A2Unit 7 · Health, shopping and plans · Lesson 65 of 100
Bigger, better, the best
akbar min · aḥsan mʿallme · inti l-aḥsan!
Goal: Compare two people or things, say who or what is the best, and describe someone's character.
Dialogue
Lina shows Rana her new dress from Nablus, and the two cousins compare dresses, then teachers. You will learn the elative, the form that says "bigger", "cheaper", "better", and how to say "the best".
Saturday evening in Rana's room. Lina holds up her new blue dress next to an old red one.
- Linaya Rana, ayy fustān aḥla: il-azraʾ willa l-aḥmar?Rana, which dress is prettier: the blue one or the red one?
- Ranail-azraʾ aḥla, akīd. w il-aḥmar ʾadīm!The blue one is prettier, of course. And the red one is old!
- Linaw il-azraʾ kān arkhaṣ min il-aḥmar.And the blue one was cheaper than the red one.
- Ranaw khafīf. il-aḥmar tʾīl ktīr fiṣ-ṣēf.And it's light. The red one is very heavy in summer.
- Linaṣḥīḥ. w inti, kīf il-mʿallmīn tabaʿik fil-jāmʿa?True. And you, how are your teachers at the university?
- Ranaʿindi duktōrēn jdād. duktōrit il-inglīzi aḥsan mʿallme fil-jāmʿa!I have two new professors. The English professor (a woman) is the best teacher at the university!
- Linaw id-duktōr it-tāni?And the other professor?
- Ranahuwwe shāṭer, bass ʿaṣabi shwayy, w biḥki asraʿ minha.He's good, but a bit short-tempered, and he speaks faster than her.
- Linazayy il-ustāz tabaʿi!Like my teacher!
- Ranaw mīn ashṭar fiṣ-ṣaff, inti willa Sām?And who's cleverer in the class, you or Sam?
- LinaSām ashṭar minni, bass huwwe kaslān: ma biʿmalsh il-wājeb!Sam is cleverer than me, but he's lazy: he doesn't do the homework!
- Ranayaʿni inti l-aḥsan!So you're the best!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| aḥsan | better; bestthe elative of mnīḥ; aḥsan ishi = the best thing |
| aktar | more; mostaktar min = more than; after adjectives without an elative: mashghūl aktar = busier |
| aʾall | less; leastaʾall min = less than |
| shāṭer | clever, good (at something); hard-workingfeminine shāṭra, plural shāṭrīn; elative ashṭar |
| ʿaṣabi | irritable, short-temperedfeminine ʿaṣabiyye, plural ʿaṣabiyyīn |
| kaslān | lazyfeminine kaslāne, plural kaslānīn |
| ghēr | other, different; exceptghēro = another one (instead) |
| nafs | the same; -self; appetitenafs il-ishi = the same thing; nafsi = myself |
| sarīʿ | fast, quickfeminine sarīʿa, plural sarīʿīn; elative asraʿ |
| baṭīʾ | slowfeminine baṭīʾa |
| ʾawi | strongfeminine ʾawiyye, plural ʾawāya; elative aʾwa |
| ḍʿīf | weak; thin (of a person)feminine ḍʿīfe, plural ḍʿāf |
| tʾīl | heavyfeminine tʾīle, plural tʾāl; elative atʾal |
| khafīf | light (not heavy)feminine khafīfe, plural khfāf; elative akhaff |
Grammar
1. Bigger, cheaper, better
Many adjectives have a special form for comparing, the elative. Most elatives have the shape a-C-C-a-C (akbar, arkhaṣ); adjectives that end in a vowel give -a (aghla, aḥla), and a doubled letter stays together (akhaff). The elative never changes for a woman or for the plural. "Than" is min.
| Adjective | Elative | English |
|---|---|---|
| kbīr | akbar | bigger; older |
| zghīr | azghar | smaller; younger |
| rkhīṣ | arkhaṣ | cheaper |
| ghāli | aghla | more expensive |
| ḥilu | aḥla | prettier, nicer |
| mnīḥ | aḥsan | better |
| shāṭer | ashṭar | cleverer |
| sarīʿ | asraʿ | faster |
| tʾīl | atʾal | heavier |
| khafīf | akhaff | lighter |
With a pronoun, put an ending on min, as on ʿala in lesson 54. Before an ending that starts with a vowel the n is doubled: minni "than me", minnak, minnik "than you", minno "than him"; then minha "than her", minna "than us", minkom, minhom. Sām ashṭar minni "Sam is cleverer than me", asraʿ minha "faster than her".
2. The best
Put the elative before a noun, with no il-: aḥsan mʿallme "the best teacher", akbar bēt "the biggest house". Alone, the elative takes the article: inti l-aḥsan! "you are the best!"
3. More, less
Some adjectives have no elative, such as ʿaṣabi, kaslān and mashghūl. Put aktar "more" or aʾall "less" after them: ʿaṣabi aktar "more short-tempered", mashghūl aʾall "less busy". aktar min and aʾall min also work with nouns and verbs: bashrab ʾahwe aktar min shāy "I drink more coffee than tea".
Practice
1Choose the right answer
il-azraʾ arkhaṣ min il-aḥmar means:
"Rana is younger than Khalil."
To compare, use the elative and min.
"She is the best teacher."
Which one means "more short-tempered"?
ʿaṣabi has no elative, so aktar comes after it.
2Complete the sentence
Sām ashṭar ___. = Sam is cleverer than me.
il-fustān il-azraʾ ___ min il-aḥmar. = The blue dress is lighter than the red one.
hāda ___ il-ishi. = That's the same thing.
id-duktōr biḥki ___ minha. = The professor speaks faster than her.
iṣ-ṣaydaliyye ___ min il-bank. = The pharmacy is bigger than the bank.
The elative never changes: akbar, even for a feminine word.
3Match the Arabic and the English
shāṭer
kaslān
ʿaṣabi
baṭīʾ
ʾawi
ḍʿīf
4Put the words in order
The blue one is prettier than the red one.
This book is heavier than that one.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Sam is cleverer than me, but he is lazy.
Sām ashṭar minni, bass huwwe kaslān.
You are the best! (to a woman)
inti l-aḥsan!
6True or false?
Rana thinks the red dress is prettier.
She says il-azraʾ aḥla.
Sam doesn't do the homework.
Summary
- You can compare with the elative and min: akbar min, arkhaṣ min, aḥsan minni.
- You know that the elative never changes: il-fustān aḥla, it-tannūra aḥla.
- You can say "the best": aḥsan mʿallme, inti l-aḥsan.
- You can use aktar and aʾall with adjectives that have no elative: ʿaṣabi aktar.
- You can describe character: shāṭer, kaslān, ʿaṣabi, laṭīf.