Lesson 40 · A2
The eight o'clock news
Twenty-two lessons fit into one news bulletin: what happened yesterday, what's happening now, what's going to happen. If you follow all of it, A2 is done. If not, you'll know which lesson to go back to.
- Follow a short text with all three tenses mixed.
- Know which verb form follows ghadi, bgha, khass and qder.
- Use attached pronouns, lli and connectors without thinking.
- Tell your week: what you did, do and will do.
Twenty-one words
Local news vocabulary. The third family is verbs you know, in forms the news uses.
The news
-
الْأَخْبَارْ
l-akhbar
news; news bulletin
Formal version of l-khbar, lesson 20.
- الْمُذِيعْ l-mudi3 newsreader
- الْحَدَثْ l-7adat event; incident
- الْمْوَاطْنِينْ l-mwatnin citizens
-
الْمَسْؤُولْ
l-mas'ul
official
The person speaking for an institution.
The city
-
التْرَامْ
t-tram
tram
French tram.
-
الْخَطّْ
l-khett
line
Tram, bus or phone line.
- الْمَهْرَجَانْ l-mahrajan festival
-
الْمَلْعَبْ
l-mel3eb
stadium
“The place for playing”, from l3eb.
-
الْأَسْعَارْ
l-as3ar
prices
Formal plural. In the market you'll say t-taman.
What happened
-
تْفْتَحْ
tfte7
was opened
With t- in front: the passive of lesson 45.
-
طَلْعَاتْ
tel3at
went up (she)
From tla3. For prices: l-as3ar tel3at.
-
هْبْطَاتْ
hebtat
went down (she)
From hbet.
-
تّْلْقَى
ttlqa
was found
From lqa, find, with t-.
- شَارَكْ sharek to take part
-
رْبَحْ
rbe7
to win
A prize, a match, money.
When
-
هَادْ الصّْبَاحْ
had s-sba7
this morning
had + time of day: this.
- هَادْ الْعْشِيَّة had l-3shiya this afternoon
- فْالسَّاعَاتْ الْجَّايَّة f s-sa3at j-jayya in the coming hours
-
حَسْبْ
7asb
according to
7asb l-arsad, according to the forecasters.
-
تْقْرِيبًا
tqriban
about; nearly
Formal, but heard on the radio.
All of A2 in eight lines
Four sentences from the bulletin: a past, a present, a future and a chain with bgha and khass.
- الْبَارَحْ تّْفْتَحْ الْخَطّْ الْجْدِيدْ دْيَالْ التْرَامْl-bare7 ttfte7 l-khett j-jdid dyal t-tram
- دَابَا كَيْمْشِي مْنْ الْمَحَطَّة حْتَّى لْلْجَّامْعَةdaba kaymshi mn l-ma7atta 7tta l l-jam3a
- غَدَّا غَادِي يْبْدَا الْمَهْرَجَانْghedda ghadi ybda l-mahrajan
- لِّي بْغَا يْشَارَكْ خَصُّو يْسَجّْلْ قْبَلْ الْجُّمْعَةlli bgha ysharek khassu ysejjel qbel j-jem3a
What form does the verb take after ghadi, after bgha and after khassu? Is it the same?
What you need to be sure of
Three tenses. Past with endings (khrej, khrejt); present with ka- (kaykhruj); future with ghadi (ghadi ykhruj). Past habit: kan + ka-.
One form for second verbs. After ghadi, bgha, khass, qder, 3ref and qbel ma: present without ka-, with a person. It does the work of English “to” + verb.
Attached pronouns. Direct on the verb, indirect after with l-: 3tah liha, he gave it to her.
lli for every relative, with a returning pronoun after a preposition.
Connectors: 7it + clause, 3la qbel + noun, walakin, mlli, mura ma.
The A2 cheat sheet
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| خْرَجْ · كَيْخْرُجْ · غَادِي يْخْرُجْ | khrej · kaykhruj · ghadi ykhruj | went out · goes out · will go out |
| مْشَى · كَيْمْشِي · غَادِي يْمْشِي | msha · kaymshi · ghadi yemshi | went · goes · will go |
| قَالْ · كَيْقُولْ · غَادِي يْقُولْ | qal · kayqul · ghadi yqul | said · says · will say |
| كَانْ كَيْخْدَمْ | kan kaykhdem | used to work |
| بْغَا · خَصُّو · قْدَرْ + يْمْشِي | bgha · khassu · qder + yemshi | wanted · has to · could + go |
| شَافُو · عْطَاهْ لِيهَا | shafu · 3tah liha | saw him · gave it to her |
| الرَّاجْلْ لِّي شَفْتِي | r-rajel lli shefti | the man you saw |
| قْبَلْ مَا يْخْرُجْ · مُورَا مَا خْرَجْ | qbel ma ykhruj · mura ma khrej | before going out · after going out |
If a row doesn't ring a bell, go back: 22–25 for tenses, 29–31 for the chain, 27–28 for pronouns, 36 for lli, 38–39 for connectors.
Your A2 balance sheet
What English gave you: “going to”, “used to”, “bigger”, “send it to me”, “because / because of”, the preposition at the end of a relative clause.
What you had to build: person endings everywhere, gender agreement, the present at the front, and a second verb that conjugates.
What still needs watching: the second verb. English “to” never changes; Darija's second verb always does.
The mistake that keeps coming back
Across A2, the most frequent slip for English speakers is putting ka- on the second verb, because it feels like “the” form of the verb. After ghadi, bgha, khass and friends, never.
×غَدَّا غَادِي كَيْبْدَا الْمَهْرَجَانْFuture with ka-.
✓غَدَّا غَادِي يْبْدَا الْمَهْرَجَانْ“The festival starts tomorrow”. No ka-.
Runner-up: gender. hiya fer7an, khti kbir. English gives you no warning; check every adjective with a woman subject.
The eight o'clock news
A local news bulletin of about a hundred and fifty words, written for this lesson. The city, the tram and the festival are invented. Read it all once without looking at the word list.
أَخْبَارْ الْمْدِينَة · الثّْمْنْيَة دْ الصّْبَاحْ
صْبَاحْ الْخِيرْ. الْبَارَحْ تّْفْتَحْ الْخَطّْ الْجْدِيدْ دْيَالْ التْرَامْ. دَابَا كَيْمْشِي مْنْ الْمَحَطَّة حْتَّى لْلْجَّامْعَة فْعِشْرِينْ دْقِيقَة.
الْمَسْؤُولْ لِّي هْضَرْ مْعَانَا قَالْ: «كُنَّا بْغِينَا نْفْتْحُوهْ الْعَامْ لِّي فَاتْ، وَلَكِنْ مَا قْدَرْنَاشْ.»
فْالسُّوقْ، الْأَسْعَارْ دْيَالْ الطُّومَاطِيشْ هْبْطَاتْ، وَلَكِنْ اللّْحَمْ طْلَعْ شْوِيَّة.
الْبْنَيَّة لِّي تّْلْفَاتْ نْهَارْ السَّبْتْ تّْلْقَاتْ الْبَارَحْ فْالْعْشِيَّة. هِيَ مْزْيَانَة، وْ الْعَايْلَة دْيَالْهَا فَرْحَانَة.
غَدَّا غَادِي يْبْدَا الْمَهْرَجَانْ دْيَالْ الْمُوسِيقَى فْالْمَلْعَبْ. لِّي بْغَا يْشَارَكْ خَصُّو يْسَجّْلْ قْبَلْ الْجُّمْعَة.
الْجَّوّْ: شْمْشْ هَادْ الصّْبَاحْ، وْ حَسْبْ الْأَرْصَادْ، الشّْتَا غَادِي تْطِيحْ فْالسَّاعَاتْ الْجَّايَّة.
Did you follow?
How long does the new tram take to the university?
Show answers
Twenty minutes.
Why didn't it open last year?
Show answers
They wanted to open it but couldn't: ma qdernash.
What happened to prices?
Show answers
Tomatoes went down; meat went up a bit.
What must anyone who wants to take part in the festival do?
Show answers
Register before Friday.
Check
Two here, three more in the A2 book. These are review: they mix the whole level.
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.
1Sort
Past, present or future?
تّْفْتَحْكَيْمْشِيغَادِي يْبْدَاهْبْطَاتْكَنْقُولْغَانْمْشِيوْتّْلْقَاتْكَتْحَبّْغَادِي تْطِيحْ
Past
Present
Future
2Pick the right one
One per row. Each row reviews one A2 point.
- خَصّْنِي نْمْشِي
- خَصّْ أَنَا نْمْشِي
- خَصّْنِي كَنْمْشِي
- الْكْتَابْ؟ عْطِيتُو لِيهَا
- الْكْتَابْ؟ عْطِيتْ لِيهَا هُوَ
- الْكْتَابْ؟ عْطِيتْهَا لِيهْ
- الدَّارْ لِّي سْكْنْتْ فِيهَا
- الدَّارْ لِّي سْكْنْتْ
- الدَّارْ فِينْ سْكْنْتْ فِيهَا
- مْلِّي كُنْتْ صْغِيرْ، كُنْتْ كَنْلْعَبْ
- مْلِّي كُنْتْ صْغِيرْ، كَنْلْعَبْ
- مْلِّي كَنْكُونْ صْغِيرْ، لْعَبْتْ
- قْبَلْ مَا نْخْرُجْ
- قْبَلْ مَا خْرَجْتْ
- قْبَلْ مَا كَنْخْرُجْ
3True or false?
According to the bulletin.
- The new tram line opened yesterday.
4Transform
Follow the brackets: another tense, or a verb in front.
- كَنْمْشِي لْلْخْدْمَة (الْبَارَحْ)
5Your week
Eight sentences about your week: what you did, do, will do, want and have to do. Use every word in the box.
الْبَارَحْدَابَاغَدَّابْغِيتْخَصّْنِيلِّيحِيتْقْبَلْ مَا
The rest is in the A2 book
The A2 bookShow answers
| 1. Sort | Past: تّْفْتَحْ · هْبْطَاتْ · تّْلْقَاتْ / Present: كَيْمْشِي · كَنْقُولْ · كَتْحَبّْ / Future: غَادِي يْبْدَا · غَانْمْشِيوْ · غَادِي تْطِيحْ |
|---|---|
| 2. Pick the right one | 1-a, 2-a, 3-a, 4-a, 5-a |
The A2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now (A2)
- Say what I did, do and am going to do.
- Say what I want, have to, can and know how to do.
- Describe someone with lli and compare with kber men.
- Give reasons, put events in order and apologise.
- Follow a short news item from start to end.