Darija lesson 30: have to, don't have to

1

Twenty-one words

The block of flats, its corners and its rules.

The building

الْعِمَارَة l-3imara block of flats
A house is dar.
الدّْرُوجْ d-druj stairs
الْأَسَانْسُورْ l-asansur lift; elevator
French ascenseur.
السّْطَحْ s-steh flat roof; roof terrace
Where washing is hung out.
الْكَرَاجْ l-garaj garage
With Moroccan ڭ: garaj.
الشّْقَّة sh-shqqa flat; apartment

The residents

الزّْبَلْ z-zbel rubbish; trash
kherrej z-zbel, take the rubbish out.
الصّْدَاعْ s-sda3 noise; racket
Also a headache: what noise gives you.
السَّانْدِيكْ s-sandik building manager
French syndic: the residents' committee head.
الْوَاجِبْ l-wajib duty
الْقَانُونْ l-qanun rule; law
l-qanun d-dakhli, house rules.

Must and may

خَصّْ khass it is necessary
The lesson's word. Only exists with a suffix or a noun.
مَمْنُوعْ mamnu3 forbidden
On signs: mamnu3 t-tdkhin, no smoking.
لَازَمْ lazem compulsory
Stronger and more formal than khass.
مْسْمُوحْ msmu7 allowed

Chores

خَرّْجْ kherrej to take out
Causative of khrej, go out: “make go out”. Lesson 41.
نَقَّى neqqa to clean
Four-letter defective: neqqi, clean.
حْتَرْمْ 7terem to respect
رَكّْنْ rekken to park
دْخّْلْ dekhkhel to bring in
Causative of dkhel, go in.
كُلّْ شْهَرْ kull shher every month
kull + bare noun: every.

2

khass: what's needed

Three obligations and one prohibition. Look at what's attached to khass and at the verb that follows.

خَصّْنِي نْخَرّْجْ الزّْبَلْkhassni nkherrej z-zbel
خَصّْكْ تْخَلّْصْ السَّانْدِيكْkhassek tkhelles s-sandik
خَصّْنَا نْحْتَرْمُو الْجِّيرَانْkhassna n7termu j-jiran
مَا خَصّْكْشْ تْرَكّْنْ هْنَاma khasseksh trekken hna

Where is the person who has the obligation? Is there an ana or nta anywhere?

The rule

khass means “it is necessary”. It doesn't conjugate: the person who has to do it is glued on as a suffix, the same ones as lesson 27: khassni, I have to; khassek, you have to; khassu, he has to.

After it comes the verb without ka-, with its person: khassni nemshi, I have to go.

Negative: ma khassnish nemshi. It covers “I don't have to go” and “I mustn't go”; context decides.

With a thing as subject, no suffix: khass l-bab ytsedd, the door has to be shut. In the past, put kan in front: kan khassni, I had to.

khass with every person

Form	Say it	Means
خَصّْنِي نْمْشِي	khassni nemshi	I have to go
خَصّْكْ تْمْشِي	khassek temshi	you have to go
خَصُّو يْمْشِي	khassu yemshi	he has to go
خَصّْهَا تْمْشِي	khassha temshi	she has to go
خَصّْنَا نْمْشِيوْ	khassna nemshiw	we have to go
خَصّْهُمْ يْمْشِيوْ	khasshum yemshiw	they have to go
مَا خَصّْنِيشْ نْمْشِي	ma khassnish nemshi	I don't have to / mustn't go
كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْمْشِي	kan khassni nemshi	I had to go

The person appears twice: on khass and on the verb.

What English gives you, and what it costs

Free: “it's necessary for me to go” exists in English, if stiffly. That is the shape of khassni nemshi.

Costly: the subject. “I have to”, “you must”: English always starts with the person as subject. Darija has no subject here at all.

Costly: “must not” versus “don't have to”. English keeps them apart; Darija has one form, ma khassnish, and you listen for the context.

Your mistake, not someone else's

You think “I have to” and start with ana. Then khass gets left bare. It sounds like “me, it's needed to go”.

×أَنَا خَصّْ نْمْشِيLoose pronoun, bare khass.

✓خَصّْنِي نْمْشِي“I have to go”. Person glued to khass.

You can add ana for contrast, ana khassni nemshi, nta la, I have to go, you don't. But the suffix stays.

3

House rules

The notice in the entrance hall of any block of flats, written for this lesson. “The Palm Tree” building doesn't exist; the rules are the usual ones.

عِمَارَة النّْخْلَة · الْقَانُونْ الدَّاخْلِي

١. خَصّْ الزّْبَلْ يْخْرُجْ مْنْ 8 دْ اللِّيلْ حْتَّى لْ 10.

٢. مَمْنُوعْ الصّْدَاعْ مُورَا 11 دْ اللِّيلْ.

٣. خَصّْ كُلّْ شْقَّة تْخَلّْصْ 100 دَرْهَمْ لْلسَّانْدِيكْ كُلّْ شْهَرْ.

٤. مَا خَصّْكُمْشْ تْرَكّْنُو قُدَّامْ بَابْ الْكَرَاجْ.

٥. الدّْرَارِي مَا خَصّْهُمْشْ يْلْعْبُو فْالْأَسَانْسُورْ.

٦. السّْطَحْ مْسْمُوحْ غِيرْ لْلتّْصْبِينْ وْ النّْشِيرْ.

The Palm Tree building · House rules

Did you follow?

When can rubbish go out?
Show answers
From eight to ten at night.
How much does each flat pay the manager?
Show answers
A hundred dirhams a month.
Where can't you park?
Show answers
In front of the garage door.
What's the roof for?
Show answers
Only for washing and hanging out clothes.

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.

1Match

Each pronoun with its form of khass.

1	أَنَا	a	خَصّْنَا
2	هِيَ	b	خَصّْنِي
3	حْنَا	c	خَصّْهُمْ
4	هُومَا	d	خَصّْهَا

2Make it an obligation

From the present to “have to”.

كَنْخَرّْجْ الزّْبَلْ
هُوَ كَيْخَلّْصْ السَّانْدِيكْ
حْنَا كَنْنَقِّيوْ الدّْرُوجْ
نْتِ كَتْسْدِّي الْبَابْ

3True or false?

According to the house rules.

Rubbish can go out at any time.

The rest is in the A2 book

3 more items, with the answers.

The A2 book

4Sort

Obligation, prohibition or permission?

خَصّْنِي نْخَلّْصْ

Must

Must not

May, or no need

The rest is in the A2 book

6 more items, with the answers.

The A2 book

5Your rules

Write five rules for your home or class. Mix musts and must-nots.

خَصّْنَامَمْنُوعْمَا خَصّْكُمْشْكُلّْ

The rest is in the A2 book

The A2 book

Show answers

1. Match	1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c
2. Make it an obligation	خَصّْنِي نْخَرّْجْ الزّْبَلْ · خَصُّو يْخَلّْصْ السَّانْدِيكْ · خَصّْنَا نْنَقِّيوْ الدّْرُوجْ · خَصّْكْ تْسْدِّي الْبَابْ

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 have to do with khassni.
Say what I don't need to or mustn't do.
Read mamnu3, lazem and msmu7 on a sign.
Follow a set of house rules.