Arabic lessons: Lesson 3

[tiramisu]

<b>Lesson 2</b>

Keep note, and as we have seen in the previous lesson, that as we become more familiar with words, I will gradually treat Romanization more as native speakers would. At first, I will simply drop my notation for long vowels. When I feel appropriate for a certain word, I will drop the short vowels from the word. Be prepared.

In this lesson, we will learn about:
1) Adjectives and places - مفردات
2) المضارع al-modare3 - قواعد
3) المضارع al-modare3 - عامية

<b>مفردات/mufradat</b>

As many of you know, Arabic works on a triconsonantal root system in which three consonants can be modified to create meaning. Regular modifications, called "patterns" (أوزان awzân [ʔaw."zæ:.n]; singular, وزن wazan ["wæ.zæn]), don't always allow you to guess new vocabulary, but quite often allow you to figure out the meaning of a word you read.

When discussing these roots, Arabic grammarians traditionally use ف-ع-ل f-3-l as consonant holders. The basic form of any root is فعل fa3Vla (wherein V = e or o and sometimes a), a verb in the third person perfect tense, and carries a simple intransitive meaning along the lines of "to be (adjective)." (Note that adjectives, however, are derived from the verb and the verb is not derived from the adjective).

Today, we will be learning the easiest وزنان waznan [wæz."næ:.n] (two patterns).

1) Adjectives: One of the most common اوزان awzân for adjectives is فعيل fa3êl. This takes the basic meaning of the verb فعل fa3Vla and makes it an adjective.
(Dual: فعيلان fa3êlân; Plural: فعلاء fo3alâ2)

Examples:
بعد ba3oda ["ba.ʕo.da] "to be far" --> بعيد ج. بعداء ba3êd [ba."ʕi:.d] j. bo3adâ2 [bu.ʕa."dæ:.ʔ] "far"
لطف latafa ["la.tˁa.fa] "to be kind" --> لطيف ج. لطفاء latêf [la.tˁi:.f] j. lotafâ2 [lu.tˁa."fæ:.ʔ] "nice"
جمل jamula ["dʒæ.mu.la] "to be beautiful" --> جميل ج. جملاء jamêl [dʒa."mi:.l] j. jomalâ2 [dʒu.ma."læ:.ʔ] "beautiful"

Adjectives and nouns in Arabic behave very similarly, and as a result, some adjectives have become primarily nouns over time.
Examples:
عمل or 3amela ["ʕa.mi.la] "to do" --> عميل ج. عملاء or 3amêl [ʕa."mi:.l] j. 3omalâ2 [ʕu.mæ.læʔ] "agent"
زعم za3Vma (unattested) --> زعيم ج. زعماء za3êm [za."ʕi:.m] j. zo3amâ2 [zo.ʕa."mæ:.ʔ] "leader"
وزر wazVra (unattested) --> وزير ج. وزراء wazêr [wæ."zi:.r] j. wozarâ2 [wu.zæ."ra:.ʔ] "minister"

2) Places: مفعل maf3al usually means a place where a verb فعل fa3ala is done, but sometimes مفعل maf3al is derived from other words.
(Dual: مفعلان maf3alân; Plural: مفاعل mafâ3el)

Examples:
طعم ta3ema ["ta.ʕi.ma] "to taste, savor" --> مطعم ج. مطاعم mat3am ["mæt.ʕam] j. matâ3em [mæ."ta:.ʕim] "restaurant"
سجد sajada ["sæ.dʒæ.da] "to prostrate" --> مسجد ج. مساجد masjed ["mæs.dʒid] j. masâjed [mæ."sæ:.dʒid] "mosque"
كتب kataba ["kæ.tæ.ba] "to write" --> مكتب ج. مكاتب maktab ["mæk.tæb] j. makâteb [mæ."kæ:.tib] "desk, office"
سرح sara7a ["sa.ra.ħa] "to be distracted" --> مسرح ج. مسارح masra7 ["mas.raħ] j. masâre7 [mæ.sa:.riħ] "theatre"
جهل jahela ["dʒæ.hi.la] "to not know" --> مجهل ج. مجاهل majhal ["mædʒ.hæl] j. majâhel [mæ."dʒæ:.hil] "unknown place; undiscovered territory"
خبز khabaza ["xæ.bæ.za] "to bake" --> مخبز ج. محابز makhbaz ["mæx.bæz] j. makhâbez [mæ."xæ:.biz] "bakery"

Vocabulary:
اخبز, الخبز akhbez ["ʔax.biz], al-khabz [xæbz] - I bake, the baking
اذهب, الذهاب azhab ["ʔað.hæb], al-zehâb [ði.hæ:.b] - I go, the going
اريد, الرود orêd [ʔu."ri:.d], al-rawd [rawd] - I want, the wanting
اعمل, العمل a3mal ["ʔaʕ.mæl], al-3amal ["ʕa.mæl] - I work, the working
اسجد, الشجود asjod ["ʔas.dʒud], al-sojôd [su.dʒu:.d] - I prostrate, the prostration
اسرح, السروح asra7 ["ʔas.raħ], al-sarô7 [sa."ru:.ħ] - I am distracted, the state of being distracted
افعل, الفعل af3al ["ʔaf.ʕal], al-fe3l [feʕl] - I do, the doing; I make, the making
اكتب, الكتابة aktub ["ʔak.tub], al-kitâbah [ki."tæ.ba] - I write, the writing
الى ila [i.la] - to, into
انكليزي ênklêzê [ʔin."kli:.zi] - English
انت anta ["æn.ta], ante ["æn.ti] - you (m), you (f)
ايضا aydan ["æ:j.dˁan] - also, too
بعيد ج. بعداء ba3êd [ba."ʕi:.d] j. bo3adâ2 [bu.ʕa."dæ:.ʔ] - far
بنت ج. بنات bent [bint] j. benât [bi."næ:.t] - girl
جميل ج. جملاء jamêl [dʒa."mi:.l] j. jomalâ2 [dʒu.ma."læ:.ʔ] - beautiful
حيث or 7aythu ["ħaj.θu] - where (connector)
زعيم ج زعماء za3êm [za."ʕi:.m] j. zo3amâ2 [zo.ʕa."mæ:.ʔ] - leader
عربي or 3arabê ["ʕa.ra.bi] - Arabic
فقط faqat ["fa.qatˁ] - only
في fê [fi:] - in
قطة ج. قطط qottah [qotˁ.tˁa] j. qotat ["qo.tˁatˁ] - cat
و wa [wa] - and
وزير ج. وزراء wazêr [wæ."zi:.r] j. wozarâ2 [wu.zæ."ra:.ʔ] - minister
ولد ج. اولاد walad [wæ.læd] j. 2awlâd [ʔaw.læ:d] - boy
هناك honak [hu.næ:.k] - there
هنا honna [hun.na] - here
لا lâ [læ:] - no
لطيف ج. لطفاء latêf [la.tˁi:.f] j. lotafâ2 [lu.tˁa."fæ:.ʔ] - nice
لكن lakn [læk.n=] - but
كلب ج. كلاب kalb [kælb] j. kelâb [ki.læ:.b] - dog
مثل methl [miθ.l=] - like
مجهل ج. مجاهل majhal ["mædʒ.hæl] j. majâhel [mæ."dʒæ:.hil] - unknown place; undiscovered territory
مخبز ج. محابز makhbaz ["mæx.bæz] j. makhâbez [mæ."xæ:.biz] - bakery
مسجد ج. مساجد masjed ["mæs.dʒid] j. masâjed [mæ."sæ:.dʒid] - mosque
مسرح ج. مسارح masra7 ["mas.raħ] j. masâre7 [mæ.sa:.riħ] - theatre
مطعم ج. مطاعم mat3am ["mæt.ʕam] j. matâ3em [mæ."ta:.ʕim] - restaurant
مكتب ج. مكاتب maktab ["mæk.tæb] j. makâteb [mæ."kæ:.tib] - desk, office
من men [min] - from
نعم na3am [naʕam] or na3m [naʕm] - yes

قواعد/qawa3id

In the previous lesson, we learned about المضارع al-mdar3. Let's review:

Arabic only has two generic tenses: perfect and imperfect. Al-mdar3 is the imperfect tense and, when unmodified, refers to an incomplete action that begins in the present and extends into the future.
Al-mdar3 can be modified to begin in the past by using the perfect tense conjugation of "to be." For now, we will only do this with the 3rd person and treat the verb, كان kâna [kæ:.na], more like a particle.*
Al-mdar3 can be modified to begin in the future by adding the prefix س s-. For example, ستفعل sataf3al [sæ.tæf.ʕal] means "you will do."
* Note that while the verb "to be" exists in Arabic, it is rarely used. Nouns and predicates in Arabic are typically not linked by linking verbs.

Find the conjugation below.

Singular
1 أفعل [ʔæf.ʕal]
2af3al
2m تفعل [tæf.ʕal]
taf3al
2f تفعلين [tæf.ʕa.li:n]
taf3alên
3m يفعل [jæf.ʕal]
yaf3al
3f تفعل [tæf.ʕal]
taf3al

Plural
1 نفعل [[næf.ʕal]
naf3al
2m تفعلون [tæf.ʕa.lu:n]
taf3alôn
2f تفعلن [tæf.ʕal.na]
taf3alna
3m يفعلون [jæf.ʕa.lu:n]
yaf3alôn
3f يفعلن [jæf.ʕal.na]
yaf3alna

Dual
2 تفعلان [tæf.ʕa.læ:n]
taf3alân
3 يفعلان [jæf.ʕa.læ:n]
yaf3alân

In addition,
كان يفعل kâna yaf3al means "he was doing" or "he used to do"
سيفعل sayaf3al means "he will do."
سوف يفعل sawfa yaf3al also means "he will do." There is a difference between the two and, unfortunately, I'll have to defer to others on the difference. The difference, which is basically near future and distant future, is so subtle that most native speakers do not know the difference and use them interchangeably. (In fact, the teacher that taught me the future taught they were interchangeable). Often, سوف sawfa is considered more formal, but this is not true.

Briefly, let's now touch on المصدر al-masdar [masˁ.dar]. This is, simply, the gerund. And I'm glad I'm in a forum full of linguists, because the gerund seems to take others a long time to understand. The gerund is used when the speaker wants to express an action, but a noun must be used. It's unimportant at this time, however, and needs mentioning only because it's easier if you begin memorizing the مصدر masdar of verbs right away. For the most part, the gerund is guessable, but for the most common verb form (فعل fa3Vla), it's not and must be memorized.

Let us also touch briefly on gender. The simplest way to do this may be to make a list of rules:
1) On top of gender, Arabic distinguishes between humans and non-humans. This appears only with duals and plurals, and not so much in the nouns themselves.
2) In the singular, masculine nouns are generally unmarked; feminine nouns usually take ة -ah at the end of a word, which is a letter used particularly (though not exclusively) to mark feminine nouns. (ة -ah is a closet [t]).
3) In the dual, masculine nouns end in ان -ân; feminine nouns drop ة -ah and end in تان -tân
4) In the plural, masculine nouns are typically broken plurals, though some human nouns have a regular ending of ون -ôn; feminine nouns end drop ة -ah and end in ات -ât.
5) Non-human nouns in the dual or plural are treated as singular feminine nouns in adjectives and verb conjugation.
6) Adjectives fully reflect the nouns they modify and are marked exactly like nouns (though not necessarily like the noun they modify).


Guess the meaning of these words (Answers in next lesson):
اسباني esbâne
بالليل belêl
عريف or 3arêf
كلمة (hint: اتكلم shares the same root) kalamah
كليم kalêm

Recall these words in Arabic:
يوم yôm
سلام salâm
اتعرف على ata3arref 3la
سيارة sayârah
حبيبي or 7abêbe
ماذا mâza
اتكلم atakallem

Translate the following into English:
1) هل تريد ان تطعم في مطعم؟ هل تريد طعم في مطعم؟ hal tored an tat3am fi mat3am? hal tored ta3m fi mat3am?
2) الاولاد يحبون كلاب وقطط. يحب الاولاد كلاب وقطط. al-awlad yu7ebbon kilab wa qotat. yu7ebb al-awlad kilab wa qotat.
3) اين الحاج؟ يسجد في المسجد ayna al-7ajj? yasjod fe al-masjid
4) نكتب في عربي naktub fe 3rabe
5) تذهب البنت الى المجهل حيث يذهب الولد ايضا tazhab al-bint ila al-majhal 7aythu yazhab al-walad aydan

Translate the following into Arabic:
1) I speak English and Arabic. You guys only speak Arabic, but the girl only knows English.
2) The dog is nice! He likes the cats!
3) I'm going to the beautiful mosque in my car.
4) The rose is beautiful. The moon is beautiful. The cat is beautiful too. The rose and the moon and the cat are beautiful.
5) Are you going to the office? Is the office far from here?

Conjugate the following verbs in Arabic in the 1st person singular, 1st person plural, 2nd person singular feminine, 2nd person plural masculine, 3rd person plural feminine, 3rd person singular masculine with كان, and any form in the future:
1) اعرف a3rif
2) احب o7ebb
3) اكتب aktub
4) اعمل a3mal
5) اسجد asjod

<b>قراءة/qira2ah</b>
1: اهلا وسهلا في المخبز
2: اهلا بيكي. هل هناك اي مسرح بعيد من المخبز؟ اريد ان اسرح فيه.
1: نعم.
2: شكرا. انت جميلة وانت مثل القمر ما شاء الله. تريدين سروح في المسرح اليوم؟
1: شكرا انت لطيف ولكن لا, لا اريد سروح في المسرح. اريد ان اعمل في المخبز وثم اذهب الى المسجد ان شاء الله
2: مع السلامة
1: مع السلامة

1: ahlan wa sahlan
2: ahlan beke. hal honak ay masra7 ba3ed men al-makhbaz? ored an asra7 fêhe
1: na3am
2: shokran. anti jamela w ante methl al-qamr mashallah. toreden saro7 fê el-masra7 al-yom?
1: shokran, anta latef wa lakn la, la ored saro7 fê el-masra7. ored an a3mel fê el-makhbaz wa thumma azhab ila al-masjed inshallah
2: ma3a al-salama
1: ma3a al-salama

<b>3ameyyah/عامية</b>

اروح aro7 [æ."ro:ħ] - I go
اشتغل ashtoghl [æʃ."toɣ.l=] - I work
استرح astera7 [æs.ti.ræ7] - I'm distracted
انجليزي englêze [in."gli:.zi] or اينجلش [i:ng.liʃ]- English
اه ah [a:] - yeah
ايوة aywa ["æj.wa] - yeah
انت enta [in.ta] - you (m)
انتي ente [in.ti] - you (f)
بس bass [bas:] - but; only
رايح rayeh ["ra:.jiħ] - go (noun, lit. "goer")
زي zayy [zæj:] - like
عامل ج. عاملين or 3amel ["ʕa:.mil] j. 3amlên [ʕam."li:.n] - do, make (noun, lit. "doer, maker")
عايز ج. عايزين or 3ayez ["ʕa:.jiz] j. 3ayzên [ʕaj."zi:.n] - want (noun, lit. "wanting")
فرن forn [forn] - bakery (for bread)
قط ج قطط or 2ot [ʔotˁ] j. 2otat ["ʔo.tˁat] - cat
كمان kamân [kæ.mæ:.n] - also
لأ la or la2 [laʔ], [laʔa] - no
مسجد masged [mæs.gid] - mosque

1: اهلا وسهلا في الفرن
2: اهلا بيكي. في اي مسرح بعيد من الفرن؟ عايز اسرح فيه.
3: اه.
4: شكرا. انتي جميلة وانتي زي القمر ما شاء الله. عايزة تسترح في المسرح النهارده؟
5: شكرا انت لطيف, بس لأ, مش عايزة سروح في المسرح. عايزة اشتغل الفرن وثم حاروح المسجد ان شاء الله
6: مع السلامة
7: مع السلامة

1: ahlan wa sahlan
2: ahlan beke. fe ay masra7 ba3ed men al-forn? 3ayz asra7 feh
3: ah
4: shokran. enti gamela w ante zayy l-2amr mashallah. 3ayzat saro7 fe el-masra7 el-nahardah?
5: shokran, anta latef, bass la, mish 3ayza testera7 fe el-masra7. 3ayza ashtoghl el-forn wa thumma 7arô7 al-masged inshallah
6: ma3a al-salama
7: ma3a al-salama

In this lesson, we reviewed al-mdar3. It is necessary to re-examine verbs in Egyptian Arabic because they function differently. It no longer has a truly imperfect vs. perfect tense, and its verbs have generally shifted towards a perfective aspect. This means Egyptian Arabic has a defined present tense, which is derived from the imperfect tense in fus7a and contains an additional prefix. For the purpose of facility, we will continue to use فعل as the model verb stem.
Singular
1 بافعل ["bæf.ʕal]
baf3al
2m بتفعل [bi."tæf.ʕal]
bitaf3al
2f بتفعلي [bi."tæf.ʕa.li]
bitaf3ale
3m بيفعل [bi."jæf.ʕal]
byaf3al
3f بتفعل [bi."tæf.ʕal]
bitaf3al

Plural
1 بنفعل [bi."næf.ʕal]
binaf3al
2m بتفعلوا [bi."tæf.ʕa.lu]
bitaf3alo
3m بيفعلوا [bi."jæf.ʕa.lu]
biyaf3alo

* The future is marked by dropping the initial bi- بـ and adding instead either h- هـ or 7- حـ, which are equal in meaning and depend more on idiolect than anything else.
* After another verb, the initial bi- بـ is dropped.

Egyptian Arabic uses nouns to express the imperfective aspect, particularly nouns in a construct called اسم الفاعل ism al-fâ3il (lit. "subject noun"). These are nouns derived directly from the verb in question to refer to the verb's agent. We will discuss how to derive these nouns later, but you can note that the simplest construct is in the wzn فاعل fâ3il. You will notice that some verbs appear almost exclusively in this construct in Egyptian Arabic because they are always imperfect.

Identify these nouns in the 3ameyyah vocabulary and in the conversation above.

Recall these words in Egyptian Arabic:
مسا misâ
امتى imta
عيان or 3ayyân
عربية or 3arabiyya
ازي or izayy

What are the following fus7a words in Egyptian Arabic?
نعم na3m
فقط faqat
مثل methl
ايضا aydan
افعل af3al

Translate the following into Egyptian Arabic:
1) هل تريد ان تطعم في مطعم؟ هل تريد طعم في مطعم؟ hal tored an tat3am fi mat3am? hal tored ta3m fi mat3am?
2) الاولاد يحبون كلاب وقطط. يحب الاولاد كلاب وقطط. al-awlad yu7ebbon kilab wa qotat. yu7ebb al-awlad kilab wa qotat.
3) اين الحاج؟ يسجد في المسجد ayna al-7ajj? yasjod fe al-masjid
4) نكتب في عربي naktub fe 3rabe
5) تذهب البنت الى المجهل حيث يذهب الولد ايضا tazhab al-bint ila al-majhal 7aythu yazhab al-walad aydan

Translate the following into Egyptian Arabic:
1) I speak English and Arabic. You guys only speak Arabic, but the girl only knows English.
2) The dog is nice! He likes the cats!
3) I'm going to the beautiful mosque in my car.
4) The rose is beautiful. The moon is beautiful. The cat is beautiful too. The rose and the moon and the cat are beautiful.
5) Are you going to the office? Is the office far from here?

Conjugate the following verbs in Egyptian Arabic in the 1st person singular, 1st person plural, 2nd person singular feminine, 3rd person plural, any form in the future, and derive اسم الفاعل ism al-fa3il:
1) اعرف a3rif
2) احب o7ebb
3) اكتب aktub
4) اعمل a3mal
5) اسجد asgod

[tiramisu]

I just want to take a minute to note that I think posting a lesson every other day will be the norm. For now, I don't expect to finish the next lesson until Monday or Tuesday, since this weekend, among other things, is a major feast day in my religion and I live near a pilgrimage site for this feast.

I ask you one favor, though:
I ask that after each lesson at least one person posts a response so that I know people are still paying attention. There will likely be long waits between lessons if I feel that nobody's paying attention. I'd appreciate it.

[Silk]

I won't actually be doing the exercises but I'll be following this thread because it's a nice review for me and some stuff here is totally new (like the Egyptian Arabic parts).

[Davoush]

And also, it would be great to see some more emphasis on 3amiyya forms; I'm personally more interested in khaliiji due to possible career prospects, but I'd love to know more about misriyya as well. Maybe you should consider making a different thread for that, since fus7a is effectively a different language - maybe not as much as Latin and Italian, but pretty close to that nevertheless!

I can help with the Khaleji (Gulf) dialect if anybody would be interested?

[tiramisu]

<b>Lesson 3</b>

I'm no longer going to include pronunciation, excepting cases where I feel pronunciation must be noted. If you feel you <i>need</i> the pronunciation back, let me know and I'll edit this post and include it in future lessons. I do plan to edit pronunciation into the lessons eventually, but I feel it's easy to grasp and not presently necessary, and I'd like to maximize the number of lessons I can get out before I become busy with classes.

In this lesson, we will learn about:
1) Verb patterns - مفردات
2) Perfect Tense; Pronouns - قواعد
3) Perfect Tense; Pronouns - عامية

<b>التامرين السابقة/al-tâmarên al-sâbeqah/Previous Exercises</b>

Here are the answers to the guessing exercises in the previous lesson:
Guess the meaning of these words (Answers in next lesson):
اسباني esbâne <i>spanish; spaniard</i>
بالليل belêl <i>tonight</i>
عريف or 3arêf <i>knowing; expert</i>
كلمة (hint: اتكلم shares the same root) kalamah <i>word</i>
كليم kalêm <i>speaker</i>

<b>مفردات</b>

In this lesson, we will take a look at all common verb patterns. It may be easier to split them up, but I feel like it is easier if we get the big picture from the start. It's not so hard anyway. Note these forms are traditionally identified through the perfect tense; examples will be demonstrated in the imperfect tense, but new verbs will from now on be introduced in the perfect tense. Examples marked with two asterisks (**) are unattested but constructed to facilitate the reader in constructing meanings, but examples will not be provided (especially since, in some cases, the word is unattested because it doesn't make sense).

Form I فعل fa3Vla
a) This is the form we learned about in the previous lesson. It carries the most basic meaning, which is typically an intransitive verb describing the subject.

**قطع qate3a - to be cut
**جمع jame3a - to be gathered
علم or 3alema - to know, be informed - يعلم الولد ya3lem al-walad The boy knows
**كتب kateba - to be written

b) Traditionally, form I has been considered a single form. However, the more specific form of fa3ala raises the valency of fa3Vla by 1. Most verbs only exist in either (a) or (b), and it is better to assume for derivation purposes that they only exist in one form.

قطع qata3a - to cut - يقطع الولد الورقة yaqta3 al-walad al-waraqah The boy cuts the paper
جمع jama3a - to gather s.t. - يجمع الولد الاصدقاء yajma3 al-walad al-2asdeqâ2 The boy gathers the friends
**علم or 3alama - to know s.t.
كتب kataba - to write - يكتب الولد الكتاب yaktob al-walad al-ketâb The boy writes the book

Form II فعّل fa33ala
a) Sometimes, this form is simply intensive
b) Other times, it's causative.

قطّع qatta3a - to cut up (intensive) - يقطّع الولد الورقة yoqte3 al-walad al-waraqah The boy cuts up the paper
جمّع jamma3a - to rally (intensive) - يجمّع الولد الاصدقاء yojamme3 al-walad al-asdeqâ2 The boy rallies the friends
علّم or 3allama - to teach (causative) - يعلم الولد البنت yo3allem al-walad al-bent The boy teaches the girl
كتّب kattaba - to make s.o. write (causative) - يكتّب الولد بنت الكتاب yokatteb al-walad bent al-ketâb The boy makes a girl write the book

Form III فاعل fâ3ala
This form tends to have a meaning very similar to fa3ala. It includes somebody else in the action, and fa3ala's indirect object becomes the direct object. Most verbs that come to my mind in this form are translated to English with the preposition "with."

قاطع qâta3a - to cut off with, to break off one's relationship with - يقاطع الولد البنت yoqâte3 al-walad al-bent The boy breaks off his relationship with the girl
جامع jâma3a - to get together with > to have sexual intercourse with (a woman) - يجامع الولد الصديقات yojâme3 al-walad al-sadeqât The boy has sex with his friends (f)
**عالم or 3âlama - to know with
كاتب kâtaba - to correspond with - يكاتب الولد البنت yokâteb al-walad al-bent The boy corresponds with the girl

Form IV أفعل or 2af3ala
This form is causative. Though I haven't investigated fully myself, it seems that there is no difference in meaning between this form of causative and fa33ala's causative. (Fa33ala's causative aspect came much later; formerly, 2af3ala had a monopoly on causatives).
Though this is a crappy rule-of-thumb, when the causative of a verb is found in both fa33ala and 2af3ala, fa33ala is used in Egyptian Arabic while 2af3ala is used in fus7a. Again, let me emphasize that this is a crappy rule.

اقطع aqta3a - to make s.o. cut s.t., grant sovereignty - الملك يُقطع الولد البلد al-malak yoqte3 al-walad al-balad The king grants the boy sovereignty of the land
اجمع على ajma3a 3la - to make s.o. be together, to agree on - يُجمع الولد والاصدقاء على موضوع البلد yojme3 al-wld wal-asdeqa2 3la mawdô3 el-balad The boy and the friends agree about [the subject of] the land
اعلم a3lama - to inform (بـ s.o.) - يُعلم الولد الموضوع بالبنت yo3lem al-wld al-mawdo3 bel-bent The boy informs the girl about the subject
اكتب aktaba - to dictate - يُكتب الولد بنت الكتابة yokteb al-wld bent al-ketâbah The boy dictates the writing to a girl

Form V تفعل tafa33ala
This form contains the reflexive marker تـ t and is formed from Form II. It is typically reflexive of the causative.

تقطع taqatta3a - to be chopped up (intensive) - تتقطع الورقة tataqatta3 al-waraqah The paper was cut into pieces
تجمع tajamma3a - to rally - يتجمع الاصدقاء ضد الحكومة yatajamma3 wal-asdqa2 dad al-7akômah The friends rally together against the government
تعلم ta3allama - to learn - يتعلم الولد العربي yata3allam al-wld al-3rbe The boy is learning Arabic
**تكتب takattaba - to make oneself write s.t., to write

Form VI تفاعل tafâ3ala
This form also contains the reflexive marker, but is formed from Form III. It is reflexive of form III, which involves somebody else in the action. Therefore, form VI usually involves more than one subject doing something to one another.

تقاطع taqâta3a - to part company, to break off one's relationship [with (III) + each other (VI)] - يتقاطع الولد والبنت yataqâtab al-walad wal-bent The boy and girl part company
تجامع tajâma3 - to have sexual intercourse [with (III) + each other (VI)] - يتجامع الولد والبنت yatajâma3 al-wld wal-bnt The boy and girl have sex
**تعالم ta3âlama - to know [with (III) + each other (VI)]
تكاتب takâtaba - to correspond [with (III) + each other (VI)] - يتكاتب الولد والبنت yatakâtab al-wld wal-bnt The boy and the girl correspond

Form VII إنفعل or 2enfa3ala
This form is essentially passive. It is not to be confused, however, with the passive voice. While the passive voice in Arabic implies an agent that is simply unspoken of, 2infa3ala implies no such agent and can even imply that the subject caused the action.

انقطع enqata3a - to be cut off - تنقطع التليفون tanqate3 al-telefôn The telephone is disconnected
**انجمع enjama3a - to be gathered
**انعلم en3alama - to become known
انكتب enkataba - to subscribe - ينكتب الولد yankateb al-wld The boy subscribes

Form VIII إفتعل or 2efta3ala
This form is simply reflexive. (Note the reflexive marker).

اقتطع eqtata3a - to cut for oneself, to take part of s.t. - يقتطع الولد ورقة من الكتاب: يقتطع الولد البلد من الملك yaqtate3 al-wld waraqah mn al-ktab; yaqtate3 al-wld al-bld mn al-malak The boy rips out a page from the book; the boy takes the land from the king
اجتمع ejtama3a - to get together - يجتمع الاصدقاء yajtame3 al-asdqa2 The friends get together
**اعتلم e3talama - to know oneself
اكتتب ektataba - to enter one's name; be registered - يكتتب الولد yaktateb al-wld The boy registers himself

Form X إستفعل or 2estaf3ala
a) This form can also be the causative of the passive, especially if the cause is a request.
b) This form can be the reflexive of the causative, especially if the cause is a request.

استقطع estaqta3a - to request land (causative-passive) - يستقطع الولد بلد من الملك yastaqte3 al-wld bld mn al-mlk The boy requests land from the king
استجمع estajma3a - to summon (causative-passive) - يستجمع الولد الاصدقاء yastajme3 al-wld al-asdqa2 The boy summons the friends
استعلم عن esta3alama 3an - to inquire about (reflexive-causative) - يستعلم الولد عن الموضوع yasta3lem al-wld 3n al-mwdo3 The boy inquires about the subject
استكتب estaktaba - to dictate (causative-passive) - يستكتب الولد بنت الكتابة yastakteb al-wld bnt al-ktabah The boy asked a girl to write the writing

Exercise:
Attempt to derive the verbs and their respective meanings from the following verb roots. (Answers in next lesson).
خرج kharaja - to go out
حسن or 7asona - to be good
حقّ or 7aqqa (root: ح-ق-ق or 7-q-q) - to be real, true

Vocabulary:
اجتمع, الاجتماع ejtama3a, al-ejtamâ3 - to get together
آخر, أخرى ج. آخرين âkhr (m), okhra j. âkhrên - other
أكل, الأكل or 2akl, al-2akl - to eat
الآن al2ân - now
بعد ذلك ba3d zâlek - afterwards, after that
بلد ج. بلاد balad j. belâd - land, town
تعلم, التعلم ta3allama, al-ta3allom - to learn
تجمع, التجمع tajamma3a, al-tajammo3 - to rally together
تقطع, التقطع taqatta3a, al-taqatto3 - to be chopped up, cut into pieces
جمع, الجمع jama3a, al-jam3 - to gather s.t.
حكومة ج. حكومات or 7akômah j. 7akômât - government
علّم, التعليم or 3allama, al-ta3lêm - to teach
ضد did - against
شاب ج. شباب shâb j. shabâb - young person
شرب, الشرب shareba, al-shorb - to drink
صديق ج. اصدقاء sadêq j. 2asdeqâ2 - friend
قهوة qahwah - coffee
كاتب, مكاتبة kâtaba, makâtebah - to correspond with
كثير kathêr - a lot (adjective)
كثيرا kathêran - a lot (adverb)
كل koll - all
لأن le2anna - because, since
لغة ج لغات loghah j. loghât - language
ملك ج. ملوك malak j. molôk - king
مقهى ج. مقاهي maqha j. maqâhe - coffee shop
مكتبة ج. مكتبات maktabah j. maktabât - library
موضوع ج. مواضع mawdô3 j. mawâde3 - subject, topic
ورقة waraqah - paper, document

<b>قواعد</b>

Today, we will learn two similar constructs that are relatively unrelated but obviously not so much: the perfect tense and the pronoun.

The perfect tense, unlike the imperfect tense, is restricted to the past.

Singular
1 فعلتُ fa3altu
2m فعلتَ fa3alta
2f فعلتِ fa3alta
3m فعل fa3ala
3f فعلت fa3alat

Plural
1 فعلنا fa3alna
2m فعلتم fa3altom
2f فعلتن fa3altonna
3m فعلوا fa3alô
3f فعلن fa3alna

Dual
2 فعلتما fa3altomâ
3 فعلا fa3alâ

Subject pronouns sometimes have similar suffixes, which are attached to the particle انـ an- (which in Proto-Afro-Asiatic was likely an emphatic particle):

Singular
1 انا ana
2m انتَ anta
2f انتِ ante
3m هو howwa
3f هي heyya

Plural
1 نحن na7no
2m انتم antom
2f انتن antonna
3m هم hom
3f هن hon

Dual
2 انتما antomâ
3 هما homâ

Meanwhile, the suffixes for possessive and object pronouns, which are attached to their respective noun or verb, are:

Singular
1 ـي -e
2m ـَك -ak or ـكَ -ka*
2f ـِك -ek or ـكِ -ke*
3m ـه -ho
3f ـها -ha
*The former is used when case endings are not present; the latter is used when case endings are present. We'll learn more about case endings in coming lessons.

Plural
1 ـنا -na
2m ـكم -kom
2f ـكن -konna
3m ـهم -hom
3f ـهن -honna

Dual
2 ـكما -komâ
3 ـهما -homâ

Recall the following words:
كلب kalb
مكتب maktab
اتعرف على ata3arref 3la
ما شاء الله mashallah

Guess the meaning of the following words and use them in a sentence (Answers for the former in the next lesson; answers for the latter can be sent to me for correction):
Hint: If you cannot remember any related word, find out the meaning of الجذر al-jazr the root (Form I of the verb) instead of giving up or looking up the answer.
اعمل a3mala
بعّد ba33ada
حقيفي or 7aqêqe
استعمل ista3mala
اعرب a3raba
الجامع al-jâme3

Conjugate the following verbs in both the past and present according to the subject pronoun:
1) هي اجتمع heyya ejtama3a
2) انتَ اكل anta akala
3) انتِ شرب ante shareba
4) انا اتعلم ana ata3allam
5) انتم جمع antom jama3a
6) هو عرف howwa 3arafa
7) نحن تجمع na7no tajamma3a
8) انتن ذهب antom zahaba
9) هن كتب honna kataba
10) هما سرح homâ sara7a

Match the following subject pronouns with their respective object pronouns:
1) هما homâ
2) انتِ ante
3) نحن na7no
4) انتما antomâ
5) انتم antom
6) هي heyya
7) انا ana
8) هم hom
9) هو howwa
10) انتَ anta

Replace the verbs with perfect tense verbs, and the nouns with the correct pronouns:
1) الولد يقتطع البلد من الملك al-wld yaqtate3 al-bld mn al-mlk
2) الولد يستجمع الاصدقاء al-wld yastajme3 al-asdqa2
3) البنت تتعلم اللغة al-bnt tata3allam al-loghah
4) البنت تُعلم الموضوع بالولد al-bnt to3lem al-mwdo3 bel-wld
5) الولد يجامع الصديقات al-wld yojâme3 al-sadeqât

Replace the verbs in the following sentences into the perfect tense, then translate them into English:
1) الملوك يريدون الاكل في المطعم al-molôk yorêdôn al-2akl fe l-mat3am
2) الشباب يشربون القهوة في المقهى al-shabâb yashrebôn al-qahwah fe l-maqhah
3) تأكل الصديقات ويشربن ايضا ta2kol al-sadêqât wa yashrabna aydan
4) الحاج جمع كل الشباب وكلهم تجمعوا ضد الحكومة al-7ajj jama3a koll al-shabâb wa kollohom tajamma3ô dad al-7akômah
5) نذهب الى المكتبة وبعد ذلك سنذهب الى المقهى لنشرب القهوة nazhab ela l-maktabah wa ba3d zalek sanazhab ela l-maqhah lenashrab al-qahwah

Translate the following sentences into Arabic:
1) The nice king corresponded with them
2) The boys gathered the others; the boys and the others gathered.
3) We like going to coffee shops a lot
4) The land is now cut up into pieces
5) The paper taught me the English language

<b>قراءة</b>
المسلم واصدقاءه يجتمعون في المسجد حيث سيسجدون. يعمل واحد في مكتبة البلد ويعمل الاخرين في مكاتب الحكومة. هم اصدقاء لأنهم يحبون المكتبة وتعرفوا فيها. يتكلمون كثيراً عن مواضع كثيرة مثلاَ الحكومة والملك. ولكن الآن هم في المسجد ويريدون ان يتكلموا بعد ذلك في مقهى.
al-moslem wasdeqâ2oho fe l-masjed 7aythu sayasjedôn. ya3mal wa7id fe maktabat al-bld w ya3mal al-2akhrên fe makâteb al-7akômah. hom asdeqâ2 le2annohom yo7ebbôn al-maktabah w ta3arrafô feha. yatakallamôn kathêran 3n mawâde3 kathêrah methlan al-7akômah w al-malak. wa lakn al2ân hom fe al-masjed wa yorêdôn 2an yatakallamô ba3d zalek fe maqhah.

<b>عامية</b>

Let's quickly review that the two primary differences in pronunciation between fus7a and Egyptian Arabic are that <j> is [g] and <q> is usually [?].

تاني - other
دلوقتي delwa2te - now
بعد كدة ba3d kiddah - afterwards, after that
حكومة ج. حكومات or 7akômah j. 7akômât - government
قهوة or 2ahwah - coffee, coffee shop
كتير katêr - a lot (adjective)
قوي or 2awe - a lot (adverb)
عشان or 3ashân - because, since

المسلم واصدقاءه بيجتمعوا المسجد اللي حيسجدوا فيه. بيشتغل حد مكتبة البلد وبيشتغل التانيين مكاتب الحكومة. هما اصدقاء عشان هما بيحبوا المكتبة وتعرفوا فيها. بيتكلموا قوي مواضع كتيرة زي الحكومة والملك. بس دلوقتي هما في المسجد وعايزين يتكلموا بعد كدة في قهوة
el-moslem w asde2â2o beyagtam3ô el-masged elle 7ayasgedô fe. beyashtaghl 7ad maktabat el-bld w beyashtaghl el-tânyên makâteb el-7akôma. homa asde2â2 3shân homa beyo7ebbô l-maktabah w ta3arrafo fe. bayatakallamô 2awe mawâde3 katêrah zayy al-7akôma w al-malak. bass delwa2te homa fe l-masged w 3ayezên yatakallamô ba3d kiddah fe 2ahwah.

The perfect tense and pronouns in Egyptian Arabic are quite similar:

Perfect Tense
Singular
1 فعلت fa3alt
2m فعلت fa3alt
2f فعلتي fa3alte
3m فعل fa3al
3f فعلت fa3alat

Plural
1 فعلنا fa3alna
2 فعلتوا fa3alto
3 فعلوا fa3alo

Subject pronouns
Singular
1 انا ana
2m اِنتَ enta
2f اِنتي ente
3m هو howa
3f هي heya

Plural
1 احنا e7na
2 انتو ento
3 هما homa

Possessive/object pronouns
Singular
1 ـي -e
2m ـَك -ak
2f ـِك -ek
3m ـه or ـو -o [u] only
3f ـها -ha

Plural
1 ـنا -na
2 ـكم or ـكو -ko [ku] only
3 ـهم -hom

Conjugate the following verbs in both the past and present according to the subject pronoun:
1) هي اجتمع heya egtama3
2) انت اكل enta akal
3) انتي شرب ente shareb
4) انا اتعلم ana ata3allam
5) هما جمع homa gama3
6) هو عرف howa 3araf
7) احنا تجمع e7na tagamma3
8) انتو ذهب ento zahab
9) انتو كتب ento katab
10) هما سرح homa sara7

Match the following subject pronouns with their respective object pronouns:
1) هما homa
2) انتي ente
3) احنا e7na
4) انتو ento
5) انتي ente
6) هي heya
7) انا ana
8) هما homa
9) هو howa
10) انت enta

Rewrite the following sentences into Egyptian Arabic, replacing the present tense with the past tense, and replacing the nouns with the appropriate pronouns:
1) الولد يقتطع البلد من الملك al-wld yaqtate3 al-bld mn al-mlk
2) الولد يستجمع الاصدقاء al-wld yastajme3 al-asdqa2
3) البنت تتعلم اللغة al-bnt tata3allam al-loghah
4) البنت تُعلم الموضوع بالولد al-bnt to3lem al-mwdo3 bel-wld
5) الولد يجامع الصديقات al-wld yojâme3 al-sadeqât

Translate the following sentences into the past tense in Egyptian Arabic:
1) الملوك يريدون الاكل في المطعم al-molôk yorêdôn al-2akl fe l-mat3am
2) الشباب يشربون القهوة في المقهى al-shabâb yashrebôn al-qahwah fe l-maqhah
3) تأكل الصديقات ويشربن ايضا ta2kol al-sadêqât wa yashrabna aydan
4) الحاج جمع كل الشباب وكلهم تجمعوا ضد الحكومة al-7ajj jama3a koll al-shabâb wa kollohom tajamma3ô dad al-7akômah
5) نذهب الى المكتبة وبعد ذلك سنذهب الى المقهى لنشرب القهوة nazhab ela l-maktabah wa ba3d zalek sanazhab ela l-maqhah lenashrab al-qahwah

Translate the following sentences into Egyptian Arabic:
1) The nice king corresponded with them
2) The boys gathered the others; the boys and the others gathered.
3) We liked going to coffee shops a lot
4) The land is now cut up into pieces
5) The paper taught me the English language

[tiramisu]

And also, it would be great to see some more emphasis on 3amiyya forms; I'm personally more interested in khaliiji due to possible career prospects, but I'd love to know more about misriyya as well. Maybe you should consider making a different thread for that, since fus7a is effectively a different language - maybe not as much as Latin and Italian, but pretty close to that nevertheless!

I can help with the Khaleji (Gulf) dialect if anybody would be interested?

I'd be interested in a comparative dialects thread. I'd like to focus this thread on fus7a and Egyptian Arabic, but I'd like to learn Khaleji and improve my Shami. Do we maybe have volunteers to do these dialects (or others)?

[Khvaragh]

Just some constructive nitpicks:

ط ج قطط or 2ot [ʔotˁ] j. 2otat ["ʔo.tˁat] - cat

Very few people say the singular (in dialect) you've given unless they want to specifically say they're talking about a male cat. The default word for cat in Egyptian Arabic is feminine, قطّة /?ut_?\:a/ and in fact, when I hear Egyptians talking about cats in English, they usually refer to them as "she."

عايز ج. عايزين or 3ayez ["ʕa:.jiz] j. 3ayzên [ʕaj."zi:.n] - want (noun, lit. "wanting")

There's also a variant, somewhat less common, but still commonly used of this word: عاوز/عاوزة/عاوزين (/?\a:wiz/ /?\a:wza/, /?\a:wzi:n/), which is probably a hyper-classical-ism based on the original source root of ع و ز "in need, desperate," while عايز reflects correct etymology, being derived straight from the (little-used) classical عائز /?\a:?izun/. Strictly speaking though, even though these words are nouns in fuS7a, they are usually used syntactically as participles, and are gradually mutating into a continuous imperfect.

فرن forn [forn] - bakery

This also means oven. Usually, if people say /furn/ to refer to a bakery, they specifically mean a place which makes Egyptian bread, which ARE actually ovens. For a pastry shop, many people I know use the French word, pâtisserie.

3ayzat saro7 fe el-masra7 el-nahardah?

This seems a bit strange to me. I don't hear the word saru7 used often at all. Most people I know would say "3ayza tistira:7 filmasra7 in-nahardah?" You also have a mistake for gim as jim in gamila, and tha' for sa' - these are etymologically correct, but Egyptians don't use them (unless they're quoting Qur'an or 7adith, ex. "ummak thumma ummak thumma, ummak thumma..." etc.) And while I know this is just a sample dialogue, I would advise anyone learning Egyptian Arabic not to say "inti zayy il-2amar" unless you know the girl really well, or you're dating. This is something guys say to their girlfriends generally. Also, as an aside for things not to say, don't EVER use the Classical word "mar?a" (woman) in Egypt...it means "bitch" there; "marati" means "my wife," though, so that's fine.

Fun Fact!
Doesn't happen in Moroccan Arabic, it's just -(u)k for both genders. Example with smi 'name'.

Ma smituk?
Smiti [___]

BTW, this is because in most places, Maghribi dialects have collapsed Classical *i and *u into /@/ or zero, due to Berber influence. Egyptian changes them back and forth a lot: Classical /X\ulmun/ becomes /X\ilm/ "dream." Many Shami dialects preserve them, mostly, though even in fuS7a true minimal pairs between the two where rare, which probably precipitated the collapse.

sabâ7 al-ward [sˁa."ba:.ħ æl.wærd] "Morning of the rose"
صباح الفول sabâ7 al-fôl [sˁa."ba:.ħ æl.fu:.l] "Morning of fôl (beans)"
صياح الفلافل sabâ7 al-falâfal [sˁa."ba:.ħ æl-fæ."læ:.fæl] "Morning of falafel" (usually said for humor in response to سباح الفول sabâ7 al-fôl)

All of these are definitely used, they are very very informal (colloquially, they're called بيئة /bi:?a/ (lit. "environment")expressions, which basically means "ghetto," like saying 'whazzup", so don't say them to people you're trying to be polite to. If you want to be really bi:?a, you can say قشتة عليك /?ishta ?\alajk/, literally "cream on you," which is SUPER informal.

ضد dad - against

Actually, /d_?\id:a/. /d_?\ad:a/ is a verb, and /d_?\ad/ sounds like /d_?\a:d/, the name of the letter.

[tiramisu]

Everything

Thanks, I'll be correcting and clarifying these

Some of them were pretty dumb mistakes on my part, so I appreciate that you keep an eye on them.

[tezcatlip0ca]

*bumpy bumpity bee*

[tiramisu]

I got lazy and stopped because it didn't seem like any beginning-level folks were interested. I have class/parties/etc starting now, so if I continue the lessons will be much shorter, and fus7a and Egyptian will probably be separate lessons.

[eskandar]

b) السلام عليكم al-salâm 3alêkum [sæ."læ:.m ʕa."lɛi.kum]; ~"Peace be upon you"
This is the Muslim greeting, but it's one of the most common. Feel free to use it as a formal greeting whatever your religion, but note that Christians and other religious minorities typically don't use it.

I've seen Lebanese, Palestinian, and Iraqi Christians use it all the time. Haven't had much interaction with other Arab religious minorities, or Christians from other Arab countries, though.

Hindi शुक्रिया: coincidence or loan?

It's a loan. It's actually used more often by Muslims and Urdu-speakers, since the pure Hindi variant is धन्यवाद.

It's actually a loan through Farsi شکریه.

But no one speaks "pure" Hindi, except on the news or maybe in a classroom. I've never heard anyone use धन्यवाद in an actual conversation, only शुक्रिया. The latter may have entered Hindi-Urdu through Persian, but it can't be considered a loan from Persian per se since Persian doesn't have any such word, and I can't even find such a word in any of the Persian dictionaries I consulted.

[Khvaragh]

b) السلام عليكم al-salâm 3alêkum [sæ."læ:.m ʕa."lɛi.kum]; ~"Peace be upon you"
This is the Muslim greeting, but it's one of the most common. Feel free to use it as a formal greeting whatever your religion, but note that Christians and other religious minorities typically don't use it.

I've seen Lebanese, Palestinian, and Iraqi Christians use it all the time. Haven't had much interaction with other Arab religious minorities, or Christians from other Arab countries, though.

Copts in Egypt typically don't use it, AFAIK; /ahlan wasahlan/ is usual. I've once or twice mistakenly said it to one, and they didn't respond. For Egypt, I would definately say +religious marking for this phrase.

[tiramisu]

Yes, Christians use it all the time. I generalized to keep things from being complicated and generalized against saying it to Christians particularly because these lessons aimed at teaching Egyptian Arabic.

[masako]

Bump.

Been re-studying Arabic lately...this thread helps.

[Astraios]

Moar. I'm taking a course in Arabic starting in September, so lessons like this would help loads.

[tiramisu]

Okay, I will try to get lesson 4 up sometime next week

[Astraios]

Yay!

[tezcatlip0ca]

Seconded.

[tiramisu]

Alas, I cannot continue. When I began these, I had hours each day I could devote. Today, I may not have classes, but I have a job, and am otherwise busy. Sorry.

[Astraios]

[Drydic]

:firebombs Zayk's job:

There.

[tiramisu]

Great. Now I have to spend all my time finding ANOTHER job in an area with 13% unemployment and without a car, and I'm not even making money in the meantime.

Thanks a lot >:\

[Drydic]

Great. Now I have to spend all my time finding ANOTHER job in an area with 13% unemployment and without a car, and I'm not even making money in the meantime.

Thanks a lot >:\

:gives Zayk a unicycle:

[tezcatlip0ca]

*pushes Zayk off her unicycle and gives her a computer and Hans Wehr's dictionary*

[Drydic]

*pushes Zayk off her unicycle and gives her a computer and Hans Wehr's dictionary*

*his