A1Unit 3 · Everyday life: the present · Lesson 23 of 100
We, you, they do
bnudros maʿ baʿḍ · shu btiʿmalu? · biḥḍaru musalsal
Goal: Say what you, your friends and other people do, using the present with every person.
Dialogue
In the evening, Lina asks her cousins Rana and Khalil what they do with their friends. You will complete the b-present with "we", "you" (to several people) and "they", and see that the pronoun is often left out.
Evening at the Khalil house. Lina, Rana and Khalil are in the living room.
- LinaRana, inti w aṣḥābik, shu btiʿmalu fil-jāmʿa?Rana, what do you and your friends do at the university?
- Ranabnudros maʿ baʿḍ w bniḍḥak ktīr!We study together and we laugh a lot!
- Linaw Khalīl w aṣḥābo? shu biʿmalu?And Khalil and his friends? What do they do?
- Ranahumme kull yōm barra!They are out every day!
- Khalilmish ṣḥīḥ! iḥna bnishtghel ktīr.Not true! We work a lot.
- Ranaw bil-lēl? shu btiʿmalu bil-lēl?And at night? What do you do at night?
- Khalilbil-lēl... bniḥḍar musalsal maʿ baʿḍ.At night... we watch a series together.
- Linaw btiʿmalu ḥaflāt?And do you have parties?
- Khalilaywa, bniʿmal ḥafle zghīre ʿind ṣāḥbi.Yes, we have a small party at my friend's place.
- Ranayaʿni humme kull yōm barra!So they ARE out every day!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| yōm | daypl. ayyām; two days: yōmēn |
| kull | every; allkull yōm every day; kullna all of us |
| maʿ baʿḍ | together |
| ʿimil | to do, makeʿimil / yiʿmal; baʿmal I do; shu btiʿmal? what are you doing? (to a man) |
| ḥafle | party; concertpl. ḥaflāt |
| dars | lessonpl. drūs |
| lēl | night, nighttimebil-lēl at night |
| sāʿad | to helpsāʿad / ysāʿed; basāʿed I help |
| ḥiḍir | to watch (TV, a match); to attendḥiḍir / yiḥḍar; baḥḍar I watch |
| musalsal | TV seriespl. musalsalāt |
| ḍiḥik | to laughḍiḥik / yiḍḥak; baḍḥak I laugh |
| barra | outside, out |
Grammar
1. We, you, they
Three more persons complete the b-present. bn- means "we". "You" to several people and "they" add -u at the end.
| Who | ḥaka speak | daras study | ʿimil do |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | baḥki | badros | baʿmal |
| you (to a man) | btiḥki | btudros | btiʿmal |
| you (to a woman) | btiḥki | btudrosi | btiʿmali |
| he | biḥki | budros | biʿmal |
| she | btiḥki | btudros | btiʿmal |
| we | bniḥki | bnudros | bniʿmal |
| you (to several people) | btiḥku | btudrosu | btiʿmalu |
| they | biḥku | budrosu | biʿmalu |
A verb ending in -i, like baḥki, swaps it for -u: btiḥku, biḥku. A few verbs take bin- for "we": binsāʿed "we help".
2. No need for the pronoun
The verb already says who: bnudros maʿ baʿḍ is "we study together". Add iḥna, intu or humme only to stress or to contrast.
Practice
1Choose the right words
You ask Khalil and Rana together: "What do you do?"
To several people: bt- … -u. biʿmalu means "they do".
"We speak Arabic."
Which sentence means "They watch a series"?
bniḍḥak ktīr means:
bn- at the start means "we".
2Complete the sentence
Rana w aṣḥābha ___ maʿ baʿḍ. = Rana and her friends study together.
"They": b- at the start and -u at the end.
intu ___ kull yōm? = Do you work every day? (to several people)
iḥna ___ immna kull yōm. = We help our mother every day.
___ yōm = every day
3Match the Arabic and the English
dars
ḥafle
musalsal
barra
maʿ baʿḍ
4Put the words in order
We study together every day.
What do you do at night? (to several people)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
They speak English and Arabic.
biḥku inglīzi w ʿarabi.
6True or false?
Rana says that Khalil and his friends are out every day.
At night Khalil and his friends study.
Khalil says bniḥḍar musalsal maʿ baʿḍ.
Summary
- You can use the b-present with every person: bniḥki, btiḥku, biḥku.
- You can ask several people shu btiʿmalu? and answer for a group.
- You can leave out the pronoun, and use it only to contrast: humme bishtighlu, w iḥna bnudros.
- You can say kull yōm, maʿ baʿḍ, bil-lēl and barra.