A2Unit 5 · Out and about · Lesson 48 of 100
I spoke, I forgot: the past 3
ḥakēt · mashēt · nsīt · ḍallēt astanna
Goal: Tell about your day with verbs that end in a vowel, and say that you started, kept doing or finished something.
Dialogue
Nour has called Lina twice today, and Lina did not answer. In the evening Lina tells her about her very busy Monday. You will learn the past of verbs that end in a vowel, such as ḥakēt "I spoke" and nsīt "I forgot", and how to say "I started", "I kept" and "I finished".
Monday evening. Nour calls Lina on her cell phone.
- Nourmarḥaba, ya Līna! ttaṣalt fīki marrtēn il-yōm!Hi, Lina! I called you twice today!
- Linaāsfe, ya Nūr! il-yōm kunt mashghūle ktīr.Sorry, Nour! I was very busy today.
- Nourlēsh? shu ʿmilti?Why? What did you do?
- Linaṣḥīt is-sāʿa sitte w mashēt lal-madrase.I woke up at six and walked to the school.
- Nourw baʿdēn?And then?
- Linaaʿṭēt talat drūs, w baʿdēn kān fī ijtimāʿ ṭawīl.I gave three lessons, and then there was a long meeting.
- Nourw baʿd il-ijtimāʿ?And after the meeting?
- Linaḥakēt maʿ immi nuṣṣ sāʿa, w ʾarēt wājbāt iṭ-ṭullāb.I talked with my mother for half an hour, and I read the students' homework.
- Nourw il-masa?And in the evening?
- Linaghasalt, naḍḍaft ōḍti, w nsīt jawwāli fil-maṭbakh!I did the laundry, cleaned my room, and forgot my phone in the kitchen!
- Nourw ana ḍallēt astanna!And I kept waiting!
- Linaāsfe ktīr! bass hallaʾ khallaṣt kull ishi. bukra nishrab ʾahwe maʿ baʿḍ?So sorry! But now I've finished everything. Shall we have coffee together tomorrow?
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| masha | to walkmasha / yimshi; b-present bamshi; mashēt = I walked |
| ʾaḍa | to spend (time)ʾaḍa / yiʾḍi; b-present baʾḍi; ʾaḍēt = I spent |
| ḍall | to stay; to keep (doing)ḍall / yḍall; b-present baḍall; ḍallēt astanna = I kept waiting |
| ballash | to begin, startballash / yballesh; b-present baballesh |
| khallaṣ | to finishkhallaṣ / ykhalleṣ; b-present bakhalleṣ |
| ghanna | to singghanna / yghanni; b-present baghanni |
| baka | to crybaka / yibki; b-present babki |
| ittaṣal | to call, phoneittaṣal / yittaṣel; b-present battaṣel; with ʿala or fi: ttaṣalt fīki = I called you (to a woman) |
| naḍḍaf | to cleannaḍḍaf / ynaḍḍef; b-present banaḍḍef |
| ghasal | to wash (things); to do the laundryghasal / yighsil; b-present baghsil |
| mashghūl | busyfeminine mashghūle, plural mashghūlīn |
| ijtimāʿ | meetingplural ijtimāʿāt |
| wājeb | homework; dutyplural wājbāt |
Grammar
1. Verbs that end in a vowel
Some verbs end in a vowel: ḥaka "he spoke", nisi "he forgot". In the past, their endings start with a long vowel: -ēt for verbs in -a, -īt for verbs in -i.
| Person | ḥaka speak | masha walk | nisi forget | ṣiḥi wake up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ana, inte | ḥakēt | mashēt | nsīt | ṣḥīt |
| inti | ḥakēti | mashēti | nsīti | ṣḥīti |
| huwwe | ḥaka | masha | nisi | ṣiḥi |
| hiyye | ḥakat | mashat | nisyat | ṣiḥyat |
| iḥna | ḥakēna | mashēna | nsīna | ṣḥīna |
| intu | ḥakētu | mashētu | nsītu | ṣḥītu |
| humme | ḥaku | mashu | nisyu | ṣiḥyu |
Most of these verbs end in -a and go like ḥaka: ʾara → ʾarēt "I read", aʿṭa → aʿṭēt "I gave", ghanna → ghannēt, baka → bakēt, ʾaḍa → ʾaḍēt, istanna → istannēt. ḍall and ḥabb take -ēt too: ḍallēt, ḥabbēt. The negative: ma ḥakētish "I didn't speak", ma ḥakāsh "he didn't speak".
2. Start, keep, finish
After ballash "to start" and ḍall "to keep doing", the second verb is in the present without b- (lesson 25). khallaṣ "to finish" takes a noun.
Practice
1Complete with the past tense
mbāreḥ ___ maʿ immi. = Yesterday I talked with my mother.
Līna ___ jawwālha fil-maṭbakh. = Lina forgot her phone in the kitchen.
iḥna ___ lal-madrase. = We walked to school.
___ bakkīr il-yōm? = Did you wake up early today? (to a woman)
To a woman, the ending is -īti.
humme ___ ktīr fil-ḥafle. = They sang a lot at the party.
2Choose the right answer
Nour says ḍallēt astanna. She means:
ḍall is "to keep doing"; "to start" is ballash.
You ask Sam: "Did you call Nour?"
To a man, "you" has the ending -t. ttaṣal is "he called".
A woman says "I was very busy."
kānat is "she was".
3Match the Arabic and the English
ballash
khallaṣ
naḍḍaf
ghasal
baka
ijtimāʿ
4Put the words in order
I talked with my mother for half an hour.
Then there was a long meeting.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I forgot my phone.
nsīt jawwāli.
We spent the day in Ramallah.
ʾaḍēna l-yōm fi Rāmalla.
6True or false?
Lina woke up at six.
Lina answered when Nour called.
Lina forgot her phone in the kitchen.
Summary
- You can use the past of verbs in -a: ḥakēt, mashēt, ʾarēt, aʿṭēt.
- You can use the past of verbs in -i: nsīt, ṣḥīt, nisyat.
- You can say you started, kept doing or finished something: ballasht ashtghel, ḍallēt astanna, khallaṣt il-wājeb.
- You can tell a friend about a busy day and say sorry for a missed call.