B1Unit 9 · Feelings and opinions · Lesson 87 of 100
All, every, nothing, never
kull yōm · kull il-maṣāri · wala ḥada · wala ishi · ʿumri ma …
Goal: Talk about all, every, some and most, and say nobody, nothing and never.
Dialogue
Sam has lost his wallet and has looked for it everywhere. Lina helps him find it. You will learn kull "every, all", baʿḍ "some", aghlab "most", and the negative words wala ḥada "nobody", wala ishi "nothing", wala marra and ʿumri ma … "never".
A morning at the language school, between two classes. Sam empties his bag onto the desk.
- Sammaḥfaẓti ḍāʿat! dawwart ʿalēha fi kull makān.My wallet is lost! I've looked for it everywhere.
- Linafi kull makān? fi shanṭtak, fi jyābak, fil-maktab?Everywhere? In your bag, in your pockets, in the office?
- Samā, fi kull ishi. w ma fīsh wala ishi!Yes, in everything. And there's nothing at all!
- Linashu kān fīha? ayy ishi muhimm?What was in it? Anything important?
- Samkart il-bank w baʿḍ il-maṣāri… ʿala l-aʾall talatmīt shēkel.My bank card and some money… at least three hundred shekels.
- Linayimkin ḥada saraʾha?Maybe someone stole it?
- Samlaʾ, hōn wala ḥada busroʾ. il-aghlab nsītha fi makān.No, nobody steals here. Most likely I forgot it somewhere.
- Linawēn kunt mbāreḥ?Where were you yesterday?
- Samya fil-ʾahwe ya fis-sirvīs… ma baʿrafsh.Either at the café or in the service taxi… I don't know.
- Waiterahlan, ya Sām! hādi maḥfaẓtak? nsītha mbāreḥ ʿaṭ-ṭāwle.(Later, at the café.) Hi, Sam! Is this your wallet? You forgot it on the table yesterday.
- Sammaḥfaẓti! w kull il-maṣāri fīha! shukran ktīr!My wallet! And all the money is in it! Thank you so much!
- Waiterʿafwan. hōn wala marra ḍāʿ ishi!You're welcome. Here nothing has ever gotten lost, not once!
- Linaya Sām, kull ma btiṭlaʿ min il-bēt, btinsa ishi!Sam, every time you leave the house, you forget something!
- Sammish ṣḥīḥ! ʿumri ma ḍayyaʿt maḥfaẓti… ʾabl il-yōm. yalla, il-knāfe ʿala ḥsābi!Not true! I've never lost my wallet… before today. Come on, the knafeh is on me!
- Waiterknāfe la-kull il-ʾahwe?Knafeh for the whole café?
- Samā, ʾassemha ʿal-kull, law samaḥt!Yes, share it out among everybody, please!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| baʿḍ | some; each otherbaʿḍ in-nās = some people; maʿ baʿḍ = together |
| wala | not even; norma … wala … = neither … nor … |
| wala ḥada | nobody |
| wala marra | never, not once |
| il-kull | everyone, everybody |
| ʾalīl | little, fewf. ʾalīle, pl. ʾlāl; ʾalīl ma + verb = rarely |
| kull ma | whenever, every time (that)kull ma btiṭlaʿ … = every time you go out … |
| aghlab | most (of); most likelyaghlab in-nās = most people; il-aghlab = most likely |
| aktariyye | majority |
| maḥfaẓa | walletpl. maḥāfeẓ; maḥfaẓti = my wallet |
| ḍāʿ | to get lostḍāʿ / yḍīʿ; b-present (it) biḍīʿ; maḥfaẓti ḍāʿat = my wallet got lost |
| saraʾ | to stealsaraʾ / yusroʾ; b-present basroʾ |
| ʿala l-aʾall | at least |
| ya … ya | either … orya hōn ya hunāk = either here or there |
| akam | a few, several+ singular: akam yōm = a few days |
| ʾassam | to divide up, share outʾassam / yʾassem; b-present baʾassem; ʾassem ʿal-kull! = share it out among everyone! |
Grammar
1. kull: every, all, the whole
The meaning of kull depends on what follows it.
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| kull + noun without il- | kull yōm, kull makān | every day, everywhere |
| kull + noun with il- | kull il-maṣāri, kull il-yōm | all the money, the whole day |
| kull + ending | kullna, kullhom, kullha | all of us, all of them, all of it |
| fixed words | kull ishi, kull wāḥad, il-kull | everything, everyone, everybody |
| kull ma + verb | kull ma btiṭlaʿ, btinsa ishi. | Every time you go out, you forget something. |
ayy "any" works the same way before a noun: ayy ishi "anything", ayy wāḥad "anyone".
2. Some, most, a few, at least
baʿḍ "some" and aghlab "most" come before a noun with il-: baʿḍ il-maṣāri "some of the money", aghlab in-nās "most people". akam "a few" takes a singular noun, like kam: akam yōm "a few days". il-aghlab alone means "most likely"; ʿala l-aʾall means "at least". ʾalīl ma + verb means "rarely": ʾalīl ma bashrab ʾahwe "I rarely drink coffee". ya … ya is "either … or": ya fil-ʾahwe ya fis-sirvīs.
3. Nobody, nothing, never
wala means "not even one". When it comes before the verb, it is the negative by itself: no ma.
After a negative, wala makes it stronger: ma fīsh wala ishi "there's nothing at all", ma akaltish wala ishi "I didn't eat a thing". As short answers: wala ishi! "nothing!", wala ḥada! "nobody!", wala marra! "never!"
"Never in my life" is ʿumr "life" with the person's ending, then ma + perfect, with no -sh:
Practice
1Complete the sentence
___ yōm baḥki maʿ immi. = Every day I talk to my mother.
___ ḥada busroʾ hōn. = Nobody steals here.
___ ma ḍayyaʿt maḥfaẓti. = I have never lost my wallet.
ʿumro ma … = he has never …
ma fīsh ___ ishi fil-jēbe. = There's nothing at all in the pocket.
___ in-nās biḥibbu l-knāfe. = Most people like knafeh.
akam takes a singular noun without il-: akam yōm.
2Choose the right answer
"the whole day"
kull yōm = every day; il-kull = everybody.
"a few days"
aghlab il-ayyām = most days.
Someone asks mīn ija? "Who came?" Nobody came. You answer:
"Either here or there."
wala … wala = neither … nor.
3Match the Arabic and the English
maḥfaẓa
saraʾ
ḍāʿ
aktariyye
ʿala l-aʾall
ʾassam
4Put the words in order
I've looked for it everywhere. (it = the wallet)
Every time you go out, you forget something. (to a man)
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
There's nothing at all in my bag.
ma fīsh wala ishi fi shanṭti.
I have never been to Bethlehem.
ʿumri ma ruḥt ʿa-Bēt Laḥem.
6True or false?
Sam thinks someone stole his wallet.
He says il-aghlab nsītha fi makān.
Sam forgot his wallet at the café.
All the money was still in the wallet.
Summary
- You can use kull for "every", "all" and "the whole": kull yōm, kull il-maṣāri, kull il-yōm.
- You can say some, most and a few: baʿḍ in-nās, aghlab in-nās, akam yōm.
- You can say nobody, nothing and not once: wala ḥada, wala ishi, wala marra.
- You can say "never in my life": ʿumri ma ḍayyaʿt maḥfaẓti.