A2Unit 5 · Out and about · Lesson 46 of 100
Went, came, said: the past 2
ruḥt · shuft · jīt · ʿajbatni
Goal: Say where you went, what you saw, said and brought, when you came back and what you liked, using the past of common irregular verbs.
Dialogue
Sam has spent his Saturday in Jerusalem, and in the evening he tells Lina and Imm Khalil all about it. You will learn the past of verbs with a long ā, such as rāḥ "he went" and shāf "he saw", the past of ija "he came", and how to say "I liked it".
Saturday evening at the Khalil house. Sam is back from a day in Jerusalem.
- Imm Khalilya Līna, Sām ija!Lina, Sam is here!
- Linaahlan, ya Sām! ʿajbatak il-ʾUds?Hi, Sam! Did you like Jerusalem?
- Samā, ʿajbatni ktīr! riḥle ḥilwe. ruḥt bakkīr iṣ-ṣubḥ bil-bāṣ, w hallaʾ jīt.Yes, I liked it a lot! A lovely trip. I went early in the morning by bus, and I've just come back.
- Linaw shu shuft?And what did you see?
- Samfutt ʿal-balad il-ʾadīme w shuft is-sūr. fī daraj ktīr!I went into the Old City and saw the wall. There are so many steps!
- Linaṣawwart?Did you take photos?
- Samā, ṣawwart ṣuwar ktīr. w ʾaʿadt maʿ suyyāḥ min Torōnto!Yes, lots of photos. And I hung out with some tourists from Toronto!
- Imm Khalilw akalt ishi?And did you eat anything?
- Samakalt falāfel. bass baʿd il-ghada ḍayyaʿt iṭ-ṭarīʾ!I ate falafel. But after lunch I lost my way!
- Linaw shu ʿmilt?And what did you do?
- Samrijjāl laṭīf ʾāl: dughri, w baʿdēn ʿash-shmāl. w jibt hidiyye lal-ʿēle!A kind man said: straight ahead, then left. And I brought a present for the family!
- Imm Khalilshukran, ya ḥabībi!Thank you, my dear!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| ija | to comeija / yīji; b-present bāji; jīt = I came |
| il-ʾUds | Jerusalemfil-ʾUds = in Jerusalem; ʿal-ʾUds = to Jerusalem; adjective maʾdisi |
| fāt | to go in, enter; (of time) to passfāt / yfūt; b-present bafūt; futt = I went in |
| ʿajab | to please: biʿjibni = I like itʿajabni = I liked it (a masculine thing), ʿajbatni (a feminine thing), ʿajabūni (several) |
| ṣawwar | to take a photoṣawwar / yṣawwer; b-present baṣawwer; ṣawwart = I took photos |
| riḥle | trip, outingplural riḥlāt |
| sāyeḥ | touristplural suyyāḥ |
| sūr | (city) wallsūr il-balad = the city wall |
| daraj | stairs, stepsone step: daraje |
| ḍayyaʿ | to loseḍayyaʿ / yḍayyeʿ; b-present baḍayyeʿ; ḍayyaʿt iṭ-ṭarīʾ = I lost my way |
| ḍāyeʿ | lostfeminine ḍāyʿa, plural ḍāyʿīn; ana ḍāyeʿ = I'm lost |
| hidiyye | present, giftplural hadāya |
Grammar
1. Verbs with a long ā: rāḥ, shāf, nām
Some verbs have a long ā in the "he" form: rāḥ "he went", shāf "he saw". The ā stays for "he", "she" and "they". Before the endings -t, -ti, -na and -tu it becomes a short u or i.
| Person | rāḥ go | shāf see | nām sleep | jāb bring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ana, inte | ruḥt | shuft | nimt | jibt |
| inti | ruḥti | shufti | nimti | jibti |
| huwwe | rāḥ | shāf | nām | jāb |
| hiyye | rāḥat | shāfat | nāmat | jābat |
| iḥna | ruḥna | shufna | nimna | jibna |
| intu | ruḥtu | shuftu | nimtu | jibtu |
| humme | rāḥu | shāfu | nāmu | jābu |
Which short vowel? Look at the present: yrūḥ, yshūf give u; yjīb gives i. Learn nām → nimt as it is. In the same way: ʾāl → ʾult "I said", zār → zurt "I visited", fāt → futt "I went in".
2. ija "he came"
"To come" is irregular. Learn it as it is: jīt (I; you, to a man), jīti (you, to a woman), ija (he), ijat (she), jīna (we), jītu (you, to several people), iju (they).
3. "I liked it": ʿajabni
Palestinians say "it pleased me". The thing you liked is the subject: ʿajabni (a masculine thing), ʿajbatni (a feminine thing), ʿajabūni (several things). To a man, "did you like it?" is ʿajabak? or ʿajbatak?
Practice
1Complete with the past tense
mbāreḥ ___ ʿal-ʾUds. = Yesterday I went to Jerusalem.
Rana ___ bakkīr. = Rana went to bed early.
___ hidiyye la-immi. = I brought a present for my mother.
Sām ___ hallaʾ. = Sam has just come.
intu ___ is-sūr? = Did you see the wall? (to several people)
2Choose the right answer
You ask Lina: "Did you sleep well?"
To a woman, the ending is -ti: nimti.
How do you say "They came yesterday"?
Sam says il-ʾUds ʿajbatni. He means:
With ʿajab, the thing you like is the subject: "Jerusalem pleased me".
Sam cannot find his way. He says:
A man says ḍāyeʿ; a woman says ḍāyʿa.
3Match the Arabic and the English
ija
fāt
ṣawwar
ḍayyaʿ
hidiyye
sāyeḥ
4Put the words in order
I went into the Old City and saw the wall.
I brought a present for the family.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I took a lot of photos.
ṣawwart ṣuwar ktīr.
I visited Jerusalem and I liked it a lot.
zurt il-ʾUds w ʿajbatni ktīr.
6True or false?
Sam went to Jerusalem in the evening.
He went early in the morning: ruḥt bakkīr iṣ-ṣubḥ.
Sam lost his way after lunch.
Summary
- You can say where you went and what you saw: ruḥt, shuft, futt, zurt.
- You know that the long ā becomes u or i before -t: rāḥ → ruḥt, jāb → jibt, nām → nimt.
- You can say who came: jīt, ija, ijat, jīna, iju.
- You can say what you liked: ʿajabni, ʿajbatni, and ask a man ʿajbatak?