B1Unit 8 · Work, studies and stories · Lesson 71 of 100
University: first year, second year
is-sane t-tānye · iṭ-ṭābeʾ it-tālet · tālet imtiḥān
Goal: Talk about your studies and exams, and count in order from first to tenth for years, floors, lessons and exams.
Dialogue
It is June, the month of exams at Birzeit University. Lina waits for Rana after an exam. You will learn the ordinal numbers, "third", "fourth" up to "tenth", and where to put them: before or after the noun.
A hot June afternoon at Birzeit University. Lina waits for Rana outside her faculty.
- Linaahlan, Rana! kīf kān il-imtiḥān?Hi, Rana! How was the exam?
- Ranail-ḥamdilla, mnīḥ. hāda tālet imtiḥān hal-jumʿa!Fine, thank God. That's the third exam this week!
- Linatālet imtiḥān? w kam imtiḥān kamān?The third exam? And how many more?
- Ranawāḥad bass, yōm il-khamīs. huwwe r-rābeʿ w il-ākher.Just one, on Thursday. It's the fourth and the last.
- Linaw wēn il-imtiḥān?And where is the exam?
- Ranahōn fil-kulliyye, fiṭ-ṭābeʾ it-tālet.Here in the faculty, on the third floor.
- Linainti fi ayy sane hallaʾ?Which year are you in now?
- Ranafis-sane t-tānye. w is-sane l-jāye fit-tālte, inshalla.In the second year. And next year in the third, God willing.
- Linaw bi-shu btitkhaṣṣaṣi?And what are you majoring in?
- Ranabatkhaṣṣaṣ bit-tārīkh. baḥibbo ktīr, bass lāzim aḥfaẓ tawārīkh ktīre!I'm majoring in history. I love it, but I have to memorize lots of dates!
- Linaw imtiḥān il-khamīs ṣaʿb?And is Thursday's exam hard?
- Ranashwayy. il-ustāz sharaḥ kull ishi fil-muḥāḍarāt, bass id-drūs ktīre.A bit. The professor explained everything in the lectures, but there are a lot of lessons.
- Linaawwal sane kānat aṣʿab?Was the first year harder?
- Ranaā, ktīr! fis-sane l-ūla saʾaṭt marra.Yes, much! In the first year I failed once.
- Linamaʿlēsh. inshalla btinjaḥi yōm il-khamīs kamān!Never mind. I hope you pass on Thursday too!
- Ranainshalla! w baʿd il-imtiḥān raḥ anām usbūʿ!God willing! And after the exam I'm going to sleep for a week!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| tālet | thirdfeminine tālte |
| rābeʿ | fourthfeminine rābʿa |
| khāmes | fifthfeminine khāmse |
| sādes | sixthfeminine sādse |
| sābeʿ | seventhfeminine sābʿa |
| tāmen | eighthfeminine tāmne |
| tāseʿ | ninthfeminine tāsʿa |
| ʿāsher | tenthfeminine ʿāshra |
| imtiḥān | examplural imtiḥānāt |
| kulliyye | faculty, college (of a university)plural kulliyyāt |
| muḥāḍara | lectureplural muḥāḍarāt |
| tkhaṣṣaṣ | to specialize, major (in)tkhaṣṣaṣ / yitkhaṣṣaṣ; b-present batkhaṣṣaṣ; batkhaṣṣaṣ bit-tārīkh = I'm majoring in history |
| nijiḥ | to pass (an exam); to succeednijiḥ / yinjaḥ; b-present banjaḥ; njiḥt bil-imtiḥān = I passed the exam |
| saʾaṭ | to fail (an exam)saʾaṭ / yusʾoṭ; b-present basʾoṭ |
| sharaḥ | to explainsharaḥ / yishraḥ; b-present bashraḥ |
| ḥifiẓ | to learn by heart, memorizeḥifiẓ / yiḥfaẓ; b-present baḥfaẓ |
Grammar
1. First, second, third…
Ordinal numbers have a masculine and a feminine form. You already know awwal "first" and tāni "second" from lesson 42.
| English | masculine | feminine |
|---|---|---|
| first | awwal | ūla |
| second | tāni | tānye |
| third | tālet | tālte |
| fourth | rābeʿ | rābʿa |
| fifth | khāmes | khāmse |
| sixth | sādes | sādse |
| seventh | sābeʿ | sābʿa |
| eighth | tāmen | tāmne |
| ninth | tāseʿ | tāsʿa |
| tenth | ʿāsher | ʿāshra |
2. After the noun or before it
After the noun the ordinal works like an adjective: it takes the article and agrees with the noun. sane "year" is feminine; ṭābeʾ "floor" and dars "lesson" are masculine.
After a vowel the article is written l-, t-, r-…: is-sane l-ūla, is-sane t-tālte.
Before the noun the ordinal is always masculine, with no article, even before a feminine noun. This is very common in everyday speech.
3. Above ten
From eleven on there are no special forms: put the ordinary number after the noun, with the article.
Careful: before the noun, a number counts. ḥdaʿshar dars means "eleven lessons", talat imtiḥānāt "three exams".
Practice
1Choose the right words
the third floor
ṭābeʾ is masculine, so the ordinal after it is masculine: it-tālet.
the second year
sane is feminine: t-tānye.
the first time
Before the noun the ordinal is always masculine: awwal.
the eleventh lesson
ḥdaʿshar dars means "eleven lessons"; il-ʿāsher is "the tenth".
2Complete the sentence
hāda ___ imtiḥān hal-jumʿa. = This is the third exam this week.
il-ustāz ___ id-dars mnīḥ. = The professor explained the lesson well.
lāzim ___ hal-kalimāt. = I have to learn these words by heart.
After lāzim the verb is in the present without b-.
Khalīl ___ bil-imtiḥān! = Khalil passed the exam!
il-muḥāḍara fiṭ-ṭābeʾ ___. = The lecture is on the fifth floor.
3Match the Arabic and the English
sādes
tāmen
ʿāsher
imtiḥān
muḥāḍara
kulliyye
4Put the words in order
Rana is in the second year.
The exam is on the fourth floor.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I'm majoring in history.
batkhaṣṣaṣ bit-tārīkh.
I failed once in the first year.
saʾaṭt marra fis-sane l-ūla.
6True or false?
Rana has two more exams this week.
She says wāḥad bass: just one more, on Thursday.
Rana is majoring in history.
Rana found the first year easier.
She says the first year was harder: ā, ktīr!
Summary
- You can count in order from first to tenth: awwal, tāni, tālet … ʿāsher, and their feminine forms.
- You can put an ordinal after the noun (is-sane t-tānye, iṭ-ṭābeʾ it-tālet) or before it (tālet imtiḥān).
- You can say "the eleventh lesson": id-dars il-ḥdaʿsh.
- You can talk about studies: your year, your major, exams you passed or failed.