A1Unit 4 · Numbers, time and the market · Lesson 37 of 100
Days of the week
il-yōm it-tnēn · ēmta? · yōm il-khamīs · bukra, inshalla
Goal: Name the days of the week, say when something happens and talk about plans.
Dialogue
It is Monday morning, and Sam is a little lost in the week. Lina helps him with the schedule. You will learn the days of the week, "today", "tomorrow" and "yesterday", and how to ask ēmta? "when?"
Monday morning in the teachers' room at the language school. Lina and Sam look at the schedule for the week.
- Samṣabāḥ il-khēr, Līna! il-yōm il-aḥad, mazbūṭ?Good morning, Lina! Today is Sunday, right?
- Linalaʾ, ya Sām! il-yōm it-tnēn, mish il-aḥad!No, Sam! Today is Monday, not Sunday!
- Samṭayyib… w ēmta dars il-ʿarabi hal-usbūʿ?OK… And when is the Arabic lesson this week?
- Linabukra, yōm it-talāta, w yōm il-khamīs, is-sāʿa tisʿa.Tomorrow, Tuesday, and on Thursday, at nine.
- Samw ana ēmta baʿallem?And when do I teach?
- Linakull yōm baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr, illa baʿd bukra.Every afternoon, except the day after tomorrow.
- Sambaʿd bukra? yaʿni l-arbʿa? lēsh?The day after tomorrow? You mean Wednesday? Why?
- Linais-sāʿa arbaʿa fī ḥafle fil-madrase.At four there's a party at the school.
- Samḥilu! w il-jumʿa w is-sabt?Nice! And Friday and Saturday?
- Linaʿuṭle, inshalla!Days off, God willing!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| il-aḥad | Sunday |
| it-tnēn | Mondayyōm it-tnēn on Monday |
| it-talāta | Tuesday |
| il-arbʿa | Wednesday |
| il-khamīs | Thursday |
| is-sabt | Saturday |
| usbūʿ | weekpl. asābīʿ; hal-usbūʿ this week |
| il-yōm | today |
| mbāreḥ | yesterdayawwal mbāreḥ the day before yesterday |
| baʿd bukra | the day after tomorrow |
| ēmta | when |
| inshalla | God willing; I hope so |
Grammar
1. The days
The days take the article: il-aḥad, it-tnēn. Sunday to Thursday come from the numbers, counting from Sunday, the first day of the week.
| English | Palestinian Arabic | Compare |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | il-aḥad | wāḥad 1 |
| Monday | it-tnēn | tnēn 2 |
| Tuesday | it-talāta | talāte 3 |
| Wednesday | il-arbʿa | arbaʿa 4 |
| Thursday | il-khamīs | khamse 5 |
| Friday | il-jumʿa | — |
| Saturday | is-sabt | — |
2. On Monday, every Monday
"On" needs no word: say yōm it-tnēn or simply it-tnēn. "Every Monday" is kull yōm tnēn, without the article.
3. When? Today, tomorrow
Ask ēmta? "when?" Answer with a day, a time, or one of these: mbāreḥ "yesterday", il-yōm "today", bukra "tomorrow", baʿd bukra "the day after tomorrow". A plan is often followed by inshalla "God willing".
Practice
1Choose the right words
Today is Monday. Tomorrow is …
On Thursday
kull yōm khamīs is "every Thursday".
You ask: "When is the party?"
wēn is "where" and lēsh is "why".
Which day is is-sabt?
2Complete the sentence
il-yōm il-arbʿa, w ___ il-khamīs. = Today is Wednesday, and tomorrow is Thursday.
il-yōm il-khamīs, w ___ is-sabt. = Today is Thursday, and the day after tomorrow is Saturday.
barūḥ ʿind sitti bukra, ___. = I'm going to my grandmother's tomorrow, God willing.
inshalla goes with the future; il-ḥamdilla thanks God, mashalla praises.
3Match the Arabic and the English
il-aḥad
it-tnēn
it-talāta
il-arbʿa
il-khamīs
usbūʿ
4Put the words in order
When is the Arabic lesson?
Today is Monday, not Sunday.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Every Monday I teach in the afternoon.
kull yōm tnēn baʿallem baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr.
Friday and Saturday are days off.
il-jumʿa w is-sabt ʿuṭle.
6True or false?
Sam thinks that today is Sunday.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sam teaches as usual.
On Wednesday there is a party at the school.
Summary
- You can name the seven days, from il-aḥad to is-sabt.
- You can say "on Monday" and "every Monday": yōm it-tnēn, kull yōm tnēn.
- You can use mbāreḥ, il-yōm, bukra and baʿd bukra.
- You can ask ēmta? and add inshalla to a plan.