A1Unit 2 · People and family · Lesson 18 of 100
Khalil's house: the construct
bēt Khalīl · ōḍit Rana · bāb il-bēt · finjān ʾahwe · kāsit mayye
Goal: Say "Khalil's house", "the door of the house" and "a cup of coffee", and ask whose room something is.
Dialogue
Rana shows Lina the top floor of the house: whose room is whose, the bathroom, the door to the roof. You will learn to put two nouns side by side to say "Rana's room" or "a glass of water".
Saturday afternoon. Rana shows Lina the top floor of the house.
- Ranaya Līna, hāda ṭābeʾ il-banāt!Lina, this is the girls' floor!
- Linaṭābeʾ il-banāt? w hādi ōḍit mīn?The girls' floor? And whose room is this?
- Ranahādi ōḍti, w hunāk ōḍtik.This is my room, and over there is yours.
- Linaw hāda bāb ōḍit Khalīl?And is this the door of Khalil's room?
- Ranalaʾ, hāda ḥammām il-banāt! ōḍit Khalīl mish hōn.No, that's the girls' bathroom! Khalil's room isn't up here.
- Linaw hāda?And this?
- Ranahāda bāb is-saṭḥ. min is-saṭḥ, il-madīne ḥilwe ktīr!That's the door to the roof. From the roof, the town looks lovely!
- Imm Khalilya banāt! finjān ʾahwe?Girls! A cup of coffee?
- Ranaaywa, ʾahwe!Yes, coffee!
- Linaana laʾ, shukran, ya khālto. kāsit mayye bass.Not for me, thank you, auntie. Just a glass of water.
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| finjān | small cup (for coffee)plural fanājīn; finjān ʾahwe a cup of coffee |
| kāse | glass (for drinking)plural kāsāt; kāsit mayye a glass of water |
| mayye | water |
| bāb | doorplural bwāb |
| shubbāk | windowplural shabābīk |
| madrase | schoolplural madāres; madrasit il-banāt the girls' school |
| ʾahwe | coffee; caféplural (cafés) ʾahāwi |
| ḥammām | bathroom, toiletplural ḥammāmāt |
| saṭḥ | roof (flat roof)plural sṭūḥ |
| ṭābeʾ | floor, storyplural ṭawābeʾ |
| ḥēṭ | wallplural ḥīṭān |
Grammar
1. Two nouns side by side: "X of Y"
To say "Khalil's house" or "the door of the house", put the two nouns side by side: first the thing, then the owner. bēt Khalīl is literally "house Khalil".
The first noun never takes il-. The pair is "the …" when the second noun has il- or is a name (bāb il-bēt, bēt Khalīl), and "a …" when it has not (finjān ʾahwe "a cup of coffee"). Say bāb il-bēt, not il-bāb il-bēt.
2. Words in -a or -e take -it
A feminine word in -a or -e ends in -it when it comes first in the pair.
| Word | First in the pair | English |
|---|---|---|
| ōḍa | ōḍit Rana | Rana's room |
| kāse | kāsit mayye | a glass of water |
| madrase | madrasit il-banāt | the girls' school |
| sayyāra | sayyārit Khalīl | Khalil's car |
3. A cup of coffee; whose room?
The same pattern says what is inside: finjān ʾahwe "a cup of coffee". With mīn "who" it asks "whose?"
Practice
1Choose the right words
"Khalil's house"
First the thing, then the owner; the first word takes no il-.
"Rana's room"
ōḍa ends in -a, so it becomes ōḍit.
"a cup of coffee"
finjān il-ʾahwe means "the cup of coffee".
"the door of the house"
2Complete the sentence
hāda ___ il-banāt. = This is the girls' bathroom.
Imm Khalīl mʿallme fi ___ il-banāt. = Imm Khalil is a teacher at the girls' school.
madrase ends in -e, so it becomes madrasit.
___ ōḍti kbīr. = The window of my room is big.
The first noun of the pair takes no il-.
hādi ōḍit ___? = Whose room is this?
3Match the Arabic and the English
bāb
shubbāk
saṭḥ
ḥēṭ
ṭābeʾ
mayye
4Put the words in order
This is Rana's room.
Just a glass of water, thank you.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Say: Khalil's car
sayyārit Khalīl
Ask: Whose house is this? (use mīn)
hāda bēt mīn?
6True or false?
Khalil's room is on the girls' floor.
Rana says ōḍit Khalīl mish hōn.
Lina asks for a cup of coffee.
She asks for kāsit mayye.
Summary
- You can put two nouns side by side: bēt Khalīl, bāb il-bēt.
- You can change -a / -e to -it: ōḍit Rana, kāsit mayye, madrasit il-banāt.
- You can say what is in a cup or a glass: finjān ʾahwe, kāsit mayye.
- You can ask "whose?" with mīn: hādi ōḍit mīn?