This is the first post in our new series on intermediate Egyptian Arabic grammar. It’s called “Intermediate Egyptian Arabic Grammar: Part 1”.
This series will be covering:
- Nine grammar concepts you need to know at the intermediate level of Egyptian Arabic
- Why each of these grammar concepts are important if you are serious about the dialect
- Useful explanations about how each one works, how to use it in practice, and a bunch of examples
The goal of this series:
Give you a better understanding of intermediate Egyptian Arabic grammar so you can speak more naturally, understand native conversations, and build smoother sentences.
Intermediate Egyptian Arabic Grammar: Part 1
#1: Object Pronoun Attachments
Explanation:
Object pronouns are suffixes that get attached to the end of verbs to show you the thing that is “receiving” the action. For example:
- I saw him.
- She told her.
- I know it.
Why this is important to learn:
Object pronouns are everywhere in spoken Egyptian Arabic.
Native speakers rarely repeat full nouns when speaking naturally (they don’t literally say “I saw him”, as you’ll see below). Instead, they attach pronouns directly to verbs, prepositions, and nouns.
The most important parts to know:
1) Object pronouns attach to the end of verbs
(The object pronoun is in red font in these examples.)
I saw him. : Shofto.
.شفته
I knew them. : Araftohom.
.عرفتهم
I told her. : 2oltelha.
.قلتلها
(This one is a little different, because you use the letter ل / li to signify “to”, as in, “I told to her.”)
2) Object pronouns also attach to the end of prepositions
Examples:
Ma3 / مع is a preposition (“with”), and adding aya / ايا to the end means “with me” (which can also express “I have”).
Ma3aya / معايا
Similarly, 3and / عند is a preposition (“at”), and adding k / ك to the end means “you have”.
3andak / 3andik / .عندك
Some more examples:
The book is with me. : El ketab ma‘aya.
.الكتاب معايا
I took the money from them. : Khadt menhom el flous.
.خدت منهم الفلوس
I’ll send you (fem.) a message. : Hab3atlek resela.
.هبعتلك رسالة
#2: Conditional Sentences With Law / لو
Explanation:
Law / لو means “if” in Egyptian Arabic, and it is used to create conditional sentences (“if this, then that”).
Here is the correct pronunciation:
As you can hear, even though the Franco version is law, it’s not actually pronounced like the English word “law”. Closer to saying “Ow!” when you hurt yourself, and just adding an “L” to the beginning of that.
Why this is important to learn:
Conditional sentences let you do a number of more advanced things in Egyptian Arabic:
- Make plans
- Suggest ideas
- Express possibilities
- Talk about hypothetical scenarios
Without conditionals, your speech stays limited to direct statements.
The most important parts to know:
1) Law / لو usually comes at the beginning of a sentence
Just like English, the most common structure is “If…” at the beginning, and then the conditional following.
If you’re free, call me. : Law fady kallimni.
.لو فاضي كلمني
2) The most common structure is present tense
This is true even if the conditional sentence is implying the future tense.
So you don’t technically need to use the future tense (also like English).
If you have time, come. : Law 3andak wa2t ta3ala.
.لو عندك وقت تعالى
3) Conditionals in the past tense express hypotheticals, and often use kan / كان + past tense verb
If I had known, I would have stayed home. : Law kont 3araft, kont 2a3adt fel beet.
.لو كنت عرفت، كنت قعدت في البيت
Some more examples:
If the weather is hot we’ll stay inside! : Law el gaw 7arr hano3od gowwa!
!لو الجو حر هنقعد جوه
If they have time they will travel. : Law 3andahom wa2t hayesefroo.
.لو عندهم وقت، هيسافروا
If they had seen the movie, they would have understood the joke. : Law kano shafo el film, kano fehmo el hazar.
.لو كانوا شافوا الفيلم، كانوا فهموا الهزار
If I had known it was this expensive, I wouldn’t have bought it. : Law kont 3aref eno ghali keda, makontesh eshtareto.
.لو كنت عارف إنه غالي كده، ماكنتش اشتريته
(This last example uses both the law conditional, as well as two object pronouns. See if you can spot them!)
…
Happy learning,
Cleo Lingo