A1Unit 3 · Everyday life: the present · Lesson 24 of 100
I don't...: negative verbs
ma bashrabsh ʾahwe · ma baʿrafsh · lēsh?
Goal: Say what you do not do, ask why, and use the chunks "I don't know" and "I don't want".
Dialogue
After lunch, Imm Khalil brings the coffee, and Sam says no. The whole family is shocked. You will learn how to make a verb negative with ma … -sh.
After lunch at the Khalil house. Imm Khalil comes in with the coffee.
- Imm Khalilʾahwe, ya Sām?Coffee, Sam?
- Samlaʾ, shukran, ya khālto. ana ma bashrabsh ʾahwe.No, thank you, auntie. I don't drink coffee.
- Imm Khalilmaʿʾūl?! lēsh?Really?! Why?
- Samma baʿrafsh... ʿādatan bashrab shāy aw mayye.I don't know... Usually I drink tea or water.
- Abu Khalilw ma btishrabsh ʾahwe abadan?And you never drink coffee?
- Samabadan!Never!
- RanaSām! hōn kull in-nās bishrabu ʾahwe!Sam! Here everybody drinks coffee!
- Abu Khalilana bashrab ʾahwe kull yōm, iṣ-ṣubḥ bakkīr!I drink coffee every day, early in the morning!
- Imm Khalilṭayyib, shāy maʿ ḥalīb?All right, tea with milk?
- Samā, shāy. bass ma biddi ḥalīb, shukran!Yes, tea. But I don't want milk, thank you!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| shirib | to drinkshirib / yishrab; bashrab I drink |
| shāy | teashāy maʿ ḥalīb tea with milk |
| sukkar | sugar |
| ḥalīb | milk |
| biddi | I wantma biddi I don't want (no -sh); more in lesson 25 |
| lēsh | why |
| ʿirif | to knowʿirif / yiʿraf; baʿraf I know; ma baʿrafsh I don't know |
| aw | orin questions: willa |
| abadan | never; not at allma bashrabsh ʾahwe abadan I never drink coffee |
| ʿādatan | usually |
| bakkīr | early |
| maʿʾūl | really? is that possible? (surprise); reasonable |
Grammar
1. ma … -sh
To say that you do not do something, put ma before the b-present and add -sh to the end of the verb.
| Positive | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| bashrab ʾahwe | ma bashrabsh ʾahwe | I don't drink coffee |
| btishrab | ma btishrabsh | you don't drink (to a man); she doesn't drink |
| baʿraf | ma baʿrafsh | I don't know |
| bishtghel | ma bishtghelsh | he doesn't work |
2. A final vowel gets longer
If the verb ends in a vowel, that vowel becomes long before -sh: -i becomes -īsh, -u becomes -ūsh.
3. Verbs take ma … -sh; other words take mish
mish stays for nouns, adjectives and words like fāhem: ana mish fāhem. Two useful chunks: ma baʿrafsh "I don't know" and ma biddi "I don't want", which has no -sh. abadan "never" goes with a negative verb: ma bashrabsh ʾahwe abadan.
Practice
1Choose the right words
Say: "I don't drink coffee."
A verb takes ma … -sh. mish is for nouns and adjectives.
Which word means "why"?
Imm Khalil hears something surprising. She says:
"I don't know."
mish fāhem is "I don't understand"; ma biddi is "I don't want".
2Complete the sentence
Rana ma ___ ʾahwe. = Rana doesn't drink coffee.
"She" starts with bt-, and the negative needs -sh.
ana ma ___ fransāwi. = I don't speak French.
ma ___ sukkar, shukran. = I don't want sugar, thank you.
ʿādatan bashrab shāy ___ mayye. = Usually I drink tea or water.
willa is "or" in questions only.
3Match the Arabic and the English
shāy
ḥalīb
sukkar
bakkīr
ʿādatan
4Put the words in order
I never drink coffee.
Why don't you drink tea? (to a man)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Khalil doesn't speak French.
Khalīl ma biḥkīsh fransāwi.
6True or false?
Sam drinks coffee every day.
Sam says ma bashrabsh ʾahwe.
Sam does not want milk in his tea.
Summary
- You can make a verb negative: ma bashrabsh, ma btishrabsh, ma bishtghelsh.
- You know that a final vowel gets longer: ma baḥkīsh, ma bishrabūsh.
- You can say ma baʿrafsh "I don't know" and ma biddi "I don't want".
- You can ask lēsh? and say ʿādatan, abadan and maʿʾūl?!