have : —
aqul = I sjpeak
tequl = thou speakest
tequli = thou (fem.) speakest
yequl = he speaks
tequl = she speaks
nequl = we speak
tequlu = you speak
yequlu — they speak
In 'Iraq the plural termination -u may, as usual, be heard
with final -n.
Imperative.
In the imperative no prefixed vowel is needed as the one
initial consonant is vocalized by the stem vowel, so we have : —
Sing. masc. qui fem. quli
Plural qiilu
Participle.
The active participle is qayil (for classical qa'il) : the
passive participle is not in use.
Derived Stems.
The (D) stem, qawwal, etc., is perfectly regular, in the (t)
and (st) we find long -a- shortening before two consonants,
thus (t) itqal, itqalt, etc., impf. yetqal, (st) istaqal, istaqalt,
etc., impf. yestaqil.
These verbs with medial w form a very important group,
most are as qal above, but a few, e.g. nam = " sleep", make
imperfect with -a- instead of -u-, thus anam, tenam, etc.
The verb kan, kunt, etc., impf. yekun, is in general use to
140 THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
denote the verb "to be " when in the past or future time,
in the present of course no such verb is needed, thus ana kunt
keslan = " I was lazy ", huwa kan ta'ban = " he was tired ",
etc. Kan ragil fi medina min el-medayn es-sin = " there
was a man in a certain city in China ", ente tekun 'atshan =
" you will be thirsty ", etc. This verb added to the tenses
of other verbs produces a new tense system which figures in
modern Arabic. The free use of kan as the verb " to be "
seems to be a development — at least we assume so from the
total absence of this verb, at least in that sense, in the other
Semitic languages — but it is introduced freely in the colloquial,
often, it must be confessed, where the sentence would be just
as good without it. Its use in forming a tense system will
be dealt with later (see Lesson XX), to a large extent that
seems to be a development due to those who have come under
the influence of European education and is somewhat artificial
and " bookish " ; it is doubtful if we ought to go further than
to say that in the vernacular the perfect of kan is used for
past time, the imperfect for the future, leaving schemes of
pluperfect, future perfect, etc., for those who are trying to
twist the Semitic character of Arabic to fit into the totally
different structure of the Indo-European languages, sar
also is used in the sense " to be " : dam is " to be " in the sense
of " continue ", as ma dumt — " as long as I am . . ."
The verb qam = " rise " is also used as a kind of auxiliary
meaning " begin ", thus qam qal = " he began to say ", etc,
— the frequent use of qam and kan is characteristic of the
narrative in the speech of the people, folk tales, and the stories
in the " Thousand Nights and a Night " begin almost every
sentence with qam or kan, often quite superfluous. *az
occurs most often in the participle 'awiz (= '6z) = " want,
need ", thus ente *awiz ey ? = " what do you want ? "
ana 'awiz sikkin = " I want a knife ", etc. The verb rad
I
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON 141
in the derived form arad (causative, No. IV on p. 131) is
a useful verb meaning " desire, want " used before another
verb, thus turid aqaddam lek 'esh ? = " would you like
me to give you some bread ? ", turid tequl eh ? = " what
do you want to say ? ", etc. We have already noted the
use of the participle rayih = " going " (from rah) as giving
a future sense to the sentence in which it is used. (Cf. p. 109
above.)
EXAMPLES
esh huwa *awiz ? — ma anish = What does he want 1 — / do
'arif esh huwa 'awiz not knoio what he wants.
fatetni el-furse = The opportunity escaped me.
el-qom kulluhum matu min = All the people died of hunger.
el-gu'
el-mu'allim lam fikri = The teacher disapproved my
opinion.
li sens kamile ma shuftush = I have not seen him for a
ivhole year {= to me a
complete year I have not
seen him).
esh bitqul ente ? = What do you say ?
Verbs with jVIedial y : Perfect
The verbs with medial -y- follow the lines already indicated
for those with medial -w- : where those verbs made -a- so
do these, where they made -u- these make -i-, and where they
made -u- these make -i-. The example we take is the verb
gab = " bring ". Classical Arabic had a verb ga' = " go ",
to which we shall refer later (cf. p. 150), followed by the
142 THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
preposition hi- tMs had the sense of "bring" and thence
modern Arabic has formed the verb gab in all respects as
though g-y-b.
gibt = 7 brought
gibt = thou hroughtest
gibti = thou (fem.) brou^htest
gab = he brought
gabet = she brought
gibna = we brought
gibtu = you brought
gabu — they brought
Imperfect.
The imperfect has stem vowel -i- (= -yi-), thus
agib = 7 bring
tegib = thou bringest
tegibi = thou (fem.) bringest
yegib = he brings
tegib = she brings
negib = we bring
tegibu = you bring
yegibu = they bring
Imperative.
Sing, gib fem. gibi
Plur. gibu
Participle.
gayib (geyib), etc.
Derived Stems.
The stem with doubled medial (D) and (D*) offers nothing
abnormal, gayyib, gayib, etc., the -y- here appearing as a
consonant : in the reflexive (t) and (st) we get the same
i
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
143
resultants as in the medial -w- verbs, thus (t) itgab, itgabt,
im'pf. yugib, (st) istagab, istagabt, iniff. yestabib, etc.
These medial -y- verbs are not so numerous or so useful
as those with medial -w-, indeed gab is the only one which
frequently enters into ordinary speech.
WORD
LIST
Verba
'ad (w)
= take refuge
kenea
= suxep
;ash (w)
= live
qal (w)
= say
az (w)
= ne^4
qam (w)
= arise, begin
dab (w)
= be dizzy
rab (w)
= go
dakh (w)
= humble
rekab
= mount, ride.
fahim (at-)
= inquire
embark
faragh
= be emptied
9am (w)
= fast
fe^ah
= stride
9ar (w)
= be
tefessab
= stroa
sba'
= wiU
fat (w)
= pass by
ahaf (w)
= see
gab (y)
= bring, give
tal (w)
= be long.
kal (y)
= measure
(D) lengthen
kan (w)
= be
zad (w)
= increase
khaf (w)
= fear
Other
•
Words
'afrit
= demon
in
= if
amnak
= constipation
lamma
= when
babur
= steamer
lisan
= tongue
ba'd
= after
makbzen*
= store
bustan
= garden (pers.)
meqlub
= savage
dir
= monastery
marra*
= woman
(Christian)
mearuT
= pleased
dughri
= straight on
qufl
= lock
dohr
= noon
qariban
= nearly
embarib
= yesterday
ragim
= stoned (of th
fe-
= and, and so
devil)
i falaq
= dawn
rib
= wind
■ fellab (-in)
= cultivator of the
9aban
= soap
1
soil
safir
= traveller
I gubba*
= {name of a
Budr
= chest
1
garment)
sene (sinin)
= year
1 balan
= at once
sbabr
= month
' honak
= there
sharbe*
= drink
barir
= silk
sbarr
= harm
batta
= until, up to
taabt
= basin
ibriq
= jug
144 THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
EXERCISE
1) qal sahib ed-dar min bel- = The master of the house said,
bab ? Who is at the door ?
(bel-=bi-l-.)
2) sa'alni we-qal li, min en = He asked me saying, Where
ente ?— w-esh quit ente ? do you come from ? — And
what did you say ?
3) we-qal el-hammal, Da nehar = And the porter said, This is a
mubarak we-nehar sa'id blessed and happy day
4) wi-'al li, let ? And he said to me, Why ?
(Dialect of Lower Egypt, 'al=qal.)
5) wahid fellah fi Derut qal = A certain fellah in Beirut
li, Ana shufti marra wahid said to me. Once I saw
min el-'afarit one of the afarit
6) ma tequlish kida = Do not talk like that
7) emta esh-shekh sahibek = When did the sheikh who
kharag ? — kan el-waqt is your friend go out ? —
qariban ed-dohr The time was about noon
8) qam qal er-ragil li-s-safir, = The man began saying to the
Ente rayih fen ? traveller. Where are you
going?
9) esh-shekh huwa marid 'ala = The sheikh is seriously ill
khatir we 'ala fikri rayih and I think he is goin^ to
yemut die
10) er-ragil qam halan we-rigi' = The man stood up at once
ilasahibuh and went back to his
friend
11) rakebt babur el-Brindizi = I embarked on the Brindisi
illi yequlu 'aleh steamer they talk about
12) huwa yeruh ila en ?— = Where is he going?— He is
yeruhila'azvetuh— enteruh going to his farm. Do
waiyyah you go with him
li
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON 145
(13) kan labis gubba harir = He was wearing a silk
jabbeh
(14) a'uz akallimek — ^yekul = I want to have a word with
ha^retek, ana sami you. Let your honour
speak, I am hstening
(15) ente dawwakht rasi = Thou hast humbled my head
(16) da, esh ismuh ? — qui min = What is the name o! this ? —
tani — mush taman say it again— that's not
quite right
(17) ente 'awiz esh ? — ana = What do you want ? — I want
'awiz sharbe 'alishan 'andi a draught because I have
amsak constipation
(18) kunt ente fen embarih ? = Where were you yesterday ?
— ana kunt (kutt) fi s-suq- — I was in the market. —
we-akhuk fen ? — huwa kan And your brother, where
fi 1-gami' ma' abuna was he? — He was in the
mosque with our father
(19) qam ila el-makhzen we- = He went to the magazine
fatahuh fe-kihia hatta faragh and opened it and we
el-makhzen measured it (= its con-
tents) until it was empty
(20) qum, ya sahibi, nergi' Ua = Rise, my friend, let us go
darna back to our house
(21) min minkum yekun luh = Who of you has a friend?
sahib
(22) rubu bina netefessah, en- = Go with us for a stroll, to-
nehar da shemm en-nesim day is the Shem en-
Nesim
(23) rasi dayih we-ma aqdirsh — My head is dizzy and I
akteb cannot write
(24) qui, we-lakin ma = Speak, but do not prolong
tetawwiishe lisanek thy speech
146 THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
(25) mhna 1-beled ('ashan) = We went to the town to make
nistafhim inquiry
(The use of ashan (ala shan) is optional.)
(26) ente fahim ana baqul ey ? = Do you understand what I
say?
(27) ya 'awwad Allah = May God compensate
(Street cry of the water seller.)
(28) ruh dughri = Go straight on
(29) ya nas, khafu min Allah = 0 men, fear God
(30) kan ragil sayyad we-kan = There was a man who was
kebir fi s-sinin we-luh zoge a fisherman and he was
we-talat awlad we-huwa advanced in years and
faqir el-hal had a wife and three sons
and he was poor in circum-
stances
(31) in kan honak huwa aq'ad = If he is there I will stay
ma'uh we-inmakansheargi' with him and if he is not
ila hena I will come back here
(32) lamma kutt (kiint) sugbay- = When I was a httle boy
yir
(33) ya walad, kunt keslan = Boy, you have been very idle
qawi
(34) kan matar fi 1-lele we- = There was rain in the night
kanet er-riyah shedide qawi and the wind was verj
rough
(35) arba'a we-talata gabu = How much do four and three
kam ? make ?
(36) ma dumt haiy = As long as I hve
(37) kuUima huwa taiyib sar = Everything that is good is
ghali dear
(38) fatet et-telate = It is past three o'clock
(39) samu ila 1-gherub = They fasted until sunset
(40) Allah yezid fadlek = God increase your welfare
THE FIFTEENTH LESSON 147
(41) 'awiz miimi ey, ya walad ? = What do you want of me,
boy?
(42) huwa khaf ketir = He was very much afraid
(43) ana mesrur li-anni shuftek == I am pleased to have seen you
(44) in 'isht argi' bi-t-tani = If I hve I will go back again
(45) Mahmud,gibet-tashtwe-l- = Mahmud, bring the basin
ibriq moya we-s-sabun li- and a jug of water and the
nighsil yedena (idena) soap for us to wash our
hands
(46) a'ud billah min esh-shaitan =1 seek refuge with God from
er-ragim the stoned devil
(Apology made after yawning ; the back of the left hand is placed before
the mouth during a yawn. The reference is to the stoning of the pillars
which represent the devil (?), a rite performed during the latter part of the
greater pilgrimage.)
(47) a'ud bi-rabb el-falaq = I take refuge with the Lord
of the dawn
(Apology after improperly expressing admiration of a child or of any article
in one's host's possession. The words are the opening phrase of the 113th
Sura and the words next following (which need not be said) are regarded
as an exorcism of evil spirits.)
(48) ma sliayy sharr in sha' = It is no harm, if Grod wills
allah
(Form of condolence on visiting a sick person.)
(49) ma sha' allah = It is what Grod pleases
(Expression of admiration on seeing anything pleasant.)
i (50) yekun lek 'ashrin riyal fi = You shall have twenty
I; sh-shahr dollars a month
[: (51) tekunshe hena ba'de = Will you be here at three
;! bukra es-sa'a telate ? — o'clock the day after to-
na'am, akun hena es-sa'a da morrow ? — Yes, I shall be
here at that time
J (52) ma teruhsh ma' er-ragil = Do not go with that man
da
148 THE FIFTEENTH LESSON
(53) rah yeshuf abuh = He went to see his father
(54) ma baqulsh hage (Eg.) = I say nothing
(55) kull en-nas biqulu kida == Everyone says so
(56) qam gawabuh = He began answering him
(57) aye elli bete'uzuh ? = What is it you want ?
(58) kenes beti we-rab li-1- = He swept my room and went
bustan into the garden
(59) el-khaddam kbaf el-kelb = The servant was afraid of the
el-meqlub savage dog
(60) esh kan fi qufl el-bab ? = What was in the lock of the
door?
(61) rah marid min sudruh = He has been taken ill in his
chest
(62) kanfimedineminmedayin = There was in a certain city
as-Sin ragil khayyat faqir of China a man who was a
we-kan luh walad ismuh tailor and poor, and he
'Ala' ed-Din fe-hada 1- walad had a son called 'Ala' ad-
kan ma'kus min sigbarub Din, and this boy was
mifortmiatefrom his child-
hood
(63) ma 'am begbder (= ma = I cannot
qam baqdar, dial, of
Damascus)
(64) ba'ref beddak t'qul =^ I know you will say
(65) biye betnam bi-franga = She sleeps in a bed on the
'ala t-takbet, ana b'nam first floor, I sleep in the
bel-mrabba' 'al ard basement on the ground
(These three passages, 63-5, are from M. le commandant Malinjoud's
Testes en dialecte de Damas (Journal Asiat. cciv, p. 295, etc.). They are
taken from a consultation in which an uneducated woman of Damascus
appeals to a doctor and represent the dialect of the illiterate. Note q='
in one place and in another =gh, also observe the way in which the vowelfl
are " swallowed ".)
\
Chapter XMII
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON— VERBS WITH FINAL
WEAK
Verbs with Final Weak (Class III)
Some verbs have final -y or -w or -' (assimilating to -y)
and normally this with -a- becomes -e (= ay) before a con-
sonant or -a final ; with -i- it becomes -i, with -u- it becomes -u.
Thus:—
qarayt becomes qaret
qaray „ qara
qarayu „ qarii
aqriy „ aqri, etc.
These phonetic changes may be illustrated by qaray (for
classical qara' " read ") and mashiy = " walk ".
Perfect.
masc. fern. masc. fern.
Sing. I. qaret mishit
2. qaret qareti mishit mishiti
3. qara qarit mishi mishyit
Plur. 1. qarena mishina
2. qaretu mishitu
3. qarii mishiyu
(The only exceptional peculiarities to be noted are the 3rd
fern. sing, and the 3rd plur. of the -i- verbs.)
Imperfect.
Sing. 1. aqri amshi
2. tiqri tiqri timshi timshi
3. yiqrt tiqri, etc. yimshi timshi, etc.
150
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON
Imperative.
Sing. iqri imshi
Plur. iqrii imshu
(In 'Iraq the -a- is retained in the Imperfect aqra, taqra, etc.,
but the -i- verbs are as above.)
Special Note on the Verb ga " come "
The verb ga was originally gaya and so had weak medial
and final. We have already met this verb in its modem
derivative gab. Ga is thus conjugated : —
Perfect.
masc.
fern.
Siiig.
1.
get (git)
/ came
2.
get (git)
geti (giti)
thou earnest
3.
ga (gih)
gat
he, she came
Plur.
1.
gena
(gina)
we came
2.
getu (gitu)
you came
3.
gu
they came
Imperfect.
Sing.
1.
agi
I come
«
2.
tigi
tigi
thou earnest
m
3.
yig'i
tigi
he, she comes
J
Plur.
1.
nigi
we come
J
2.
tigu
you come
V
3.
yig^
they come
Participle.
%
Act. gay, (ge), fern, gaye, plur. gayin.
The imperative
of this verb is not ir
I use : instead
we
employ : —
Sing.
masc.
fern.
ta'ala (ta'a]
ta'ali (ta'i)
Plur.
ta'alu (ta'a]
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON
151
Notes
We have already (p. 109 above) noted that mashi
(= mashiy), the active participle of the verb mishi, is used as
an auxiHary to produce a future sense. The verb baqa =
" remain " is also often used in conjunction with other verbs
and conveys the meaning of " become, begin to ", etc., thus
baqa yidrab fih = " he began to beat him ", baqa yishrab =
" he went on drinking ", baqet mablul = " I became wet ",
etc. So ga can often imply " become, be ", as iu lamma get
aruh = " when I came to go ", i.e. " just as I was about to
go ". The verb sha is really one with medial weak (sha'),
but the final Hamza tending to become -y it rather appears
as one with both medial and final weak making sha, im'perfect
asha, tesha, etc. (with -a in the imperf. -imperative) : it occurs
most conunonly in the expression in sha allah = " if God
wiUs ".
WORD LIST
Verbs
'ata
= give
khalla
= compel
baqa
= preserve
laqa
= meet
continue
miahi
= run, go
dahak
= laugh
nesa
= forget
fada
= be free
qara
= read
ga
= come
saliifn
= preserve
gara
= run away
9alla
= pray
hada (yahdi)
= guide
shar4
= buy (see iahtara,)
hani
= profit
ta'ala, ta*a
= come
idda
= give
(imperative)
ishtara
= buy
wafi
= depart, die
khabbir
= teU
tfiffa
= cause to die
Other 1
n'ords
adi
= behold
mudabbir
= ruler
budd
= assuredly
mekan
= place
'eniyye
= sample
munta§af
= middle
gbet
= field
ra'i
= grazing
binma
= whenever
sif
= svxtrd
bayna
= short while
ta'ala
= high (of God)
kerim
= generous
tabi'
= follcncer
kbalq
= creation
talu'
= rising (of sun)
kharuf
= lamb
zaiam
= darkness
leben
= milk
152
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON
EXERCISE
(1) agat li gawab ? = Is there a letter for me ?
(2) tufi walidlmm we-khalaf = Their father died and left
luhum mal ketir them much wealth
(3) we-lamma tuffah Allah = And when God Most High
ta'ala took him
(4) ana baqet min etba 'uh = I am one of his followers
(5) mesit ismuh = I have forgotten his name
(6) mishi shuwayia we-qam = He went a httle way and
ngi
(7) lamma mishi zeyyi mil
(8) emtaget?
(9) we-kef get ?-
-get mashi
(10) huwa yigi en-neharde ?
(11) min qal lek tigi ?
(12) ma tigish en-neharde
(13) ta'ala hena
(14) la budd ma yegi
(15) hadesh ga ?
(16) ga ila Deirut fi muntasaf
as-sa'a t-talta
(17) huwa mashi fi-s-sikka
began to turn back
= When he had gone about a
mile
= When did you come ?
= And how did you come ? —
I came on foot
= Does he come to day ?
= Who told you to come ?
= Do not come to-day
= Come here
= He is sure to come
= Has anyone come ?
= He came to Deirut about
three o'clock
= He is walking along the road
(18) tufi walidi fe-sirt simsar = My father died and I became
mekanuh
(19) akhrag mandil we-fih qadr
semsem we-qal Kam yesawi
el-ardebb min da ?
a broker in his place
He took out a handkerchief
in which was a measure of
sesame and said. How
much is that worth by the
ardebb ?
(20) fe-qult luh, Maye dirhem = And I said to him, A hundred
dirhems
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON 153
(21) fe-qal li, KJiud et-terrasin = And he said to me, Gret the
we-l-keyyalin we-i'mid ila carriers and measurers
bab en-Nasr ila khan el- and go towards the Victory
Gawali Gate to the Gawah Khan
(22) a'tani es-semsem bi- = In his handkerchief he gave
mandiluh illi fib el-'eniyye me the sesame which was
the sample
(23) fe-ga kuU ardebb bi- = And each ardebb came to
mayet we-'ashrin dirhem a hundred and twenty
dirhems
(24) ga 1-kharuf ye'allim abuh = The lamb came to teach his
el-ra'i father how to graze
(Proverbial expression. el-ra'i = " grazing ", Terbal noun.)
(25) iddini 1-list = Give me the menu
(26) yini ey ? = What does it mean ?
(27) rabbuna kerim, we-huwa = Our Lord is generous,
el-mudabbir hal jrumkin he is the ruler — will he
yansi kbalquh ? perchance forget his
creatures ?
(28) el-hamdu lillah = Praise be to God
(reply) sahimkum allah = God save you
(ans. )yehdanawe-yehdakum = God guide us and you
allah
(This is said when anyone sneezes. Those who hear him make the reply,
and he who sneezed gives the answer.)
(29) abqakum allah = God preserve you
(reply) allah yebqikum = And may he preserve you
(30) rub ishtari shuwaiya qahwa = Go and buy some cofEee
(31) li-yahnik = May it profit you
(reply) yehannik allah = May God make it wholesome
for you
(Said on offering coffee to a guest, and guest's reply.)
(32) ta'ala ma'i ila el-medina = Come with me to the city
154 THE SIXTEENTH LESSON
(33) hallani amslii ma'uh = He made me walk with him
(34) ente fadi en-nehar da ? = Are you free to-day ?
(35) Allah ye'tik == God give to thee
(Form of refusal to a beggar.)
(36) warrini ... = Show me . . .
(37) warrini kharata K-sh = Show me a map of Syria
Sham
(38) ta'a ya gada* (vulg.) = Come here, my fine fellow
(39) salli 'an-nabi (='ala = Bless the Prophet
n-nabi)
(After an3'one has improperly expressed admiration for anything.)
(reply) allahum salli 'aleh = God bless him
(Strictly salla=" prayer ", here no doubt " blessing ".)
(40) ma sha' allah = (It is) what God wills
(The more proper way of expressing admiration of anything seen.)
(41) sallu (salli) 'an-nabi = Bless the Prophet
(Invitation by bystander to check those who are in angry dispute.)
or es-sala 'an-nabi = Blessing on the Prophet
(Reply as above.)
(42) ba'd ma bisalli == After he had said his prayers
(43) baqet hayna fi Masr = I stayed a short time in
Egypt
(44) er-rasul allah sallat Allah = The Apostle of God, may the
'aleh we-salam the blessing of God be on
him and peace
(This is the proper way of making reference to Muhammad. If the
speaker does not add the invocation some bystander usually repeats it in
a low voice.)
(45) yeminek tigi = You can come
(46) ente gay min ey ? = Where are you coming from?
(47) adini git = Behold, I have come
(48) ga fi s-sabah = He came in the morning
(49) ga we-b-iduh sif = He came with a sword in his
hand
THE SIXTEENTH LESSON 155
(50) get ma' talu* esh-shems = I came at simrise
(51) kan yimslii fi B-sikka fi = He was going along the road
zalam el-lel fe-khaf in the darkness of the
shuwajya night and he was rather
frightened
(52) kutt am&hi li-l-ghet beta'i = I was going to my field and
we-lamma ashuf el-harami when I saw the thief I ran
fegiret mumuh away from him
(53) ta'rif teqra ? — na'am, ya = Are you able to read? — Yes,
khawage (khcge) sir
(54) fi ey kitab ente teqra = What book are you reading
dilwaqt (el-an) ? now ?
(55) Ana aqra el-an fi kitab = I am reading now the
" esh-Shawqiyat " Shawkiyat
(56) tayyib, Shawqi Bey huwa = Good, Shawki Bey is an
sha'ir tayyib qawi, we excellent poet, but in my
lakin 'ala fikri el-kitab da opinion that book is too
sa'ab 'alek difficult for you
(57) hinma ana iisal ila Misr = When I go to Cairo I will
arsil lek kitab kuwayyis send you a good book
(58) kanet betidhak 'ala ey ? = What was she laughing at ?
(59) slierit labm baqar we- = I bought beef and milk in the
leben fi s-suq market
(60) warrini kef ash nekhar- = Show me how we can get
reghum min hena them out of here
(61) iza telaqit ma' *Ali = If you meet Ah tell him to
khabbinih yegini come to me
(62) qui luh yegi halan = Tell him to come soon
(63) rah yegi bukra = He will come to-morrow
(64) eddini shuwaiya ziyade = Give me a little of the same
(65) we-fi tani yom ga keman = And the next day he came
again
(66) ta'al bass = Ck>me, that will do
Chapter XIX
THE SEVENTEENTH LESSON— VERBS WITH
REPEATED MEDIAL: MODERN TENSE FORMS
Verbs of Type harr " be hot "
Verbs in which the second and third consonants of the
root are the same show certain contractions. Thus : —
Perfect. Imperfect. Imperative.
Sing. 1. harret ahirr
2. masc. harret tehirr
fem. harreti tehirri
3. masc. harr yehirr
fem. harrit tehirr
Plur. 1. harrena nehirr
2. harretu tehirru
3. harru yehirru
It will be perceived that verbs of this kind imitate those
with final weak and so make a kind of compensation for the
loss of a vowel between the doubled consonants.
hin
hirri
hirru
MG.
'add (i)
= count
gall
= avert
habb (i)
= like, love
tagg
= go on pity
hall
= descend
harr
= be hot
khass
= concern
lamm
= pick up
madd
= stretch out
sahh
= awake
shaqq
= visit (medical, etc.)
THE SEVENTEENTH LESSON
157
zann (n)
= suppose
batu
= stomach
fiimm
= mouth (lit.)
hanaq
= „ (mod.)
ghata
= cover
girdon
= field mouse
gabih
= untrustworthy
sadiq
= honourable, upright
sani' (sunna') = craftsman
EXERCISE
(1) ballet el-barke bi-qudumek = Blessing descended at your
approach
May God bless you
If he hkes
Would you hke a httle of
this fowl ?
May God avert (it) (from)
you (after meutioning any
disaster, etc.)
What would you hke to eat ?
In the middle of the night
the boy awoke from sleep
and said, I am thirsty,
and there was a jug of
water by him and he
drank of the water. But
that jug was without a
cover, and a little field
mouse had gone down
into its mouth and when
the boy drank from that
jug this field mouse went
down into his stomach
(2) {reply) allah ynbarak fik
(3) ida (iza) kan yehibb
(4) tebibb sbuwaiyya min el-
farakb da ?
(5) yegallek allah
(6) esh tehibb takul ?
(7) fi muss min el-lel sahh el-
walad min num we-qal Ana
*etshan, we-kan ibriq el-
moya 'anduh we-shirib min
el-moya, we-lakin el-ibriq
dak huwa min gher ghata
we-nizil fi fummuh girdon
saghir we-lamma el-walad
shirib min el-ibriq dak nizil
el-girdon da fi batnuh
158 THE SEVENTEENTH LESSON
(8) hasib, ma tebukhkliimsh bi- = Look out — do not splash me
1-moya with the water
(9) tehibb el-khubz (-esh) ? = Would you like some bread ?
(10) el-muslimin yebiggu fi = MusUms make the pilgrimage
sbahr el-Higga in the month of el-Higga
(11) midd idek we-limmiha min = Put out your hand and take
'ala l-ar(J it up from the ground
(12) zannetuh ragil sadiq = I supposed him an upright
man
(13) ma kuntisb azunnek ragil = I did not think you were such
qabih kide an untrustworthy man
(14) huwa zannek sani* maliir = He thought you a skilful
craftsman
(15) zannetna sunna' mabirin ? = Did you suppose us to be
skilled craftsmen 1
(16) da ma yekbessenash = That does not concern us
(17) sert tisbeqq 'aliye ('aliye = You used to visit me
= *aleya)
The Verb — Supplementary, Modern Tense Forms
We now turn to the tense formations which have been
developed in modern Arabic, some of them more or less the
fictions of the educated who have been trying (mistakenly)
to press Arabic into the tense scheme which has been evolved
in the Indo-European languages and which is really not
adapted to Arabic. Still, however, it has a certain vogue and
can be employed in the expression of time, so should not be
altogether ignored.
(i) Pluperfect.
The pluperfect " I had written ", etc., can be expressed
by using the perfect of kan with the perfect of another verb,
thus : —
!
I
THE SE\TENTEENTH LESSON 159
kimt ketebt = / had written
kan keteb = he had written
kanet ketebet = she had written
kiinna ketebna —■ we liad written, etc.
(ii) The Imperfect.
The European imperfect " I was writing ", etc., can be
expressed —
(a) By using the perfect of kan with the imperfect of another
verb —
kimt akteb = / was loriting
kan yekteb = he was writing, etc.
(6) By using the perfect of kan with the active participle —
kimt katib = / ivas writing
kan katib = he was writing
kanet katibe = she was writing
kunna katibin = we were rvriting, etc.
(c) By tlie perfect of baqa with the imperfect of another
verb —
baqa yesma* = he was hearing
baqet asma' = / was hearing, etc.
{d) By the perfect of sar with the imperfect of another
verb —
sar yesma' = he was hearing, etc.
(iii) The Present.
The present sense can be conveyed by : —
(a) The use of the active participle, as —
huwa katib — he is writing
hiya katibe = she is writing, etc.
(6) The use of 'ammal, 'ammale, 'ammalin with the
imperfect of another verb, thus —
'ammal asma' = I am hearing, etc. (see p. 108 above)
160 THE SEVENTEENTH LESSON
(iv) The Future.
The future sense can be expressed by —
(a) The use of the imperfect of kan with the perfect of
another verb, thus —
akun ketebt = / shall ivrite
yekun keteb = he will write
tekun ketebet = she will write, etc.
(6) The use of bidd- with personal suffix and the imperfect —
biddi asma' — I shall hear, etc. (feee p. 109 above)
(c) The use of the participle rayih with the imperfect, as —
ana rayih asma' = I am going to hear, etc. (see p. 109 above)
{d) In " western " Arabic it is also possible to use the
participle mashi in the same way, thus —
mashi yesma' = he will hear
mashiye tesma' = she is going to hear, etc.
EXERCISE
1) kanet raga'et qable ghurub = She had come before the
esh-shems sunset
2) kanu khadu felus min et- = They had taken money from
tuggar dol those merchants
3) ehna kunna kharagna qabl = We had gone out before that
es-sa'a di hour
4) kan galis bona 'and abuna = He was sitting there by the
side of our father
5) ana kunt sakin taht min = I was hving under (he
en-nazir inspector
6) esh rayih te'mal dilwaqt ? = What are you going to do
now ?
7) rayih aq'ud we-ashrab = I am going to sit down and
dukhkhan smoke
THE SEVENTEENTH LESSON IGl
(8) ana mashi aqiid hena ma' = I am going to sit here with
ei-ustad the professor
(Note: U9tad= professor, like French "patron" for the keeper of a
restaurant, etc.)
(9) akun ketebt gawab qable = I shall write a letter before
ma akhrug I go out
(10) ente biddek tergi' ila 1- = You will come back to this
beled di we-hna biddena country again and we shall
neshufektani see you once more
(11) kef biddi a'mal ? = What shall I do ?
(12) biddena natla' ila barra = We must go away
(13) baqa yesma' kalam el- = He was listening to the words
ustad of the professor
Chapter XX
THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON— USE OF THE
PARTICLES
We have already met with and used most of the commoner
particles, but it will be well now to make a summary of those in
general use. These particles are of use only in sentences which
contain either nouns or verbs, or both, though it must be
understood that eith er of these may be implied and not expressed.
Thus, if I ask " who has come ? " the answer may be either
"Zayd has come ", or " Zayd " alone, and this latter is a
complete sentence, because " has come " is implied from the
preceding question : so " has Zayd come in ? " receives a
complete answer from the verb " he has come in " where the
(implied) pronoun refers to Zayd ; it might even receive an
answer by the particle " yes " or " no ", though in fact the
former means " assuredly " followed by the implied " he has
come in ", whilst la = " no " is simply the classical negative
" not" (still used in South Arabia) followed by the implied verb.
The fact remains that the particles are only used as accessory to |
nouns and verbs, and they serve to connect words with words
or sentences with sentences. Arabic does not possess the
mechanical system of punctuation recently developed in
written English and the absence of this artificial apparatus
makes it the more necessary to connect statements with
suitable particles. Thus, we may say written Arabic has to
adhere more nearly to the spoken language, and this is true
even of the classical speech, because the arrangement and
connection of phrases cannot be camouflaged, as in English,
by a system of dots and dashes.
\
THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON
163
The more important particles are of two kinds (i) the
prepositions, which connect nouns or verbs with nouns
(including noun sentences), some of these prepositions being
particles proper, others actual nouns used as prepositions,
and (ii) conjunctions which connect nouns with nouns, verbs
with verbs, or sentences with sentences.
(i) Prepositions proper.
*ala, 'ale- = upon, against, by
= he passed by me
fat 'aleya
*ala hasab
'ala shan, 'ashan (Eg.
'ala fikri
ma 'alesh
li haqq 'alek
*an, 'ann- =from, by
huwa wakil 'annuh
sa'al 'an-
= according to . . .
= because of . . ., in order to
= according to my opinion
= no matter
= / have a claim against you
= he is his agent
= to enquire about
'and = with, in possession of (see p. 49 above)
kam 'andek ?
'andek !
'andek akhbar ?
bi- = by, at, in, with
er-ragil illi galis
ganbi
ragil bi-daqn
ahsan bi-ketir
bi-l-lel
= what's the time by you ?
= stop !
= Aove you any news ?
bi-= the mxin sitting at my side
= a man with a beard
= much better
= by night
(bi- may thus be used with any noun of time, but it
should not be used with a noun of place, unless the
place is vague, it might be used for " in the country "
but ought not to be used for " in Cairo ".)
164 THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON
bi-llah = hy God
(The literary form is wa-llah, the preposition wa-
thus used is rare and probably unknown to the un-
lettered.)
fi = in with nouns of place or time
hatta, hadd (Eg.) = wp to, until
ila, ile- = to, towards
ke-, ki- (orig. ka-) = like, ki-da (kiza) = thus
li- = to (owner, recipient, etc.) (see p. 50 above)
gib li = give me
ma' = with (see p. 50 above)
ma'ek el-haqq = you are right
min, minn- =^from
sa'a min dahab = a watch of gold
hiiwa minnina = he is one of our party
tagir min et-tiggar = a certain merchant
min zaman = for a long time past
wasalni min el-khawage . . . = received of Mr. . . .
mata = until (very rare) (see below. It is now found before
verbal sentences and so has become a quasi-conjunction.)
(ii) Nouns Used as Prepositions.
ba'd = after
ba'di da = after this
ben = between
beni we-benu = between him and me
ben el-benen (dual) = middling
foq = above
gher = without (as negative, see p. 86 above)
khalf = behind
misl (mitl) = like (very rare in colloquial)
qabl = before
ga qabl el-waqt illi . . .— he cam£. before (followed by
verbal sentence)
THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON 165
qadd = up to
taht = under
wara = hehind
zey (Eg.) = like
ezey = how 1
ezeyek ? = how are you ?
A sentence may be equivalent to a noun, thus " fasting is
good for you " = " that you fast is good ". Such sentences
are often introduced by inn = " indeed ", or ma = " which "
(in apposition to the sentence). From this we get the con-
necting particles —
(a) with inn. gher inn = unless
'ala inn = that
le-inn = in order that or simply that
ma* inn = altlwugh
(6) ma. ba'd ma = after {that)
qable ma = before {thai)
'ashan ma (*ala shan ma) (Eg.) =
because
(c) So hatta = until
mata( with perfect) = untU (not very common)
Conjunctions
we-, wa-, wi- = " and," connecting words or sentences,
fe-, fa- = " and," connecting sentences with the implication
that the second results from or foUows after the first.
lakin, we-lakin = " but," may take the personal sufl&xes,
we-lakinni = " but I . . ."
amma, we-amma = " but."
aw, 6 = " or."
iza, iza kan (as though one word) = " if."
in = " if."
166 THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON
16, " law" (we-law) = "if " (implying that the condition did not
occur, e.g. " if he had come I would have gone out ").
lamma = " when,"
ilia = " unless," " except," ilia inn (followed by sentence) =
" unless . . ."
madam = " inasmuch as."
hatta = " until."
ya . . , y . . . = " either . . . or . . ."
wala . . . wala . . . = " neither . . . nor . . ."
The conjunction we- may be used with iyya (we-iyya,
'Iraq wiya) in the sense of " with ", as ruh we-iyyah = " go
with him," khubz wiya lahm = " bread with meat " ('Iraq).
Really this is the conjunction followed by the accusative
case (the " accusative of accompaniment " of the
grammarians) and appears in the classical language in such
constructions as : —
siri we-t-tariq musri'e = March along the road with haste
( = march and the road hastening)
It is not permitted to omit the conjunctions in a series and
express the last only, as is done in English, thus " the dog,
the ass, and the horse " = el-kelb we-1-himar we-1-hisan.
The conjimction we- allows us to introduce a descriptive
of the subject or object of a verb, as " I saw him as I was
going along the road " = shuftuh we-ana rayih fi s-sikka
(= " I saw him and I was going in the road ").
Conditional Sentences
In conditional sentences the " if " clause is introduced by
iza, iza kan, or in, or by 16, law, or in if the supposition is
improbable or is known not to have happened, and inn,
le-inn may be joined to the 16, law. In the literary language
the consequence is often introduced by fe-, but this is not
common in the colloquial.
[
THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON 167
iza kunt qasid tekteb li- = // you mean to write abroad
belad barran
iza kunt ruht = If you had gone
iza kan yigi =If}ie comes
iza. kunte minnek "^U ^ ^^^ 2/^^
Sentences Expressing Cause and Purpose
As abeady noted it is possible to use a second verb without
a connecting particle (cf. p. 108 above), and if the first verb
expresses ability, intention, etc., the second naturally intro-
duces the sentence expressing purpose, etc., but very often
the purpose is introduced by the preposition li- = " to, for "
which thus used governs a sentence instead of a noun.
Notes
" about." The English " about " sometimes means
(i) "nearly," as "he came to the mosque about three
o'clock " = ga ila el-gami' fi s-sa'a t-talit taqriban (" he
came to the mosque at three o'clock nearly") ; (ii) "con-
cerning," as istafhim 'alek = " he enquired about you
(concerning you) " ; (iii) " about to ... " implies the
future tense, i.e. " going to . . ." (see p. 109 above).
" above." Normally foq, as es-sath foq ed-dar = " the roof
is above the house " ; but (i) " above all " = qadam,
(ii) " over and above " = we-*alawe *ala da, whilst
(iii) " above " often means " more than " and is expressed
by the comparative (see p. 91) with min.
** at." Place or time, bi- (not for definitely named places)
and fi. E.g. sikit bi-wahde el-qiriy el-qaribe min el-
Mansura = " he lives in one of the villages near Mansura."
(i) " at " sometimes denotes cause, as " he was astonished
at it " = yit'igib minnuh ; (ii) " towards " as "he
t looked at me " = nazar ileya ; (iii) " with," as " I came
at sunrise " = get ma' talu' esh-shems ; (iv) " before,"
168 THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON
as " who is at the door ? " = min 'ala 1-bab ? (v) " at
once " = dilwaqt.
" by." Instrument, time, or place. " By night " = bi-l-lel
(= in the night), " he travelled by steamer " = safir fi
1-babur (=in the steamer), "I passed by a city" =
marret bi-medine. The arithmetical " by " is usually
fi = " in ", as ralate fi khamse = " three (multiplied) by
five," da talate amtar fi arb'a = " that is three metres
by four."
" for " sometimes means " to ", i.e. the person who is to
receive, sometimes "on account of ", as el-hamdu li-llah
'ala da = " praise to God for this."
" to," *' towards " = ila, so " until ", etc. ; i.e. in measure
of space or time, thus baqet hona min awwal esh-shahr
ila mumtasafe = " I stayed there from the first to the
middle of the month." " to " sometimes does not
denote actual place or time and then often corresponds
to 'ala, as izimuh 'ala 1-ghada = " invite him to dinner."
In English " to " often introduces the infinitive which
corresponds with the subordinate verb in Arabic, thus
" I am not able to hear " = " I am not able (that) I hear ".
For " to ", expressing purpose, see ma aqdirsh asma*
above (p. 108).
" from," normally min = " from ", relating to time or place,
as saqatet min idi = " it fell from my hand," min yom
ila yom = " from day to day." Sometimes another
preposition is implied, as "he dismounted from his
horse " = " . . . from upon his horse," nizil min 'ala
farasuh. Cause and material are also denoted by min,
as sa'a min dahab — " & watch (made) from gold," but
in denoting material the preposition is not necessary, the
noun of material can be in apposition (this is true of all
the Semitic languages). Note, khadt el-'ilm 'anuh =
" I acquired knowledge from him."
THE EIGHTEENTH LESSON 169
" in." Either bi- or fi (see " at " above). " In front of " =
amam, bidla min = " instead of . . ." leqet minnuli
asad = " I found in him a lion."
"of." Material (see " from ") as libasuh min el-harir = "his
garment is of silk." cause (also "from") huwa mat -min
el-kolira = " he died of cholera." amsekuh = " they
laid hold of him."
" on," in such as " put on " the " on " is merely due to English
idiom, thus Ubas sitrak = " put on your coat " ; some-
times the " on " suggests the Arabic participle as qabeltuh
we-ana dahib ila bet = " I met him on my way home "
(of. p. 117) ; we-bi-1-guml'e = " on the whole," safar
li-yomuh = " he set out on that very day."
" with," instnmient bi- as ketebti bi-qalam = " I wrote with
a pen," " in company with " = ma* (cf. p. 50), dahab
bi-l-lel = " he went away with the night."
I
Appendk I
CONVERSATION
(i) Ordinary Courtesies
A. salam 'alekum = Peace be on yon
B. we-'alekum salam = And on you be peace
{Muslims only)
A. neharlmin sa'id = May our day be prosperous
B. neharkiim sa'id we- = May your day be prosperous
mubarek and blessed
A. kef halkum ? = How is your health {gazing
earnestly at the visitor)
B. el-hamdu li-llah = Praise be to God
A. awhashtena = You have made us lonely
{not having seen visitor for
long)
B. Allah ma yuhishek = May God never let you !eel
lonely
A. {presenting cup of coffee, = Be pleased
first taking sip himself
to show that it contains
nothing evil) itfaddal
B. {taking the cup) qahwa = May coffee (be found) for
dayiman ever (in your house)
A. damet hayatek = May your vigour continue
A. {after a pause) = You have honoured us
tesharraftena
B. Allah yahfazek = May God preserve you
(The visitor is careful to sit so that the sole of his foot
does not face any of the company. An inferior in the presence
172 APPENDIX I
of his superior conceals his hands in his sleeves — be careful
not to do this in ordinary intercourse. Express no admiration
of anything seen as this is the same as asking for it to be given
you, nor of any person, child, etc., present — a father would
be deeply distressed at hearing any favourable comment
on his son and you would be considered responsible for any
evil that happened to him. At most say " It is as God wills ".
If you state what you intend to do in the future be careful to
add in sha'Allah = " if God wills.")
At the end of a visit.
B. khatirek or 'an iznek = By your leave
A. ma'a (ma') s-selame or = (Go) in peace
awaqatek sa'ide May your times be pros-
perous
To a sick man.
ma *alek ilia l-'afiye in sha' = May there be for thee nothing
allah. — (Reply.) Allah, ye' aiik but health if God will. —
God give thee health
To one who has recovered from illness.
el-hamdu li-Uah 'ala l-*afiye. == Praise be to God for recovery
(Reply.) allah ye'afik of health
When anyone sneezes.
subhan Allah or el-hamdu li- = Praised be God. — God direct
llah. — (^e^Z?/.) Allah yahdini me and you
we-yahdikum
After a bath or visit to the harher.
na'iman. — (Reply.) Allah yen = Good favour. — God send
*im 'alek good favour on you
APPENDIX I 173
To one starting on a journey.
tariq es-selame. — (Reply.) = A journey o! peace. — God
Allah yesellinek give you peace
On return from a journey.
selamat, hamdu li-llah *ala == Greetings. Praise to God for
s-salamat. — (Reply.) Allah safety. — God save you
yesallimek
Beggars.
ya muhannin, ya rabb. or li- = 0 compassionate, 0 Lord. —
Hah ya muhsinin or ya ma To Grod, 0 beneficent. — 0
ente kerim, ya rabb., etc. how generous art thou, 0
(Reply to one who begs.) Lord. — God open upon
aUah yeftah 'alek or Allah thee. — God give to thee. —
ya'tik or kattar Allah God increase thy favours
khayrek, etc.
At a feast.
'id mubarek 'alek = May the feast be blessed to
you
(Reply.) 'alek abrak el-a'yad = The blessings of festivals for
you
At New Year.
kulli sene we-nte salim = Every year you in health
(Reply.) we-nte salim = And you in health
(ii) At a Hotel or Restauraijt
lokanda fen ? = Where is there a hotel ?
di ahsan lokanda fi 1-beled ? = Is this the best hotel in the
town?
min sahib el-lokanda di ? = Who is the landlord of this
hotel?
174 APPENDIX I
ya sahib, fih oda ne^ife ? = Landlord, have you a clean
room?
bi-kam el-6da di ? = How much is this room ?
da ghali, khud khamast'asher = That is too dear, take
qirsh fifteen piastres,
'andukumshe hadir li-ghada ? = Have you anything ready for
dinner?
ya walad, kam ? — Waiter, how much to pay?
el-lista fen ? = Where is the menu ?
da ghali, ente ghaltan = That is too much, you have
made a mistake.
odati fen ? = Where is my room ?
mustorah fen ? = Where is the W.C. ?
(iii) In a Shop
Shopkeeper, marhaban bikum, = Welcome, sir, what do you
ya khawage, esh tinzur ? desire ?
Customer, 'andukum sigagid ? = Have you any carpets ?
S. *andi sigagid 'aliye, itfaddal = I have carpets of the best
we-asMfha quahty, please sit down
and I will show them
C. ana 'awiz es-siggade di =1 would like this carpet
S. tayyib, ya sidi, di 'aliye = Very well, sir, that is one of
ketir excellent quahty
C. qui li nehaytu 'ala akbir = Tell me what is your lowest
teman price
S. ifsil zeye ma ente 'awiz = Offer whatever you feel dis-
posed
C. ente qui li qable tamanba = You say its price first
S. beni we-ben hadretek = As between me and your
tamanba 'ashrin gin eh honour its price will be
bass twenty pounds, no more
C. ana addi lek had'asher = I would give you eleven
APPENDIX I 175
S. la, yiftah Allah = No, God will give me my
living
C. tayyib, had'asher we-nuss = Very well, eleven and a half
S. ytTzuq Allah = Let God sustain me
C. ma yahteg, akhir el-kelam = No matter. My final word
addi lek etn'asher, ide is that I will give thee
kunt terid khud el-feliis, twelve. If thou wilt take
in kan ma terid fe-wahid the money ; if not, some
gherek yus'ufni bi-hageti other than thee will help
me in my affair
S. *ala khatirek, ya tera' = At your pleasure. May it be
tehsin 'amrek that your business goes
prosperously
C. lesh te'mal ma'i kida ? — = Why act with me thus ? —
khallesek etn'asher we- Would twelve and a half
nuss ? satisfy thee ?
S. ya akhi, ma teq'udshe = My brother, do not continue
tinaki£ni:balashmenakfa. to worry me. Enough of
Da mush shira di illi ente annoyance. That is not the
tishtirih way for you to do business
C. khallesek telat'asher ? = Would thirteen satisfy thee ?
S. 'ase turid hidiya minni = Perhaps you expect a present
from me
C. la, kef da hidiya ? — = No, how can it be a present ?
khallesek telat'asher we- — Would thirteen and a
nuss ? half satisfy ?
S. tayyib, aqul ya ma yi' = All right. I will say, How
awwad. Allah yikassibek great is he who consoles,
hat el-felus. khasran May God give thee profit.
kasban, nihaitu hadihna. Hand over the money ;
bi'na we-s-selam loss or gaia in what we
have sold, that is the end
of the matter
176 APPENDIX I
(iv) Military
imshi li-qudam. 'andek = March. Halt
li-qudam. inzil = Forward. Dismount
sallim nefsek. irmi silahek = Surrender. Lay down your
arms
ma takhafush, etna 'asakir = Do not be afraid, we are
inkelizi English soldiers
shekh el-beled fen ? = Where is the head man of the
village
hatuh Lena = Bring him here
'andukum min el-khel kam = How many horses have you ?
ras ?
nedfa' lek neqdiye li-l-kuU = I will pay cash for every-
thing
in ma gama'tush el-kull fi = If you do not collect every-
sa'aten arsil lekmn thing in two hours I will
'asakari send my soldiers
qui bi-1-haqq, ma tikdibsh = Speak the truth, tell no lies
we-ma takhfish el-haga fa- = And do not hide anything or
yesir sharra lukum it will be the worse for you
akhad el-kull we-addi lek bih = I will take everything and
wasl give you a receipt
ma takhafsh, lek el-felus bala = Do not be afraid, you will be
shakk paid without fail
ente mabzum ? = Are you a deserter ?
emta f arart ? = When did you escape ?
min en farart ? = Where did you escape from ?
el-qarawTil fen ? = Where are the outposts ?
Appendix II
THE CALL TO PRAYER
Allah akbar = Grod is greatest
(Twice repeated in Malikite rite in Upper Egypt and Africa
generally, except Lower Egypt ; in other rites four times
repeated.)
ashhad an la ilah ilia -llah = I testify that there is no god
we-Muhammad rasul Allah save God and that Muham-
{twice) mad is the apostle of God
hayy ila s-salat, hayy ila 1- = Up to prayer, up to salvation
felah (tivice)
es-salat kher min en-num = Prayer is better than sleep
(twice)
AUah akbar = God is greatest {twice)
la -llah ilia -Hah = There is no god but God
(once)
Appendix III
SORATU L-FlTIHAH
(In colloquial Arabic we are not, of course, concerned with
the classical forms of literature, still less with theology,
which for the most part the foreigner will be wise to leave
alone unless some Muslim starts the subject. Still it will not
be inappropriate to take this one passage, the first sura or
section of the Qur'an which is used by Muslims very much
as the Lord's Prayer is used by Christians and will often be
seen used in ornamental inscriptions : it is recited together
by two merchants when they have concluded a bargain and
figures prominently on many other occasions, besides which
phrases from it will be recognized as appearing in various
salutations, etc. The Arabic is, of course, classical in form
and hardly intelligible to the average uneducated fellah, so
in the notes various grammatical remarks and rules appear
which will be unfamiliar to the learner.)
(The heading " Suratu 1-Fatihah " means " section of the
opening ", the final -u in Suratu is the classical nominative
termination : the -at preceding will be recognized as the
feminine termination used before the genitive (cf. sect. 26),
the word appears in the Dictionary as Sura.)
(1) Bismi-Uahi r-Rahmani r- — In the name of God the Com-
Rahim passionate, the Merciful
bi- = " in," then -(i)sm = " name " with -i added for the
classical genitive which has to follow the preposition.
r-Rahman — " the Compassionate," the article assimilated
to the following R, and the -i added as mark of the
genitive ; r-Rahim = " the Merciful," again the article
APPENDIX III 179
assimilated, but this time no added -i because the final short
vowels for case or mood are dropped at the pause which ends
a verse. (Muslims of the orthodox type do not have pictures
in their houses and you will often see this verse, sometimes
in a peasant's hut beautifully written in white chalk on
the mud waU. The verse is commonly used as an exclamation
on seeing anjrthing extraordinary, and as an invocation before
commencing any undertaking.)
(2) Al-hamdu li-llahi Rabbi = Praise to God, Lord of the
l-'alamin worlds
hamd = " praise," with the nominative ending -u ; li-Uahi =
" to God," with genitive -i after the preposition ; Rabbi =
" Lord " with gen. -i to agree with -llahi ; l-'alamin = " of
the worlds " genitive plural (strong).
(3) 'ar-Rahmani r-Rahim = The comjxissionate, the merciful
Both genitive; to agree with the -llahi preceding, but gen. -i
not with the second as it comes at the pause which ends
the verse.
(4) MaliM yomi d-din = King of the day of judgment
Maliki, gen. with -i still in agreement with -llahi ; yomi gen.,
governed by Maliki, d-din gen. in idafat (see p. 82), but the
-i omitted at pause.
(5) 'lyyaka nabudu wa-'iyyaka = Thee do loe worship and
nasta'in thee do we ask for help
Instead of using the pronominal suffix in the usual way
(p. 40) the emphatic particle 'iyya- with the suffixed pronoun
is placed in front of the verb, this conveys exceptional
emphasis, na'budu = " we worship," verb 'abad, hence
'abdullah = " slave of God," the -u at the end of the verb
is the classical termination of the indicative mood.
*
180 APPENDIX III
wa-'iyyaka nasta'in = " and thee do we ask for help,"
(i)st = Ct. form of the verb 'an (medial w, i.e. root *wn),
but indicative -u not added at the end of a verse : in classical
Arabic both the short vowels for the cases of nouns and those
for the moods of verbs are dropped in " pause ", i.e. at a
full stop.
(6) ihdina s-sirata 1-mustaqim
ihdina = " guide us " ; s-sirata-1-mustaqim = " (in) the way
of the upright."
(7) sirata-lladhina 'an'amta 'alayhim ghayri 1-maghglubi
'alayhim wa-la (J-dallin
sirata-lladhina = " the way of those who," (a)lladhina is the
full classical form of the relative which colloquial speech
shortens to illi. 'an'amta 'alayhim = " thou hast bestowed on
them," class, -ta in 2nd sing, of perfect where colloquial has -t.
" Those who thou hast bestowed on them " = " those on
whom thou hast bestowed." In class, speech -hum becomes
-him by assimilation to the preceding -y-. ghayri l-maghglubi
'alayhim = " not (those who have) wrath upon them " ;
lit. " other than those ..." (ghayr as negative), wa-la =
" nor," la in class. Arabic is used simply for " not ", as it
still is in Oman and other southern parts but in Egypt, Syria,
etc., it survives only as " no ". d-(Jallin = " (those who) go
astray ".
Appendix IV
THE ALGERIAN DIALECT
{Notes for tourists, etc., in Algeria, Morocco, etc.)
The Arabic of the West (Maghrabi, i.e. Algeria, Morocco,
etc.) is not a different language, but has some dialectal
peculiarities which at first make it appear very different
from the Arabic of Egypt and Syria but on closer scrutiny
simply show certain clearly defined tendencies which can
be mastered without much difl&culty.
The key to these differences is the accent. In Egypt,
Syria, and to a great extent in 'Iraq, the accent of stress
recedes from the end of the word until it falls upon a long
vowel or upon a short followed by two consonants, thus : —
ahmar, beled, keteb,
as no syllable has a long vowel or double closure the accent
recedes to the first syllable,
darabt, darabtu, darabu, darabet, gedid
in the first two of these the accent goes back until it rests
upon a short followed by two consonants, in the third it goes
back without finding a double closure or long (as the final
long is not counted), and so in the fourth word : in the last
the -i- is long so the accent goes back no further.
The older accent was free and was not controlled by long
vowels or double closure and this older usage survives in the
western Arabic, thus beled, ket^b, etc., and the tendency is
to drop or slur over the short vowel preceding the accent,
182 APPENDIX IV
and so we get Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan qtel, kt6b,
bl6d, etc., for qetel, keteb, beled. So ahmar becomes hmdr,
ahad becomes had (cf. " eleven " = had'asher on p. 73),
akal becomes kal and akhad becomes khad (p. 132), etc.
That this change has taken place in the colloquial of
Egypt, Syria, etc., as in those instances just noted, shows
that there also the accent once was free as in Maghrabi ;
it would have been impossible to drop the accented syllable.
It is this difference of accent, which at first makes the western
Arabic seem so strange, but bearing in mind (i) that the accent
is free and varies in position, often getting on the last syllable,
and (ii) that a short vowel before the accent is generally
hurried over, very often omitted altogether, we find that this
western speech offers no serious difficulties. The following
examples will indicate the characteristic differences : —
Verb. Perfect.
ktibt (ktibit)
= / wrote, thou didst write
ktibti
^ thou (fem.) . , .
ktib
= he wrote
ktibna
= we wrote
ktibtu
= you wrote
kitbu
= they wrote
Imperfect, both positions of accent are in use, thus either-
yiktib or yiktib,
tiktib tiktib,
tiktebi t'kitebi (2nd fem. sing.)
Pronoun ana or and,
6nta or entd, etc.
sbah el-khair = Good morning
t'bark Allah = Bless God
el-qalil min el-habib katir = Little from a friend is much
1
APPENDIX IV 183
el-*abd yam m el wa-r-rabb = The slave flans, and the Lord
ikimmel carries out (cf. p. 130)
kull shi fi yad Allah = Everything is in God's hands
(cf. p. 90)
The Kabyle, Rif mountaineers, etc., are Berbers and speak
the Berber language, which is distinct from Arabic. In some
districts (e.g. Tlemsen in Algeria) where there is contact
with the Berbers very often t (th) is pronounced like ts, thus
k'tsebts " I wrote "(= ketebt), k'tseb " he wrote ", eto., but
these peculiarities are hardly likely to be met with by the
ordinary traveller.
VOCABULARY
Nouns
Some of the rarer words which occur in the examples are
not included here. The notes (E), (S), (I) denote words
peculiar to the dialects of Egypt, Syria, or 'Iraq respectively.
^Vhen alternative forms difEer only in the dental aspirate dh,
or th, the aspirated form is that used in 'Iraq, the non-aspirate
that in Sjrria and Egypt. The sign (*) denotes words in -a,
-e, which make -at, -et before a suffix, etc. (Cf. p. 41 above.)
In all cases the q commonly appears as ' in Lower Egypt, etc.,
and g in 'Iraq and Upper Egypt. The forms in parentheses
are the plurals.
Mutton
= WTldu*
bcurber
= hallaq
account
= bisab (-at)
barley
= shi'ir
address
= 'anwin
b<uin
= tisht (teshnt)
afternoon
= 'a§r
basket
= miqtaf
age
= 'umr
bat
= wetat (watawit)
agent
= wakil
bath
= hammam
air
= hawa
beans
= ful
almond
r= goz
beard
= daqn (fern.)
animal
= tuwan (-at)
bed
= farsh
ant
= namle* (naml)
bee
= nable* (naW)
apostle
= rasul (rosol). The
beetle
= khunfuse*
proper title for
(khunfus)
Muhammad ia
bird (large)
tera* (ter) ; (small)
rasul allah =
'a§fure* ('a^fur)
" Apostle of
blanket
= biram (Hm'ma)
God"
blessing
= varke*
apricot
= mishmish
blood
= damm
arrival
= wi^ul, wu?ul
book
= kitab (kutub)
ass
= himar (hemir)
boot
= gazma* (gizam)
automobile
= otomobil
box
= §anduq
bag
= shanta* (shonat)
boy
= walad (wilad
baker
= khabbaz
awlad)
banana
= moze* (moz)
bread
= 'esh (E.) ; khubz
bank (for
breakfast
= futur
money)
= bank (benuk)
bride
= 'aruse* ('arayes)
186
VOCABULARY
= 'aris (arayes)
= qantara*
= simsar
= akh, akhu-
(ekhwa, ikhwan)
= zer-ward
= gamuse* (gamus)
= baqqa*
= tor, thor (tiran)
= himl, liuml
= shughl
= 'arba*
= koronb
= 'egl ('egul)
= gemel (gimal)
= mu'asker
= tir'a (tera')
= naggar
= bammal
= qutta* (-at)
= katalog
= qarnabit
= kursi
= shofer
= shakk
= katkut (katakit)
= tifl (atfal)
= kutera*
= kinisa*
= sigara*
= medina*
bridegroom
bridge
broker
brother
bud
buffalo
bug
bull
burden
business
cab
cabbage
calf
camel
camp
canal
carpenter
carrier
cat
catalogue
cauliflower
chair
chauffeur
cheqiie
chicken
child
cholera
church
cigarette
city
class
doud = ghem (gheyum)
clothes (see garment)
coffee (drink) qahwa ; (berry) bunn
coin — 'umla*
colic = maghg
colour — lawn, Ion (ilwan)
comb = mesht (amshat)
condition = bal
conduct = tadbir, sira*
constipation = ensak
consul = qon^ul
consumption — sill
cook = tabbakh
copper = nabaa
coppersmith = nabbas
corn = qamb
cotton = qutn
cough — kubba*
country
cover
cow
crops
cucumber
cup
cupboard
custom
cut-purse
danger
daughter
dawn
day
day-break
death
deer
desert
devil
diarrhoea
dinner
divorce
dog
dollar
door
dove
dung
dust
ear
earth
egg
electricity
elephant
evening
examination
exercise
eye
face
family
fare
farm
fast
father
favour
fear
feast
fever
field
field mouse
beled (bilad)
gbata
baqara* (baqar)
zira'at
kheyar
fingan
dulab
'ada
neshtar (Turk.)
kba^ir
bint
fagr
y6m (iyam) ;
nehar
fagr
mot
ghazal (ghozlan)
9abra (^ahari)
sbetan ; 'ifrit
esbal
talaq
kelb (kilab)
riyal (-at)
bab (ibwab)
bamama* (-at)
zibl
turab
widn (fern.)
ard (fern.) (ara4i)
beda* (bed)
kahrabaiya,
lekterik
fil
mesa
emteban
dars
■ 'en
: wishsh
ahl
: ugre*
: 'azba*
: 9um
: ab, abu-
: fadla*
= kbof
= 'id
: bumma*
= ghet. (gbi^an)
: gird6n
VOCABUI.ARY
187
fig
= tin
heat
= barr
figure
= raqam (arqam)
heU
= gehennem
file
= mabrad
hiU
= teU
fire
= nar
holiday
= fusha*
fi3h
= samaka* (samak)
honey
= 'asl
fishing
= §ed
horse
= hi§an
fisherman
= §ayyad
hotel
= lokanda*
flat (apartment)
= tabaqe*
hour
= sa'a*
flower
= zahr (?nhur)
house
= bet (bijmt) ; dar
fly
= debbane*
(fern ) (diyar)
folloicer
= tabi' (-in)
hunting
= 9ed
foot
= rigl
hunter
= $ayyad
fowl
= farkha* (firakh)
husband
= zog
fox
= ta'lab, tha'lab
ink
= hebr
(ta'aleb)
inn
= khan (Pere.)
friend
= §abib
inspector
= nazir
fruit
= tamar
intelligence
= 'aql
garden
= genine*
iron
= hadid
(ganayen) ;
island
= gezira* (gezayer)
bustan (Pere.)
jackal
= ibn awa
garment
= libas
jaw
= fakk (feWik)
garlic
= t6m, th6m
judge
= qadi
gazelle
= ghazal (ghozlan)
J«?
= ibriq
gentleman
= khawage
key
= miftah (mafatih)
gipsy
= nawari
king
= melek (muluk)
girl
= bint
knife
= sikkin
glass
= kubbaya*, fingan
knowledge
= 'ibn
goat
= me'za* (-at)
lamb
= kharuf (kherfan)
God
= Allah, -llah
lamp
= sirag
gold
= dahab
land
= ard
goose
= wizza* (-at)
lend
= ro9§a9
government
= liukm
left (hand)
= shemal
governor
= bakim, wall.
lemon
= lemuna* (lemun)
mudir
lesson
= dais
grapes
= 'inab
letter
= mektub
grass
= hashish
(mekatib) ;
groom
= sa'is, sayis
gawab (-at)
gun
= bunduqiye*
lettuce
= khass
hair
= sha'r (ahe'ur)
liberty
= huniye*
hairbrush
= fursha* (foraah)
life
= hiya* (existence);
half
= nu9§
nefs (soul) ;
hammer
= metraqa*
Bira*
(matareq)
light
= nar
hand
= yed, id
lightning
= barq
handkerchief
= mandil
lion
= aaad
harm
= sharr
locusts
= garad
hat
= bum eta*
lord
= sayyid
(baranit)
luggage
= 'afsh
hay
= deris
lung
= riyya* (-at)
head
= raa
lupine
= tirmis
188
VOCABULARY
magazine
oil
= zet
(storehouse) = makhzen
olive
= zetun
maize
— durra*
onion
= ba§al
majesty
= galala*
opinion
= fikr
man
= ragil (rigal) ; man-
opportunity
= fiir§a*
kind, nas ; old
orange
= bortuqan
man, shekh,
owl
= bnma* (-at)
'aguz (Eg.)
ox
= tor, thor (tiran)
manners
= 'adab
page (of book)
= wagh (awgoh)
mare
= faraa (afras)
pain
= waga'
market
= suq
palace
= qa^r (qu^ur)
marriage
= zawag
palm (tree)
= nakbl, nakhle*
measles
= hagba*
(single tree)
meat
= lahm
paper
= waraq (awraq)
medicine
= dawa (adwiya)
parent
= walid
melon
= shammam
passport
= teskari
merchant
= tagir (tiggar)
peace
= salam, salame*
middle
= wast
pen
= qalam
might
= quwa
permission
= idhn, idn, izn
mile
= mil
petrol
= gaz (E.), ghaz
milk
= leven, baleb
(S.I.)
minister
= wazir
physician
= bakim
minute
= deqiqa*
piastre
= qirsh (qurush)
(daqayeq)
pig
= kbanzir
money
=:felus
(khanazir)
money-changer
= §arraf
pigeon
= bamama (-at)
monkey
= qerd (qerud)
pilgrimage
= bagg
morning
= 9abah, eublji
piper
= zamman
morsel
= luqma*
plcKC
= matrab, mekan
mosque
= gami', mesgid
plague
= ta'un
mosquito
= namuse* (namus)
plant
= nabat (-at)
mother
= umm
plate
= 9abn (9ubun)
mountain
= gebel (gibal)
play
= le'ab
mouse
= far (firan)
police
= bull?
moustaches
= shanab (aahnab)
pond-
= birka*
mouth
= famm (afmam)
porter
= banimal
mud
= tm
postman
= sa'i bueta
mule
= baghl, -e*
post offiee
= bu^ta*
(beghal)
potato
= batates
nail
= mesmar
pound (money) gineh (-at) ; (weight)
(mesamir)
rati
name
= ism
power
= qfiwa
negro
= babeshi
praise
= bamd
neighbour
= gar, gariye*
prayer
= 9ala
news
= khabar (akhbar)
price
= taman, ei'r
night
= lei, lele*
prison
= babs, sign
noon
= dohr, zohr
promise
= wa'd
nose
= anf (enuf )
property
= mal
number
= 'twiad
prophet
= nabi
officer
= zabit (?ubbat)
pupil
= talmid
VOCABULARY
189
purgative
= sharba*
soap
= 9abun
quantity
= qadd
soldier
= 'askari
quince
= safargel
son
= ibn (awlad, abna)
railuxty
= sikket el-badid
soup
= shorba*
rain
= matar
speech
= kelam
rat
= far (firan)
spider
= 'ankabut
religion
= din
spirit
= ruh (arwah)
remainder
= baqi
sponge
= isfenge* (at)
rice
= ruzz
spoon
= mal'aqa*
right {hand)
= vemin
(mala'eq)
ring
= rann
spring {of icater), 'ayn ('uyun);
river
= nahr
{season) rabi'
road
= tanq
star
= n^m (nugum) ;
roof
= 9atU
kawkab
room
= 6da
(kawakib)
rope
= babl
slaie
= bal
rug
= busat (abd^a)
station {railway]
muhatta*; station-
saddle
= sarg
master, nazir
el-muhatta
saddlebag
= khurg (khurag)
steamer
= wabur
saU
= malh
stick
= 'a§a ('u?i)
sample
= namuna
stomach
= batn (betun)
(namayin);
stone
= bagar (ahgar)
'eniyye*
storm
= z6ba'a*(zawabe')
sand
= raml
street
= 8hari'(shawari') ;
school
= medrese*
hara*
scorpion
= 'aqrab ('aqareb)
sugar
— sukkar
screw
= qalawuz (-at)
sugar-cane
= qa^ab
sea
= bahr
summer
= 9ef
seeds
= bizr
sun
= sheins
self
= nef3
sunset
= maghrub
servant
— khaddam
supper
= 'asha
sesame
= semsem
sword
= 8ef
shade
= zall
tail
= dil, dhil (deyul)
sheep
= ghanam
tailor
= khayyat
ship
= markib
tamarisk
= tarf a, tarfe*
shop
= dukkan
task
= shughl
shore
= shati (shawafi)
tea
= 8hay
shoulder
= kitf
teacher
= mu'allim
silk
= harir
telegraph
= tiligraf
silver
= fadda
thief
= hara mi (haram)
sister
= iikht
thought
= fikr
sky
= 8ama*
ticket
= teskari
slave
= 'abd, 'ebd
time
= zemam (azmam);
sleep
= TiaTn
waqt (awqat)
small-pox
= gidri
tobacco
= dtikhkhan
smith
= tiaddad
tomato
= tamatem
smoke
= dukhkhan
tongue
= lisan (alsina)
snail
= l^alaziin
tooth
= sinne* (sinn)
snake
= tu'ban, thu'ban
town
= beled (bilad), cf.
snow
= talg
city
190
VOCABULARY
traveller
= musafir
widow
— armale* (aramel)
tree
= shagare*
wife
= z6ga* (z6gat)
(eshgar)
wind
= rib (aryab)
truth
= haqq
window
= shebbak
vacation
= f usha*
(shababik)
village
= qarya* (qaraya)
wine
= nebit
vine
= karm (keram)
winter
= 8heta
vineyard
= karm 'inab
vxyman
= mara (nesa) ; dd
virgin
= bekr (bukur)
woman, 'aguz
voice
= 96t (a^wat)
('agayez),
watch
= sa'a* (-at)
'aguze* (E.)
wasp
= dabbur (dababir)
ivood
= khashab
uxUer
= moya
wool
= 9uf
wealth
= mai
world
= dunya
weather
= hawa
worm
= dude* (dud)
week
= gtim'a* (gvima')
year
= sena* (senin)
well (of water)
= bir (abyar)
young man
= shabb (shubban)
Adjectives
alive
= haiy
great (in size)
= kebir (1) (in
angry
= za'lan (2)
power, dignity).
bad
= radi (3)
'azim (1)
beloved
= habib (1)
green
= akhdar (4)
black
= aswad (4)
happy
= mesrur, mabsut
blessed
= mubarak
(7)
blind
= a'ma (6)
hard
= 9a'b, ^a'ab
bliie
= azraq (4)
heavy
= tigil (1)
broad
= 'arid (1)
high
= 'ali (3)
cheap
= rakhis (1)
honest
= ?alib (6)
cheerful
= farban (2)
hot
= barr
civilized
= mutemodin
hungry
= gu'an (2)
cold
= band (of things) ;
idle (see lazy)
bardan (of
ignorant
= gahil (6)
persons) (2)
ill
= marid (\)
complete
= tamm
intelligent
= 'aqil (6)
crafty, cunning
= shatir(l)
lame
= a'rag (5)
dear (beloved)
= 'aziz (1), (price)
lazy
= keslan (2)
ghali (3)
light
= sahil
dead
= meyit
little
= qelil (1)
deaf
= akhra? (5)
long
= tawil (1)
deep
= ghawit (1)
much
= ketir (1)
difficult
= 9a'ab
neighbouring
= qarib (1)
distant
= ba'id (1)
new
= gedid (1)
dumb
= akhras (5)
old
= qadim (1)
foolish
== ghashim (1)
open
= meftub (7)
forbidden
= baram
original
= a^li (3)
generous
= kerim (1)
poor
= faqir (1)
good
= ^yyib-kher
present
= badir(])
VOCABTjXARY
191
j>reUy
= letif (1), kuwayis
strong
= qawi(l)
prosperous
= sa'id (1)
suitable
= taUq (1)
ready (see present)
sweet
= holw
red
= a];)inar (4)
thirsty
= 'atshan (2)
reliable
= salib (6)
tired
= ta'ban (2)
rich
= ghani (3)
wntrustvDorihy
= qabih (1)
short
= qaair (1)
upright
= 9adiq (6)
skilful
— mahir (6)
us^vl
= nafi', miifid
small
= 9aghir (1),
vident
= shedid (1)
sughayir
watchful
= neshit (1)
soft
= na'im (6)
weak
= da'if (1)
spacious
= wasi' (6)
wet
= mebliil (7)
standing
= qayim (6)
white
= abyad (4)
stoned (of the
wise
— 'arif, 'aliiti (6)
devil)
= ragim (1)
ifettow
= safra (4)
straight
= dughri (3)
(1) These are adjectives of the qatil type, fem. qatile*.
(2) Type qatlan.
(3) Adjectives with final -i.
(4) Adjectives of colour, see p. 92.
(5) Adjectives of bodily defect, see p. 93.
(6) Active participles of verbs.
(7) Passive participles.
Verbs
(The letters in parentheses denote the vowels in the
imperfect-imperative. D, D*, Dt, etc., denote the derived
stems (of. p. 131) (1), (II), (III) show verbs weak in first,
second, or third radicals respectively, whilst (MG) denotes
those with second and third consonants alike.)
able, to be
= qadar (i)
break
= kasar (a)
appear
= tala' (u)
bring (a thing).
gab (11) ; person,
arise
= qam (11)
haddir(D)
arrive
= wa^l (i) (I)
buy
= ishtara (st, m)
ask (question)
= sa"al (a)
can (see be able)
ask for
= ta!ab
carry out
= kemmil (D)
avert
= gall(MG)
close
= nafFed (D) {11,
awake
= §ahh (MG)
ni)
be
= kan (U), ear (11,
come
= ga, ta'ala, ta'al
in sense of
(imperBt.)
"continue")
compel
= khalla (III, D)
bear
= hamel
concern
= kha§§(MG)
begin
= qam (H)
converse
= tekellim (Dt)
192
VOCABULARY
continue
count
descend
die
dispute
dizzy, to be
do
drink
eat
empty, be
enquire
enter
fast
fear
finish
forget
found, be
free, be
give
go
godoum
go away
guide
handc2(ff
happen
hear
hot, be
humiliate
increase
journey
knock
know
laugh
learn
learn by heart
lengthen
like
live
load
measure
meet
mount
= baqa (III)
= 'add (MG)
= nizil, ball (MG)
= mat (II), wafi
(III)
= tefattish (Dt)
= dab (11)
= 'amal (a)
= shirib
:- kal (I)
= f aragh
: istafahim (st)
= dakhel
= 9am (II)
= khaf (II)
= khali?
: nesa (III)
: wagad (I)
: fada (III)
: 'ata (III), idda
(III)
: rab (II), mishi
(III)
: nizil
: kharag
= hada (III)
= kalabsh (Tnrk.)
: ha9al
= sami' (a)
= haiT (MG)
= dakh (II)
= zad (TI)
= safir (D*)
= khabbit (D)
= 'arif (i)
: dabak
: te'allam (Dt)
= hafaz
= tawwil (II, D)
= habb (MG)
= 'ash (II)
: tiamiml (D)
= kal (II)
: laqa (III)
: rekeb
must
= lazim
need
' = 'az (II)
obliged, be (see must)
open
= fatah (a)
overtake
= lahaq
pass by
= fat (II)
pick up
= lamm (i) (MG)
pilgrimage, go on
= hagg (MG)
plan
= 'amrail (D)
pleased, to be
= tefaddil (Ut)
pray
= ealla (III)
present, to he
= hader (a)
preserve
= sahim (III)
profit
= ham(III)
read
= qara (III)
reckon
= hasab (u)
reduce
= naqa?
refuge, to take
= 'ad (II)
return
= raga' (i)
run away
= gara(III)
safe, to be
= sal am
satisfied, to be
= shabi'
save
= sallim (D)
say
= qal (II)
see
= shaf (II)
seek
= talab (u)
seize
= mLsik
send
= rasal (i)
shut
= qafal (u)
silent, to be
= seket (u)
stretch out
= madd (III)
strike
= darab (a)
stroll
= tefessah (Dt)
suppose
= zami (MG)
sweep
= kenes
take
= khad(= akhad)
talk
= kalam
teach
= 'alJam (D^
tell
= khabbir (D)
understand
= fahim (a)
visit
= shaqq (MG)
waste
= garaf
will {of God)
= sha' (II)
write
= keteb (u)
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