Lesson 28 · A2
Send it to me
“Send it to me”: thing first, then the person with “to”. Darija uses exactly that order. “it” is glued to the verb, “to me” comes after: sifettu liya. For once English hands you the answer.
- Say who you give, lend or send something to.
- Use liya, lik, lih, liha, lina, likum, lihum.
- Put two pronouns together in Darija order.
- Follow a thread of phone messages.
Twenty-one words
Verbs that take “to someone”, and things that change hands. The third family is the lesson's pronouns.
Giving and getting
-
عْطَى
3ta
to give
Defective: 3tit, I gave. Imperative 3ti, give.
-
سَلّْفْ
sellef
to lend
sellefni, lend me. Money or things.
-
صِيفْطْ
sifet
to send
Four letters, very Moroccan. sifet liya, send me.
-
رَدّْ
redd
to give back
Doubled. Also “to answer”: redd 3liya.
-
وَرَّى
werra
to show
Four-letter defective: werri liya, show me.
-
خْلَّصْ
khelles
to pay
khellest, I paid.
-
عَيّْطْ
3eyyet
to call
With l-: you call “to” someone. 3eyyet liya, call me.
What
-
الْمِيسَاجْ
l-misaj
message
French message. A text.
-
النُّمِيرُو
n-numiru
number
French numéro.
- التّْصْوِيرَة t-tswira photo
-
الْكَادُو
l-kadu
present
French cadeau.
- السَّارُوتْ s-sarut key
- الدَّيْنْ d-deyn debt
To whom
-
لِيَّ
liya
to me; me
With a verb: qolt liya, you told me.
- لِيكْ lik to you
- لِيهْ lih to him
- لِيهَا liha to her
- لِينَا lina to us
-
لِيهُمْ
lihum
to them
And likum, to you all.
When
- دْغْيَا degya right away
- مَنْ بَعْدْ men be3d later
“To someone”, and two pronouns
Two sentences with one indirect object and two with two pronouns. See where each goes.
- صِيفْطْ لِيَّ الْمِيسَاجْsifet liya l-misaj
- الْمِيسَاجْ؟ صِيفْطُو لِيَّl-misaj? sifettu liya
- خْتِي عْطَاتْنِي الْكَادُوkhti 3tatni l-kadu
- السَّارُوتْ؟ رَدِّيتُو لِيهْs-sarut? reddittu lih
In sifettu liya, which bit is “it” and which is “to me”? Which one is glued on?
The rule
The indirect object is l- plus the person suffix: liya, lik, lih, liha, lina, likum, lihum. It goes after the verb, as a separate word: sifet liya, send me.
With a noun, l- sticks to the noun: qolt l bba, I told my father.
Two pronouns: the direct one is glued to the verb (lesson 27) and the indirect one follows: sifettu liya, send it to me; 3titu lih, I gave it to him.
With 3ta, give, a lone indirect can be glued on too: 3tini, give me; 3tatni, she gave me.
Negative: -sh goes at the very end, after the indirect: ma 3tah liyash, he didn't give it to me.
One pronoun or two
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| صِيفْطْ لِيَّ | sifet liya | send me |
| قُلْتْ لِيكْ | qolt lik | I told you |
| كْتْبْتْ لِيهَا | ktebt liha | I wrote to her |
| عَيّْطْ لِيهُمْ | 3eyyet lihum | call them |
| عْطِينِي | 3tini | give me |
| عْطِيهْ لِيَّ | 3tih liya | give it to me |
| صِيفْطْتُو لِيهَا | sifettu liha | I sent it to her |
| مَا عْطَاهْ لِيَّاشْ | ma 3tah liyash | he didn't give it to me |
Row 8: the -sh travels past both pronouns to the end.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “give it to me”. Thing, then person with “to”: 3tih liya. Word for word.
Costly: “give me the key”. English lets the person come first without “to”. Darija doesn't: 3ti liya s-sarut, or, with 3ta only, 3tini s-sarut.
Costly: the phrasal “call”. English “call me” has no “to”; Darija does: 3eyyet liya.
Your mistake, not someone else's
English object pronouns are separate words, so when you need “it” and “to me” together, you reach for two separate words. The one you know for “he/it” is huwa, a subject pronoun.
×صِيفْطْ لِيَّ هُوَ“Send to me he”. huwa can't be an object.
✓صِيفْطُو لِيَّ“Send it to me”. “it” glued on, “to me” after.
And “call me”: 3eyyetni isn't wrong everywhere, but the standard is 3eyyet liya, “call to me”.
Messages
A text-message exchange between a sister and a brother, written for this lesson. The number is fake on purpose.
سَارَة: سَلَامْ يُوسْفْ، وَاشْ صِيفْطْتِي لِيَّ النُّمِيرُو دْيَالْ الطّْبِيبَة؟
يُوسْفْ: لَا، نْسِيتْ. دَابَا نْصِيفْطُو لِيكْ.
يُوسْفْ: 0600 00 00 00. عَيّْطِي لِيهَا مْنْ 9 لْ 12.
سَارَة: شُكْرَانْ. وْ السَّارُوتْ دْيَالْ الطُّومُوبِيلْ؟ رَدِّيتِيهْ لْبَّاكْ؟
يُوسْفْ: إِيهْ، عْطِيتُو لِيهْ الْبَارَحْ.
سَارَة: مْزْيَانْ. سَلّْفْنِي 200 دَرْهَمْ حْتَّى لْلْخْمِيسْ؟
يُوسْفْ: صَافِي، غَادِي نْصِيفْطْهُمْ لِيكْ دْغْيَا.
Did you follow?
What does Sara ask for first?
Show answers
The doctor's number.
When can the doctor be called?
Show answers
From nine to twelve.
Who did Yusef give the car key back to?
Show answers
Their father: 3titu lih, I gave it to him.
Who lends money to whom?
Show answers
Yusef to Sara: 200 dirhams until Thursday.
Check
Two here, three more in the A2 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the A2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1To whom?
Fill in the right indirect pronoun.
لِيَّلِيهْلِيهَالِيهُمْلِينَا
- عَيّْطْ لْمّْكْ؟ — إِيهْ، عَيّْطْتْ ___
- صِيفْطْ ___ التّْصْوِيرَة، بْغِيتْ نْشُوفْهَا
- قُلْتِي لْبَّاكْ؟ — إِيهْ، قُلْتْ ___
- الْوَلِيدَاتْ جَاوْ، عْطِيتْ ___ الْحْلْوَة
- خَالْتِي طْيّْبَاتْ ___ الْكْسْكْسُو
2Two pronouns
Replace the thing with a glued-on pronoun. The indirect stays after.
- صِيفْطْ لِيَّ الْمِيسَاجْ
- عْطِيتْ لِيهَا السَّارُوتْ
- وَرِّي لِيهُمْ التّْصْوِيرَة
- رَدّْ لِيهْ الْفْلُوسْ
3True or false?
According to the messages.
- Yusef had already sent the number.
4Put in order
Build the sentence.
لِيكْنْصِيفْطُودَابَاغَادِي
5Write a message
Five sentences to a friend: ask for something, say who you gave something else to, say you'll call later.
صِيفْطْ لِيَّعْطِيتُو لِيهْسَلّْفْنِيعَيّْطْ لِيهَا
The rest is in the A2 book
The A2 bookShow answers
| 1. To whom? | لِيهَا · لِيَّ · لِيهْ · لِيهُمْ · لِينَا |
|---|---|
| 2. Two pronouns | صِيفْطُو لِيَّ · عْطِيتُو لِيهَا · وَرِّيهَا لِيهُمْ · رَدّْهُمْ لِيهْ |
The A2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Say who I give, lend, send or show something to.
- Use liya, lik, lih, liha, lina, likum, lihum.
- Say “give it to me” and “I gave it to him”.
- Put -sh at the very end: ma 3tah liyash.