Lesson 41 · B1
Double it to make it happen
English says “the car stopped” and “I stopped the car” with the same verb. Darija doesn't: wqef, stop; weqqef, stop something. Double the middle consonant and the verb makes someone else do it. B1 starts here, and so does unvowelled Arabic in the exercises.
- Recognise and form a Form II verb.
- Say you make something happen: take out, bring in, explain, heat up.
- Use Form II to intensify: smash, chop up.
- Read practical tips about phones.
Twenty-four words
B1 notice: from here on, gap-fills and sentence-building exercises are written without vowel marks, as on the street. Word lists stay vowelled so you learn the pronunciation.
Making someone do
-
عَلّْمْ
3ellem
to teach
From 3lem, know: “make know”.
-
فَهّْمْ
fehhem
to explain; make understand
From fhem. fehhemni, explain it to me.
-
خَرّْجْ
kherrej
to take out
From khrej, go out: “make go out”.
-
دَخّْلْ
dekhkhel
to bring in; put in
From dkhel, go in.
-
قَرّْبْ
qerreb
to bring closer
From qrib, near.
-
سَخّْنْ
sekhkhen
to heat up
From skhun, hot.
-
وَقّْفْ
weqqef
to stop (something)
From wqef, stand, stop.
Doing hard or thoroughly
-
كَسّْرْ
kesser
to smash
Intensive of kser, break.
-
قَطّْعْ
qette3
to chop up
Intensive of qte3, cut.
- كَمّْلْ kemmel to finish; complete
- صَلّْحْ selle7 to repair; fix
-
وَجّْدْ
wejjed
to prepare
wejjed rasek, get ready.
- جَرّْبْ jerreb to try; test
-
شَرّْجْ
sherrej
to charge (a battery)
French charger in an Arabic Form II mould.
The phone
-
الْبُورْطَابْلْ
l-portabl
mobile phone
French portable.
-
الشَّارْجُورْ
sh-sharjur
charger
French chargeur.
-
الْبَاطْرِي
l-batri
battery
French batterie.
-
الْأَبْلِيكَاسْيُونْ
l-aplikasyun
app
French application.
- الْأَنْتِرْنِيتْ l-antirnit internet
- الشَّاشَة sh-shasha screen
-
الْكُودْ
l-kod
code; PIN
French code.
State of the device
-
عَيْنْ مِيكَة
3in mika
streetwise; no fool
“Plastic eye”. Very Moroccan.
- مْقَاضْ mqad working; in order
-
خْسْرَانْ
khesran
broken
Participle of tkhesser, lesson 39.
Form II
Four sentences where a verb appears with its middle consonant doubled. In two, the undoubled form is right next to it.
- مَا فْهَمْتْشْ. فَهّْمْنِي عَافَاكْma fhemtsh. fehhemni 3afak
- خْرَجْتْ مْنْ الدَّارْ وْ خَرّْجْتْ الطُّومُوبِيلْkhrejt mn d-dar w kherrejt t-tomobil
- الدّْرِّي كَسّْرْ الْبُورْطَابْلْd-derri kesser l-portabl
- شْكُونْ عَلّْمَكْ الدَّارِجَة؟shkun 3ellmek d-darija?
What's the difference between fhemt and fehhem, between khrejt and kherrejt? Who does what?
The rule
Almost any three-consonant verb can double its middle consonant: fhem → fehhem. This is Form II. It conjugates like the doubled verbs of lesson 21: kanfehhem, fehhemt, fehhmu.
It mostly does two jobs:
Causative, “make someone or something do”: khrej, go out → kherrej, take out; dkhel, go in → dekhkhel, bring in; 3ref, know → 3erref, introduce.
Intensive, “do hard or thoroughly”: kser, break → kesser, smash; qte3, cut → qette3, chop up.
Adjectives can feed it too: skhun, hot → sekhkhen, heat up.
Form I and Form II
| Form I → Form II | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| فْهَمْ ← فَهّْمْ | fhem → fehhem | understand → explain |
| خْرَجْ ← خَرّْجْ | khrej → kherrej | go out → take out |
| دْخَلْ ← دَخّْلْ | dkhel → dekhkhel | go in → bring in |
| عْرَفْ ← عَرّْفْ | 3ref → 3erref | know → introduce |
| كْسَرْ ← كَسّْرْ | kser → kesser | break → smash |
| قْطَعْ ← قَطّْعْ | qte3 → qette3 | cut → chop up |
| كَنْفَهّْمْ · فَهّْمْتْ | kanfehhem · fehhemt | I explain · I explained |
| غَادِي نْفَهّْمْكْ | ghadi nfehhmek | I'll explain it to you |
Form II almost always takes a direct object: you take something out, explain something to someone.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: rise / raise, fall / fell, sit / set. English has a few pairs where a vowel change makes a causative. Darija does it systematically, with a double consonant.
Free: “make” + verb. “Make him understand” is the meaning of fehhmu.
Costly: ergative verbs. “The car stopped / I stopped the car”, “the door opened / I opened the door”: one English verb, two Darija ones.
Your mistake, not someone else's
English lets you say “I stopped the car”, “I moved the table” with the same verb as “the car stopped”. So you use the plain Darija verb with an object. For many verbs, that's wrong.
×دْخَلْتْ الطُّومُوبِيلْ لْلْكَرَاجْ“I went-in the car to the garage”: Form I with an object.
✓دَخّْلْتْ الطُّومُوبِيلْ لْلْكَرَاجْ“I put the car in the garage”. Form II.
And the double has to be heard: kesser is not kser, as 7ell isn't 7el (lesson 21).
Making the battery last
A short tips article, in the style of ary.wikipedia's technology entries, written for this lesson. Look for the Form II verbs: there are six.
الْبُورْطَابْلْ: كِيفَاشْ تْطَوّْلْ عْمْرْ الْبَاطْرِي
الْبُورْطَابْلْ وَلَّا جْهَازْ لِّي كَنْخْدْمُو بِيهْ فْكُلّْشِي: كَنْخَلّْصُو، كَنْتْعَلّْمُو، كَنْهْضْرُو مْعَ الْعَايْلَة.
وَلَكِنْ الْبَاطْرِي كَتْخْوَا بْالزّْرْبَة. هَادُو شِي نْصَايْحْ بَاشْ تْطَوّْلْهَا:
نَقّْصْ الضَّوْ دْيَالْ الشَّاشَة. الشَّاشَة هِيَ لِّي كَتَاكُلْ كْتَرْ.
سَدّْ الْأَبْلِيكَاسْيُونَاتْ لِّي مَا كَتْخْدَمْشْ بِيهُمْ.
مَا تْخَلِّيشْ الْبُورْطَابْلْ فْالشّْمْشْ: السّْخُونِيَّة كَتْخَسّْرْ الْبَاطْرِي.
وْ شَرّْجُو بْالشَّارْجُورْ دْيَالُو. الشَّارْجُورْ الرّْخِيصْ يْقْدَرْ يْسَخّْنُو بْزَّافْ.
Did you follow?
What do we use the phone for, according to the text?
Show answers
Everything: paying, learning, talking to family.
What uses the most battery?
Show answers
The screen: hiya lli katakul ktar.
Why not leave it in the sun?
Show answers
Heat damages the battery.
What's the problem with a cheap charger?
Show answers
It can overheat the phone.
Check
First lesson of B1: all five are open. From here on, gaps and sentence-building come without vowels.
All five exercises of this lesson are open. It is the sample of the level: from lesson 42 on, three of the five are in the B1 book.
1Match
Each verb with its Form II.
| 1 | فْهَمْ | a | دَخّْلْ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | خْرَجْ | b | فَهّْمْ |
| 3 | دْخَلْ | c | عَرّْفْ |
| 4 | عْرَفْ | d | خَرّْجْ |
2Fill in
With the Form II verb each sentence needs.
خرجتفهمنيسخنيعلماتنيكسرو
- ___ الزبل قبل ما نخرج
- ما فهمتش الدرس، ___ عافاك
- الماكلة باردة، ___ها شوية
- مي ___ نطيب
- الدراري ___ الشرجم بالكورة
3Sort
Causative or intensive?
فَهّْمْكَسّْرْخَرّْجْقَطّْعْدَخّْلْوَقّْفْ
Make someone do
Do hard
4True or false?
According to the article.
- The screen uses the most battery.
- It's best to leave all apps open.
- Heat damages the battery.
- Any charger is as good as another.
5Put in order
Build the sentence. No vowels, as on the street.
الدارجة؟علمكشكون
منخرجالكراجالطوموبيل
كلشينفهمكغادي
Show answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c |
|---|---|
| 2. Fill in | خرجت · فهمني · سخني · علماتني · كسرو |
| 3. Sort | Make someone do: فَهّْمْ · خَرّْجْ · دَخّْلْ · وَقّْفْ / Do hard: كَسّْرْ · قَطّْعْ |
| 4. True or false? | 1-True, 2-False, 3-True, 4-False |
| 5. Put in order | شكون علمك الدارجة؟ · خرج الطوموبيل من الكراج · غادي نفهمك كلشي |
I can now
- Form Form II by doubling the middle consonant.
- Say take out, bring in, explain, heat up, stop.
- Tell kser from kesser.
- Read practical text with unvowelled exercises.