B1Unit 8 · Work, studies and stories · Lesson 76 of 100
For and since
ʾaddēsh ṣarlik hōn? · ṣarli tisʿ shhūr · min shahr ḥdaʿsh · la-ḥadd
Goal: Say how long something has lasted until now, ask "how long?", and say "since" and "until".
Dialogue
Nour comes from Bethlehem to see Lina, and they count the months: Lina has been in Ramallah since November. You will learn ṣarli "I have been … for", the question ʾaddēsh ṣarlak?, min "since" and la-ḥadd "until".
A warm evening in early August at a café near al-Manara. Nour has come from Bethlehem to see Lina. Sam is late.
- Nourya Līna, ʾaddēsh ṣarlik fi Rāmalla hallaʾ?Lina, how long have you been in Ramallah now?
- Linaṣarli tisʿ shhūr! jīt fi shahr ḥdaʿsh.Nine months! I came in November.
- Nourtisʿ shhūr?! il-waʾt bifūt bsurʿa! w tʿawwadti ʿal-ʿīshe hōn?Nine months?! Time flies! And have you gotten used to life here?
- Linaā, tʿawwadt. fil-bidāye kān ṣaʿb shwayy, bass hallaʾ baḥibb ḥayāti hōn.Yes, I have. At the beginning it was a bit hard, but now I love my life here.
- Nourw il-ʿarabi?And your Arabic?
- Linaṣarli tisʿ shhūr batʿallam kull yōm. w akhīran ṣirt aḥlam bil-ʿarabi!I've been learning every day for nine months. And at last I've started dreaming in Arabic!
- Nourmashalla! w la-ḥadd ēmta raḥ tuʾʿodi?Wonderful! And until when are you staying?
- Linala-ḥadd shahr ḥdaʿsh. biddi sane kāmle!Until November. I want a whole year!
- Sammasa l-khēr! āsef, āsef!(Sam arrives, out of breath.) Good evening! Sorry, sorry!
- Linalēsh ṭawwalt, ya Sām? ṣarilna nuṣṣ sāʿa bnistannāk!What took you so long, Sam? We've been waiting for you for half an hour!
- Samfī azme ʿad-dawwār. ṣarli sāʿa fis-sirvīs!There's a traffic jam at the roundabout. I've been in the service taxi for an hour!
- Nourahlan, Sām! ṣarli zamān ma shuftak. shuftak ākher marra fi Bēt Laḥem!Hi, Sam! Long time no see. The last time I saw you was in Bethlehem!
- Sammazbūṭ! w inti, ya Nūr, kīfik?That's right! And you, Nour, how are you?
- Nouril-ḥamdilla. w inte, ya Sām, ʾaddēsh ṣarlak hōn?Fine, thank God. And you, Sam, how long have you been here?
- Samzayy Līna, min shahr ḥdaʿsh. w ḥatta Abu Samīr ṣār yiḥki maʿi ʿarabi bass!Like Lina, since November. And even Abu Samir has started speaking only Arabic with me!
- Nourakhīran kullna sawa! yalla, shu btishrabu?At last we're all together! Come on, what are you having?
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| mudde | period of time, whilemudde ṭawīle = a long time |
| fatra | period of time, whileplural fatrāt; baʿd fatra = after a while |
| ṭūl | length; height (of a person)ṭūl il-yōm = all day long |
| la-ḥadd | until, up tola-ḥadd ma + verb = until |
| ḥatta | until; even; so thatḥatta Abu Samīr = even Abu Samir |
| tʿawwad | to get used totʿawwad / yitʿawwad; b-present batʿawwad; tʿawwadt ʿala … = I got used to … |
| ṭawwal | to take a long time; to stay longṭawwal / yṭawwel; b-present baṭawwel; lēsh ṭawwalt? = what took you so long? (to a man) |
| bidāye | beginningfil-bidāye = at the beginning |
| nihāye | endnihāyit is-sane = the end of the year |
| akhīran | finally, at last |
| akhīr | latest, most recent; lastfeminine akhīre; after the noun: il-marra l-akhīre = the last time; before a noun use ākher marra (lesson 47) |
| ḥayā | lifefeminine; ḥayāti = my life |
| ʿīshe | way of life, lifeil-ʿīshe hōn = life here |
Grammar
1. "I have been … for": ṣarli + time
To say how long something has lasted until now, use ṣar- with a person ending, then the time. It works like biddi or ʿindi: the ending tells you who.
| Person | have been … for | English |
|---|---|---|
| ana | ṣarli | I have been … for |
| inte | ṣarlak | you have been (to a man) |
| inti | ṣarlik | you have been (to a woman) |
| huwwe | ṣarlo | he has been |
| hiyye | ṣarilha | she has been |
| iḥna | ṣarilna | we have been |
| intu | ṣarilkom | you have been (to several people) |
| humme | ṣarilhom | they have been |
Notice the short a (ṣarli, not ṣārli) and the helping i before -lha, -lna, -lkom, -lhom.
For an action that is still going on, put a b-present after the time. English says "have been …ing"; Arabic uses the present.
2. Since: min
min "from" also means "since". No verb is needed: ana hōn min shahr ḥdaʿsh is literally "I here since November". min zamān means "for a long time".
3. Until: la-ḥadd and ḥatta
la-ḥadd "until" goes before a time; before a verb, say la-ḥadd ma. ḥatta can also mean "until", but you will hear it most often as "even".
Practice
1Choose the right sentence
You ask Nour: "How long have you been here?"
To a woman: ṣarlik. ʾaddēsh ʿumrik? asks her age.
"We've been in Ramallah for a month."
"I've been learning Arabic for nine months."
The learning is still going on, so it is a b-present; after 3 to 10 comes the plural shhūr.
2Complete the sentence
ana hōn ___ shahr ḥdaʿsh. = I've been here since November.
raḥ aʾʿod hōn ___ shahr ḥdaʿsh. = I'll stay here until November.
Rana ___ sāʿa btudros. = Rana has been studying for an hour.
Rana is hiyye: ṣarilha.
lēsh ___, ya Sām? = What took you so long, Sam?
___ ʿal-ʿīshe hōn? = Have you gotten used to life here? (to a woman)
___ Abu Samīr ṣār yiḥki maʿi ʿarabi! = Even Abu Samir has started talking to me in Arabic!
3Match the Arabic and the English
bidāye
nihāye
akhīran
ḥayā
ṭūl
mudde
4Put the words in order
How long have you been here? (to a man)
I've been here since November.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
We've been waiting for you for half an hour! (to a man)
ṣarilna nuṣṣ sāʿa bnistannāk!
At the beginning it was hard.
fil-bidāye kān ṣaʿb.
6True or false?
Lina came to Ramallah in November.
Lina is leaving Ramallah next month.
She is staying la-ḥadd shahr ḥdaʿsh, until November.
Sam arrived on time.
Lina asks him lēsh ṭawwalt?: he is half an hour late.
Summary
- You can say how long something has lasted: ṣarli tisʿ shhūr hōn, ṣarilha sāʿa btudros.
- You can ask "how long?": ʾaddēsh ṣarlak hōn?, ʾaddēsh ṣarlik hōn?
- You can say "since" with min and "until" with la-ḥadd: min shahr ḥdaʿsh, la-ḥadd shahr ḥdaʿsh.
- You can say "even" with ḥatta and talk about getting used to a new life: tʿawwadt ʿal-ʿīshe hōn.