A1Unit 4 · Numbers, time and the market · Lesson 40 of 100
Review and A1 test: a day in Ramallah
ʾaddēsh is-sāʿa? · ʾaddēsh siʿrha? · il-yōm is-sabt · dāyman bakkīr!
Goal: Get through a simple day in Ramallah: shop, tell the time, talk about your routine, and check your whole A1 level.
Dialogue
Lina has a free Saturday and spends it with Rana: the market, the shops, lunch at home and a quiet evening. Part A, the dialogue and the review, brings back unit 4. Part B, the exercises, is the A1 test: 39 questions on lessons 1 to 39.
A Saturday in Ramallah, from morning to evening. Lina has a free day, and Rana spends it with her.
- Ranaṣabāḥ il-khēr, Līna! shu btiʿmali l-yōm?Good morning, Lina! What are you doing today?
- Linaṣabāḥ in-nūr! il-yōm is-sabt, w ana fāḍye!Good morning! Today is Saturday, and I'm free!
- Ranaḥilu! immi bidha khuḍra. nrūḥ ʿas-sūʾ maʿ baʿḍ?Great! My mother wants vegetables. Shall we go to the market together?
- Linayalla, baʿd il-fṭūr!OK, after breakfast!
- Abu Samirahla w sahla, ya banāt! shu bidkom?(At the market.) Welcome, girls! What would you like?
- Ranatalāte kīlo bandōra, kīlo khyār w sitt lamūnāt, law samaḥt.Three kilos of tomatoes, a kilo of cucumbers and six lemons, please.
- Abu Samirtfaḍḍali. kull ishi tnaʿshar shēkel.Here you are. Everything is twelve shekels.
- Linatnaʿsh bass? rkhīṣ! shukran, ya ʿammo.Only twelve? That's cheap! Thank you, sir.
- RanaLīna, hal-kundara l-ḥamra ḥilwe ktīr!(In a shoe shop.) Lina, these red shoes are really nice!
- Linaā, bass ʾaddēsh siʿrha? … mītēn w khamsīn shēkel?! ghālye ktīr!Yes, but how much are they? … Two hundred and fifty shekels?! Far too expensive!
- Ranamaʿlēsh. ʾaddēsh is-sāʿa? ana jūʿāne!Never mind. What time is it? I'm hungry!
- Linais-sāʿa waḥde w nuṣṣ.It's half past one.
- Ranayalla ʿal-bēt! immi btiʿmal ghada kbīr il-yōm.Let's go home! My mother is making a big lunch today.
- Linayalla! w baʿd il-ghada banām shwayy.Let's go! And after lunch I'll sleep a little.
- RanaLīna, shu btiʿmali l-lēle?(In the evening.) Lina, what are you doing tonight?
- Linaʿādatan baʾra shwayy w banām bakkīr. bukra l-aḥad, w ʿindi dars is-sāʿa tisʿa.Usually I read a little and go to bed early. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I have a lesson at nine.
- Ranadāyman bakkīr! ya Līna, il-yōm is-sabt! nitfarraj ʿala musalsal maʿ baʿḍ?Always early! Lina, today is Saturday! Shall we watch a series together?
- Linaṭayyib, ṭayyib… yalla!OK, OK… let's!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| miyye | hundredreview, lesson 31: mīt ṣandūʾ, mītēn |
| kīlo | kiloreview, lesson 32: talāte kīlo bandōra |
| siʿr | pricereview, lesson 33: ʾaddēsh siʿrha? |
| nuṣṣ | halfreview, lesson 34: nuṣṣ kīlo, waḥde w nuṣṣ |
| lōn | colorreview, lesson 35: shu lōnha? |
| sāʿa | hour; clock, watch; o'clockreview, lesson 36: ʾaddēsh is-sāʿa? |
| ēmta | whenreview, lesson 37: ēmta l-ḥafle? |
| ṣiḥi | to wake upreview, lesson 38: baṣḥa bakkīr |
| dāyman | alwaysreview, lesson 39: dāyman barūḥ ʿan-nādi |
Grammar
Part A. What you can now say
- Count to a hundred: khamse w talātīn, mīt ṣandūʾ.
- Count things and people: kīsēn, talat kutub, khamstaʿshar shakhṣ.
- Ask and understand prices: ʾaddēsh siʿrha? — mītēn w khamsīn shēkel.
- Buy fruit and vegetables: kīlo bandōra, sitt lamūnāt.
- Describe colors: kundara ḥamra, sayyāra bēḍa.
- Tell the time: is-sāʿa waḥde w nuṣṣ, ʿashara illa rubʿ.
- Talk about days: il-yōm is-sabt, bukra l-aḥad, ēmta?
- Describe your day and say how often: baṣḥa bakkīr, dāyman, marra fil-usbūʿ.
The unit in one table: numbers and nouns
| How many | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | the noun alone, or + wāḥad / waḥde | kīs, lamūne waḥde |
| 2 | the dual: -ēn, -tēn | kīsēn, sāʿtēn |
| 3 to 10 | short number + plural | talat kutub, sitt lamūnāt |
| 11 and up | number + singular | tnaʿshar shēkel, mīt ṣandūʾ |
| kīlo, shēkel after 3 to 10 | full number, no change | talāte kīlo, ʿashara shēkel |
Part B. The A1 test
The exercises below cover the whole A1 program, lessons 1 to 39. Answer them without looking back, and count one point for each correct answer (each pair of the matching block is one point). The pass line and a list of lessons to review are in the summary.
Practice
1Test 1: choose the right answer
Imm Khalil says ṣabāḥ il-khēr! You answer:
Missed it? Go back to lesson 2.
You ask Sam how he is.
To a man: -ak. Lesson 3.
Rana is a student. You say:
Rana is a woman: ṭālbe. Lesson 6.
my car
-i is "my". Lesson 12.
We have a big house.
ʿinna is "we have". Lessons 13 and 14.
the big house
bēt kbīr is "a big house", il-bēt kbīr is "the house is big". Lesson 17.
three books
From 3 to 10: short number + plural. Lesson 32.
350 shekels
The hundreds come first; talāte w khamsīn is 53. Lesson 33.
a white car
The color comes after the noun and agrees with it. Lesson 35.
It's twenty to five.
illa tult is "twenty to". Lesson 36.
I don't drink coffee.
A verb is made negative with ma … -sh; ma biddi ʾahwe is "I don't want coffee". Lesson 24.
There is no TV in my room.
"There isn't" is ma fīsh. Lesson 28.
2Test 2: complete the sentence
ana ___ Shikāgo. = I am from Chicago.
Lesson 5.
___ hāda? = Whose is this?
mīn hāda? is "who is this?" Lesson 12.
ʿumri ___ sane. = I am twenty years old.
Lesson 15.
Rana ___ fi jāmʿit Bīrzēt. = Rana studies at Birzeit University.
badros is "I study", budros is "he studies". Lessons 22 and 23.
biddi ___ ʿal-bēt. = I want to go home.
After biddi, the verb has no b-. Lesson 25.
il-muftāḥ ___ il-mkhadde. = The key is under the cushion.
Lesson 29.
kīlo bandōra w ___ kīlo baṣal. = a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of onions
Lesson 34.
id-dars ___ it-tnēn. = The lesson is on Monday.
Lesson 37.
___ barūḥ ʿan-nādi. = I always go to the gym.
Lesson 39.
3Test 3: match the Arabic and the English
ʿēle
shughl
maṭbakh
law samaḥt
ma baḥibbish
usbūʿ
4Test 4: put the words in order
Where do you live in Ramallah? (to a woman)
My name is Lina, and I am from Chicago.
How much is a kilo of apples?
I wake up at seven.
5Test 5: say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Say that you don't understand. (a woman speaks)
mish fāhme.
Ask a man his name and where he is from.
shu ismak? w inte mnēn?
Thank Imm Khalil for the meal.
yislam īdēki!
There is a café next to the school.
fī ʾahwe jamb il-madrase.
6Test 6: true or false? (about the dialogue)
Lina and Rana go to the market after breakfast.
Abu Samir asks for twenty shekels.
He says tnaʿshar shēkel, twelve shekels.
The red shoes are cheap.
They cost mītēn w khamsīn shēkel: ghālye ktīr.
Tomorrow Lina has a lesson at nine.
Summary
- You can now count, buy and pay: talat kutub, kīlo bandōra, ʾaddēsh siʿrha?
- You can now tell the time and name the days: is-sāʿa waḥde w nuṣṣ, bukra l-aḥad.
- You can now describe your day and your free time: baṣḥa bakkīr, dāyman, marra fil-usbūʿ.
- You have covered the whole A1 program, lessons 1 to 39.
Your score
Pass line: 30 of 39. Below 30, review the lessons where you lost points, then take the test again:
- greetings, thanks, "how are you": lessons 1-3 and 10
- names, "this", jobs, "not": lessons 4-8
- family, "my, your", "I have", "the", plurals: lessons 11-19
- verbs in the present, "I want", negatives: lessons 21-25 and 38
- the café, food, the house, "where": lessons 26-29
- numbers, prices, the market: lessons 9, 15 and 31-34
- colors, time, days, free time: lessons 35-37 and 39