Lesson 45 · B1
Was opened, they opened
The news says “a library was opened”; at the café people say “they've opened a library”. Arabic does the same, except that the news speaks Fusha and the café Darija. This lesson takes you from one to the other.
- Recognise the Fusha passive in a news item: tamma, qila, u3lina.
- Say the same in Darija with tt- or with “they”.
- Read a short agency item.
- Retell it in your own words.
Twenty-four words
The third family is Fusha: you won't say them, but you'll see them in every headline. They carry their classical vowels.
News verbs
- عْلَنْ 3len to announce
-
تّْعْلَنْ
tt3len
to be announced
Lesson 44's tt-.
-
قَرَّرْ
qerrer
to decide
Form II.
-
دْشَّنْ
deshshen
to inaugurate
Ribbon-and-scissors word.
-
صَرّْحْ
serre7
to state; declare
serre7 l s-sa7afa, told the press.
- بْنَى bna to build
Institutions
- الْوِزَارَة l-wizara ministry
- الْحُكُومَة l-7ukuma government
- الْقَرَارْ l-qarar decision
- الْبْلَاغْ l-blagh official statement
-
الْمَكْتَبَة
l-maktaba
library
Also “bookshop”.
-
الْإِقْلِيمْ
l-iqlim
province
Administrative division.
Headline Fusha
-
تَمَّ
tamma
(Fusha) was carried out
tamma + verbal noun: “the … was completed”. The newsreader's crutch.
-
قِيلَ
qila
(Fusha) it was said
Internal passive of qala: the vowels change, nothing is added.
-
أُعْلِنَ
u3lina
(Fusha) was announced
Internal passive: u...i.
-
افْتِتَاحْ
iftita7
(Fusha) opening
Verbal noun, lesson 46.
-
حَسَبَ
7asaba
(Fusha) according to
Lesson 40's 7asb, with its final vowel.
-
يَوْمَ
yawma
(Fusha) on the day of
yawma l-ithnayn, on Monday.
How the street says it
-
قَالُو
qalu
they said; people say
No subject: “they say that”.
- كَيْقُولُو kayqulu they say (habitually)
-
بْنَاوْ
bnaw
they built; was built
“They”, nobody in particular.
- رَسْمِي rasmi official
- الْمْوَاطِنْ l-mwaten citizen
-
الِافْتِتَاحْ
l-iftita7
the opening (Darija)
Same word, Moroccan pronunciation.
Three Fusha passives, two Darija answers
Four pairs: on the left, news Fusha; on the right, what you'd say retelling it.
- تَمَّ افْتِتَاحُ مَكْتَبَةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ ← تّْفَتْحَاتْ مَكْتَبَة جْدِيدَةtamma ftita7u maktabatin jadida → ttfet7at maktaba jdida
- أُعْلِنَ الْقَرَارُ أَمْسِ ← الْقَرَارْ تّْعْلَنْ الْبَارَحْu3lina l-qararu amsi → l-qarar tt3len l-bare7
- قِيلَ إِنَّ الْمَشْرُوعَ تَأَخَّرَ ← قَالُو بْلِّي الْمَشْرُوعْ تْعَطّْلْqila inna l-mashru3a ta'akhkhara → qalu belli l-mashru3 t3ettel
- بُنِيَتِ الْمَدْرَسَةُ سَنَةَ 1990 ← بْنَاوْ الْمَدْرَسَة عَامْ 1990buniyati l-madrasatu sanata 1990 → bnaw l-madrasa 3am 1990
What does Darija do with tamma? And with qila, “it was said”?
The rule
News Fusha has two passives you need to recognise:
tamma + verbal noun: tamma ftita7u l-maktaba, “the opening of the library was completed”.
Internal passive: the verb switches its vowels to u...i: qala → qila, it was said; a3lana → u3lina, was announced; bana → buniya, was built.
Darija has neither. It says the same two ways:
With tt- (lesson 44): l-maktaba ttfet7at, the library opened.
With “they” and no subject: qalu belli..., they say that...; bnaw l-madrasa, they built the school.
From headline to street
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| تَمَّ افْتِتَاحُ الْمَكْتَبَةِ | tamma ftita7u l-maktabati | (Fusha) the library was opened |
| الْمَكْتَبَة تّْفَتْحَاتْ | l-maktaba ttfet7at | (Darija) the library opened |
| أُعْلِنَ الْقَرَارُ | u3lina l-qararu | (Fusha) the decision was announced |
| الْقَرَارْ تّْعْلَنْ | l-qarar tt3len | (Darija) the decision got announced |
| قِيلَ إِنَّ... | qila inna... | (Fusha) it is said that... |
| قَالُو بْلِّي... | qalu belli... | (Darija) they say that... |
| بُنِيَتِ الْمَدْرَسَةُ | buniyati l-madrasatu | (Fusha) the school was built |
| بْنَاوْ الْمَدْرَسَة | bnaw l-madrasa | (Darija) they built the school |
Odd rows are for reading; even rows for speaking.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “they” with no one in mind. “They've opened a library”, “they say it'll rain”: that is bnaw, qalu.
Free: register sense. You'd never say “the inauguration was effected” at a café; nor would a Moroccan say tamma.
Costly: the everyday passive. English “my bike was stolen” is ordinary speech. In Darija that's tt-, never a Fusha passive.
Your mistake, not someone else's
You hear tamma on every bulletin, and it sticks. Retelling the news, it slips into your Darija, like saying “the opening was effected” over coffee.
×تَمّْ الْفْتَاحْ دْيَالْ الْمَكْتَبَةNewsreader in the street.
✓الْمَكْتَبَة تّْفَتْحَاتْ“They opened the library”.
And the reverse: reading a headline aloud in street pronunciation. Fusha is read with its final vowels: ftita7u, l-maktabati.
A new library
The same news twice: first as an agency puts it, in Fusha; then as a neighbour tells it, in Darija. The plan called for a VOA archive item, but VOA's Arabic output isn't usable public-domain material, so the format imitates an agency and the event is invented.
(وَكَالَةٌ) — افْتِتَاحُ مَكْتَبَةٍ عُمُومِيَّةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ
تَمَّ يَوْمَ الْإِثْنَيْنِ افْتِتَاحُ مَكْتَبَةٍ عُمُومِيَّةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ فِي حَيٍّ شَعْبِيٍّ بِالْمَدِينَةِ.
وَحَسَبَ بَلَاغٍ رَسْمِيٍّ، بُنِيَتِ الْمَكْتَبَةُ فِي ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ شَهْرًا، وَتَضُمُّ عَشَرَةَ آلَافِ كِتَابٍ.
وَقِيلَ إِنَّ الْمَشْرُوعَ تَأَخَّرَ سَنَةً بِسَبَبِ نَقْصِ التَّمْوِيلِ.
وَاشْ سْمْعْتِي؟ الِاتْنِينْ تّْفَتْحَاتْ مَكْتَبَة جْدِيدَة فْالْحُومَة.
بْنَاوْهَا فْعَامْ وْ نُصّْ. فِيهَا عَشْرَة دْ الْأَلَافْ دْ الْكْتُوبَة.
وْ قَالُو بْلِّي الْمَشْرُوعْ تْعَطّْلْ عَامْ، حِيتْ مَا كَانُوشْ الْفْلُوسْ.
Did you follow?
When did the library open?
Show answers
On Monday: yawma l-ithnayn, l-etnin.
How long did it take to build?
Show answers
Eighteen months: a year and a half.
How many books does it have?
Show answers
Ten thousand.
Why was it delayed?
Show answers
Lack of money: naqs t-tamwil, ma kanush l-flus.
Check
Two here, three more in the B1 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B1 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Match
Each Fusha form with its Darija equivalent.
| 1 | تَمَّ افْتِتَاحُ | a | قَالُو |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | أُعْلِنَ | b | تّْفْتَحْ |
| 3 | قِيلَ | c | بْنَاوْ |
| 4 | بُنِيَ | d | تّْعْلَنْ |
2Say it in Darija
Turn the headline into street Darija.
- تَمَّ افْتِتَاحُ الْمُسْتَشْفَى
- أُعْلِنَ الْخَبَرُ
- قِيلَ إِنَّ الطَّرِيقَ مُغْلَقٌ
- بُنِيَ الْجِسْرُ سَنَةَ 2010
3True or false?
According to the news.
- The library opened on Monday.
4Sort
Headline Fusha or street Darija?
تَمَّ
Fusha
Darija
5Tell it
Invent a piece of local news and tell it in four Darija sentences, without tamma.
تّْفْتَحْقَالُو بْلِّيبْنَاوْتّْعْلَنْ
The rest is in the B1 book
The B1 bookShow answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c |
|---|---|
| 2. Say it in Darija | السّْبِيطَارْ تّْفْتَحْ · الْخْبَرْ تّْعْلَنْ · قَالُو بْلِّي الطّْرِيقْ مْسْدُودَة · بْنَاوْ الْقَنْطْرَة عَامْ 2010 |
The B1 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Recognise tamma, qila, u3lina in a headline.
- Say the same in Darija with tt- or qalu, bnaw.
- Read a short agency item.
- Keep newsreader Fusha out of conversation.