Darija lesson 29: I want to go, I want you to go

1

Twenty words

Wanting, wishing, needing, and things people want for themselves or for their street.

Wanting

بْغَى bgha to want
The lesson's verb. Defective: bghit, I want (past form).
تْمَنَّى tmenna to wish; to hope
For what isn't up to you: kantmenna, I hope.
حْلَمْ 7lem to dream
7lemt bik, I dreamt about you: with b-.
طْلَبْ tleb to ask for; to apply
The formal one: tleb l-khedma, applied for the job.
حْتَاجْ 7taj to need
With l-: 7tajit l flus, I need money.

What to do

تْزَوّْجْ tzewwej to get married
تْعَلّْمْ t3ellem to learn
Root of m3ellem, teacher.
بْنَى bna to build
Defective: bnit.
حَلّْ 7ell to open; to solve
Lesson 21's verb. 7ell l-mushkil, solve the problem.
صْلَحْ sle7 to be good for; to work
ma kaysle7sh, it's no use.

For whom

الْجّْنَانْ j-jnan garden
The everyday Moroccan word.
الْحَدِيقَة l-7adiqa park
More formal, a council-sign word.
الشّْبَابْ sh-shbab young people
الْبَلَدِيَّة l-baladiya town council
الْمَشْرُوعْ l-mashru3 project
الْحُلْمْ l-7ulm dream
The ambition kind. Sleep is n-n3as.

Linking

بَاشْ bash so that; to
bash + verb. Lesson 51. In passing here.
بْلَا bla without
bla ma + verb: without doing.
نْهَارْ nhar the day (that)
nhar + verb: nhar ghadi nzewwej, the day I get married.
بْصَحّْ bse77 really
bse77?, seriously?

2

bgha and the second verb

Three sentences about wishes and one about what a mother wants her son to do. Look at the two verbs in each.

بْغِيتْ نْتْعَلّْمْ الدَّارِجَةbghit nt3ellem d-darija
خْتِي بْغَاتْ تْسَافْرْ لْكَنَدَاkhti bghat tsafer l Kanada
بْغِينَا نْشْرِيوْ دَارْ صْغِيرَةbghina nshriw dar sghira
مّي بْغَاتْنِي نْرْجَعْ بْكْرِيmmi bghatni nrje3 bekri

What tense is bghit? Does the second verb have ka-? And in the last one, who comes home early?

The rule

bgha, want, is almost always used in the past to talk about now: bghit is “I want”, right now. kanbghi, present, is “I like”, a habit, or “I love” a person.

The second verb follows without ka-, with its own person letter: bghit nemshi, I want to go.

If someone else does the second action, just change its person: bghit temshi, I want you to go. To make it clear, glue the pronoun onto bgha: bghitek temshi, “I want you, you go”.

Negation goes on bgha: ma bghitsh nemshi, I don't want to go.

Wanting to go

Form	Say it	Means
بْغِيتْ نْمْشِي	bghit nemshi	I want to go
بْغِيتِي تْمْشِي	bghiti temshi	you want to go
بْغَى يْمْشِي	bgha yemshi	he wants to go
بْغَاتْ تْمْشِي	bghat temshi	she wants to go
بْغِينَا نْمْشِيوْ	bghina nemshiw	we want to go
بْغَاوْ يْمْشِيوْ	bghaw yemshiw	they want to go
بْغِيتْكْ تْمْشِي	bghitek temshi	I want you to go
مَا بْغِيتْشْ نْمْشِي	ma bghitsh nemshi	I don't want to go

The second verb is lesson 25's future form: present without ka-. It is what Darija uses wherever English uses “to” + verb.

What English gives you, and what it costs

Free: “I want you to go”. English puts the other person right after “want”, and so does Darija: bghitek temshi.

Costly: “to go”. English's second verb never changes. Darija's always does: bghit nemshi, bghiti temshi, bgha yemshi.

Costly: the tense. “I want” is a present in English. The Darija form that means it looks like a past.

Your mistake, not someone else's

English gives you one frozen form for the second verb, “to go”. The most frozen Darija form you know is the ka- present, so it goes in. But ka- says “I do it”, not “to do it”.

×بْغِيتْ كَنْمْشِي لْلْبْحَرْ“I want I-go to the beach”. Two presents in a row.

✓بْغِيتْ نْمْشِي لْلْبْحَرْ“I want to go to the beach”. No ka-.

And the tense of bgha: kanbghi nemshi isn't “I want to go” now, it's “I like going”. For now, bghit.

3

Letter to the paper

A resident writes to the local paper asking for a garden in his neighbourhood. The letter and the signature are invented; the complaints could come from any working-class area.

رِسَالَة لْلْجَرِيدَة

أَنَا سَاكْنْ فْحُومَة شَعْبِيَّة هَادِي عِشْرِينْ عَامْ.

الدّْرَارِي دْيَالْنَا بْغَاوْ يْلْعْبُو، وَلَكِنْ مَا كَايْنْ فِينْ.

الشّْبَابْ بْغَاوْ يْقْرَاوْ، وَلَكِنْ الْمَكْتَبَة بْعِيدَة.

كَايْنَة أَرْضْ خَاوْيَة حْدَا الْمَدْرَسَة. بْغِينَا الْبَلَدِيَّة تْدِيرْ فِيهَا جْنَانْ.

مَا بْغِينَاشْ بْزَّافْ: شِي شْجَرْ، شِي كْرَاسَا، وْ بْلَاصَة لْلْكُورَة.

كَنْتْمَنَّى تْسْمْعُونَا. — مُحَمَّدْ، سَاكْنْ فْالْحُومَة

Letter to the paper

Did you follow?

How long has Mohammed lived there?
Show answers
Twenty years: hadi 3ishrin 3am.
What's the young people's problem?
Show answers
They want to study, but the library is far.
What is next to the school?
Show answers
An empty plot: ard khawya.
What exactly does he ask for?
Show answers
Not much: trees, benches and somewhere to play football.

4

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.

1Fill in

The second verb, in the right person, no ka-.

نْمْشِيتْقْرَايْلْعْبُونْشْرِيوْتْجِي

بْغِيتْ ___ لْلسِّينِمَا
خْتِي بْغَاتْ ___ فْالْجَّامْعَة
الدّْرَارِي بْغَاوْ ___ الْكُورَة
بْغِينَا ___ طُومُوبِيلْ جْدِيدَة
وَاشْ بْغِيتِي ___ مْعَانَا؟

2Pick the right one

Only one is correct.

1. بْغِيتْ نْسَافْرْ
2. بْغِيتْ كَنْسَافْرْ
3. بْغِيتْ سَافَرْ
1. هُوَ بْغَى نْمْشِي
2. هُوَ بْغَى يْمْشِي
3. هُوَ بْغَى كَيْمْشِي
1. مَا بْغِيتْشْ نَاكُلْ
2. بْغِيتْ مَا نَاكُلْشْ
3. مَا بْغِيتْ نَاكُلْ
1. بْغِيتْكْ تْجِي
2. بْغِيتْ نْتَ تْجِي
3. بْغِيتْ تْجِي نْتَ

3True or false?

According to the letter.

Mohammed has lived there for twenty years.

The rest is in the A2 book

3 more items, with the answers.

The A2 book

4Want it

Put bgha in front and adjust the verb.

كَنْمْشِي لْلْخْدْمَة

The rest is in the A2 book

3 more items, with the answers.

The A2 book

5Your wishes

Five sentences about what you want, don't want and hope for.

بْغِيتْكَنْتْمَنَّىمَا بْغِيتْشْبَاشْ

The rest is in the A2 book

The A2 book

Show answers

1. Fill in	نْمْشِي · تْقْرَا · يْلْعْبُو · نْشْرِيوْ · تْجِي
2. Pick the right one	1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-a

The A2 book: In preparation

Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.

Tell me when it is out

I can now

Say what I want and don't want to do.
Say what I want someone else to do.
Use bghit for now and kanbghi for habits and people.
Follow a written request.