B1Unit 8 · Work, studies and stories · Lesson 77 of 100
Still, already, not yet, no longer
lissa · lissa ma kawēt · khalaṣ, rattabt · baṭṭal ydakhkhen
Goal: Talk about what has and has not happened yet: still, already, not yet and no longer.
Dialogue
Lina's parents arrive from Chicago tomorrow, and the house must be ready. Lina and Imm Khalil go through her list of jobs. You will learn lissa "still", lissa ma "not yet", khalaṣ "already done" and baṭṭal "no longer".
A hot afternoon in early August. Lina's parents arrive from Chicago tomorrow evening and will sleep here one night before going on to Nour's guesthouse in Bethlehem. Lina holds her list; Imm Khalil is in the kitchen.
- Imm Khalilya Līna, shu bāʾi ʿal-waraʾa?Lina, what's left on the list?
- Linakhalaṣ, rattabt ōḍti w kannastha.I've already tidied my room and swept it.
- Imm Khalilw ish-sharāshef?And the sheets?
- Linaghasalthom, bass lissa ma kawēthom.I washed them, but I haven't ironed them yet.
- Imm Khalilmaʿlēsh, ana bakwīhom. w il-manāshef?Never mind, I'll iron them. And the towels?
- Linail-manāshef nḍīfe, bass il-fuwaṭ lissa fil-ghassāle.The towels are clean, but the hand towels are still in the washing machine.
- Imm Khalilw il-maṭbakh?And the kitchen?
- Linalissa wisikh, w iz-zbāle malyāne.It's still dirty, and the trash can is full.
- Ranaṣabāḥ il-khēr!(Rana walks in, half asleep.) Good morning!
- Imm Khalilṣabāḥ il-khēr?! ṣārat is-sāʿa tintēn, ya Rana! w inti lissa naʿsāne!Good morning?! It's already two o'clock, Rana! And you're still sleepy!
- Ranakunt sahrāne la-ḥadd iṣ-ṣubḥ. shu fī?I was up until the morning. What's going on?
- Imm Khalilahl Līna jāyīn bukra! yalla, kubbi z-zbāle w imsaḥi l-ghabra ʿan iṭ-ṭāwle.Lina's parents are coming tomorrow! Come on, take out the trash and wipe the dust off the table.
- Ranaḥāḍer, yamma. ya Līna, abūki lissa bidakhkhen?Right away, Mom. Lina, does your father still smoke?
- Linalaʾ, baṭṭal ydakhkhen min sane. hallaʾ bimshi kull yōm!No, he stopped smoking a year ago. Now he walks every day!
- Imm Khalilmashalla! ʿammik kamān baṭṭal. yalla, ʿal-maṭbakh!Wonderful! Your uncle quit too. Come on, to the kitchen!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| lissa | still; (with a negative) not yetlissa ma akalt = I haven't eaten yet |
| baṭṭal | to stop, quit; no longer (+ verb)baṭṭal / ybaṭṭel; b-present babaṭṭel; baṭṭalt adakhkhen = I quit smoking |
| rattab | to tidy up, organizerattab / yratteb; b-present baratteb; mrattab = tidy |
| kawa | to ironkawa / yikwi; b-present bakwi; kawēt = I ironed |
| sharshaf | bedsheet; tableclothplural sharāshef |
| manshafe | towelplural manāshef |
| bāʾi | remaining; the restil-bāʾi = the rest |
| ʿabba | to fill (up); to fill inʿabba / yʿabbi; b-present baʿabbi |
| ghabra | dust |
| kannas | to sweepkannas / ykannes; b-present bakannes |
| masaḥ | to wipe, mop; to erasemasaḥ / yimsaḥ; b-present bamsaḥ |
| nḍīf | cleanfeminine nḍīfe, plural nḍāf |
| wisikh | dirty; to get dirtyadjective, plural wiskhīn; verb wisikh / yūsakh, b-present (it) būsakh |
| ghassāle | washing machineplural ghassālāt |
| zbāle | trash, garbagetanakit zbāle = trash can |
| fūṭa | hand towel; napkinplural fuwaṭ |
Grammar
1. Still: lissa
lissa before a participle, an adjective, a place or a b-present means "still".
You will also hear lissa with a person ending: lissātni hōn "I'm still here", lissātak "you still".
2. Not yet: lissa ma + perfect
For something that has not happened yet, say lissa ma + the perfect. There is no -sh here.
As a short answer, lissa alone means "not yet": kannasti? — laʾ, lissa. "Did you sweep?" — "No, not yet."
3. Already and no longer
khalaṣ before a perfect means "it's done, already". ṣār with a time means "it's already…".
baṭṭal + present without b- means "stopped doing, no longer does". The second verb changes for the person, like after biddi.
Practice
1Choose the right sentence
"I haven't ironed the shirt yet."
"Not yet" is lissa ma + perfect; khalaṣ, kawēt means "I've already ironed".
"Rana is still asleep."
lissa ma nāmat means "she hasn't gone to sleep yet".
"My father stopped smoking."
After baṭṭal the verb is in the present without b-.
Imm Khalil asks: masaḥti ṭ-ṭāwle? You haven't done it yet. You answer:
2Complete the sentence
ghasalt ish-sharāshef, bass lissa ma ___. = I washed the sheets, but I haven't ironed them yet.
"Not yet" takes the perfect, and the speaker is ana: kawēt + -hom "them".
ṣārat is-sāʿa tintēn, w Rana ___ nāyme! = It's already two o'clock, and Rana is still asleep!
___, kannast il-ōḍa. = I've already swept the room.
il-maṭbakh ___, lāzim nnaḍḍfo. = The kitchen is dirty; we have to clean it.
Abu Khalīl baṭṭal ___. = Abu Khalil quit smoking.
Rana, ___ z-zbāle, law samaḥti! = Rana, take out the trash, please!
Rana is one woman: kubbi; kubbu is said to several people.
3Match the Arabic and the English
sharshaf
manshafe
ghassāle
ghabra
zbāle
nḍīf
4Put the words in order
I haven't eaten yet.
The towels are still in the washing machine.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
I've already tidied my room.
khalaṣ, rattabt ōḍti.
It's already ten o'clock!
ṣārat is-sāʿa ʿashara!
6True or false?
Lina has already swept her room.
Lina has ironed the sheets.
She says lissa ma kawēthom.
Lina's father still smokes.
He stopped a year ago: baṭṭal ydakhkhen min sane.
Summary
- You can say "still" with lissa: Rana lissa naʿsāne, abūki lissa bidakhkhen?
- You can say "not yet" with lissa ma + perfect, or just lissa: lissa ma kawēt.
- You can say "already" with khalaṣ and ṣār: khalaṣ, rattabt ōḍti, ṣārat is-sāʿa tintēn.
- You can say "no longer" with baṭṭal: baṭṭal ydakhkhen.
- You can talk about housework: kannas, masaḥ, kawa, ghassāle, zbāle.