A2Unit 7 · Health, shopping and plans · Lesson 66 of 100
The future with rah
raḥ nrūḥ ʿa-Nāblis · mish raḥ … · ana nāwi …
Goal: Say what you will do and will not do, and talk about your plans for the next few days.
Dialogue
Rana has a plan for Saturday: a day in Nablus with Lina and Sam. You will learn to talk about the future with raḥ "will", to say "will not" with mish raḥ, and to say what you are planning with nāwi.
Thursday evening at the Khalil house. Rana, Lina and Sam are drinking tea and talking about the weekend.
- Ranaya Sām, shu l-barnāmej yōm is-sabt?Sam, what's the plan for Saturday?
- Samana nāwi anām ʿashr sāʿāt!I'm planning to sleep for ten hours!
- Ranalaʾ, ya Sām! raḥ nrūḥ ʿa-Nāblis sawa: ana w Līna w inte.No, Sam! We're going to Nablus together: Lina, you and me.
- Linaā! raḥ nitmashsha fil-balad il-ʾadīme, w raḥ nākol knāfe.Yes! We'll stroll through the old town, and we'll eat knafeh.
- Samknāfe? ṭayyib, ana jāy! w raḥ ashtri ṣābūn nābulsi la-immi.Knafeh? OK, I'm coming! And I'll buy Nablus soap for my mother.
- Ranaw il-ʿaṣr raḥ nzūr khālti. bintha raḥ titjawwaz baʿd usbūʿēn!And in the late afternoon we'll visit my aunt. Her daughter is getting married in two weeks!
- Linamabrūk!Congratulations!
- Ranaalla ybārik fīki!Thank you!
- Samw ēmta raḥ nrūḥ?And when are we leaving?
- Ranais-sāʿa sabʿa ṣ-ṣubḥ. ma titʾakhkharsh, ya Sām! mish raḥ nistannāk!At seven in the morning. Don't be late, Sam! We won't wait for you!
- Samsabʿa?! ṭayyib, mish raḥ ashar bukra bil-lēl.Seven?! OK, I won't stay up late tomorrow night.
- Linaw ana raḥ ajahhez il-akl laṭ-ṭarīʾ.And I'll get the food ready for the road.
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| raḥ | will, going tonever changes; + the present without b-: raḥ nrūḥ = we will go; mish raḥ = will not |
| nāwi | planning (to), intending (to)feminine nāwye, plural nāwyīn; ana nāwi arūḥ = I'm planning to go |
| mustaʾbal | the futurefil-mustaʾbal = in the future |
| sihir | to stay up late; to go out in the eveningsihir / yishar; b-present bashar |
| tmashsha | to go for a walk, strolltmashsha / yitmashsha; b-present batmashsha |
| Nāblis | Nablusadjective nābulsi; ṣābūn nābulsi = Nablus olive-oil soap |
| ṣābūn | soapone bar: ṣābūne |
| ḥaḍḍar | to prepare, get readyḥaḍḍar / yḥaḍḍer; b-present baḥaḍḍer |
| jahhaz | to prepare, get (something) readyjahhaz / yjahhez; b-present bajahhez |
| sawa | togetheralso maʿ baʿḍ |
| tʾakhkhar | to be latetʾakhkhar / yitʾakhkhar; b-present batʾakhkhar; ma titʾakhkharsh! = don't be late! (to a man) |
| barnāmej | plan, programplural barāmej |
| ʿaṣr | late afternoonil-ʿaṣr = in the late afternoon |
Grammar
1. Will: raḥ + the present without b-
To talk about the future, il-mustaʾbal, put raḥ before the present without b-, the same form you use after biddi and lāzim. raḥ never changes: the verb shows who.
| Person | Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|---|
| I | raḥ arūḥ | I will go |
| you (to a man) | raḥ trūḥ | you will go |
| you (to a woman) | raḥ trūḥi | you will go |
| he / she | raḥ yrūḥ / raḥ trūḥ | he / she will go |
| we | raḥ nrūḥ | we will go |
| you (to several people) | raḥ trūḥu | you will go |
| they | raḥ yrūḥu | they will go |
2. Will not: mish raḥ
Put mish before raḥ. The verb does not take -sh.
3. Plans: nāwi and inshalla
nāwi "planning to" agrees with the person, like an adjective: nāwi (a man), nāwye (a woman), nāwyīn (several people). The next verb is the present without b-.
Palestinians often add inshalla "God willing" to a plan: raḥ nrūḥ bukra, inshalla. For a plan that is already fixed, the b-present also works, as you have seen: barūḥ bukra "I'm going tomorrow".
Practice
1Choose the right answer
"We will go to Nablus."
After raḥ, the verb has no b-. ruḥna is the past.
"I won't be late."
ma tʾakhkhartish is the past: "I wasn't late".
Rana says: "I'm planning to visit my aunt."
A woman says nāwye, and the next verb has no b-.
il-ʿaṣr means:
2Complete the sentence
___ nitmashsha fil-balad il-ʾadīme. = We will stroll in the old town.
raḥ ___ ṣābūn nābulsi. = I will buy Nablus soap.
mish raḥ ___ bukra bil-lēl. = I won't stay up late tomorrow night.
After raḥ and mish raḥ, the present without b-.
ma ___, ya Sām! = Don't be late, Sam!
Imm Khalīl raḥ ___ il-ʿasha. = Imm Khalil will make dinner.
Imm Khalil is a woman: t-.
3Match the Arabic and the English
raḥ
nāwi
sawa
barnāmej
ṣābūn
mustaʾbal
4Put the words in order
We will eat knafeh.
I'm planning to sleep for ten hours. (a man speaks)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
We won't wait for you! (to a man)
mish raḥ nistannāk!
I will visit my aunt, God willing.
raḥ azūr khālti, inshalla.
6True or false?
The friends will leave at seven in the morning.
Rana's aunt is getting married.
Her daughter is getting married: bintha raḥ titjawwaz.
Summary
- You can say what you will do: raḥ nrūḥ ʿa-Nāblis, raḥ ashtri ṣābūn.
- You know that raḥ never changes and is followed by the present without b-.
- You can say what you will not do: mish raḥ ashar, mish raḥ nistannāk.
- You can say what you are planning: ana nāwi …, ana nāwye …, and add inshalla.