Lesson 50 · B1
He told me he is tired
“He told me he was tired.” English shifts the tense back when reporting. Darija doesn't: qal liya belli huwa 3eyyan, “he told me he is tired”. Only the pronouns change.
- Report what someone said, asked or told you to do.
- Use belli, wash and question words in reported speech.
- Change pronouns without changing tense.
- Summarise a news item with quotes.
Twenty-two words
Reporting verbs, and the vocabulary of a labour dispute.
Reporting
-
بْلِّي
belli
that (after say, know)
Followed by the sentence as it was.
- قَالْ لِيَّ qal liya he told me
-
سْوّْلْنِي
sewwelni
he asked me
Pronoun attached: sewwelni, sewwlatni.
-
وَاشْ
wash
if; whether
Lesson 6's wash, now mid-sentence.
-
عَاوْدْ لِيَّ
3awed liya
he told me (what happened)
“He repeated to me”.
- قَالُو qalu they say; they said
Verbs of saying
- أَكّْدْ akked to confirm
- نْفَى nfa to deny
-
وْعَدْ
w3ed
to promise
kanw3edek, I promise you.
-
شْرَحْ
shra7
to explain
More formal than fehhem.
-
طْلَبْ مْنْ
tleb mn
to ask (someone to)
tleb mnni, he asked me to.
-
نْبّْهْ
nebbeh
to warn
Form II.
The news
- التّْصْرِيحْ t-tsri7 statement
- الصَّحَافِي s-sa7afi journalist
- الرَّئِيسْ r-ra'is president; head
- الْمَعْمَلْ l-ma3mel factory
-
الْخْدَّامَة
l-khddama
workers
Plural of khddam.
- الْإِضْرَابْ l-idrab strike
According to
- حَسْبْ مَا قَالْ 7asb ma qal according to what he said
- كِيمَا قَالْ kima qal as he said
- بْصَرَاحَة b sara7a frankly
- يَعْنِي ya3ni I mean
Reporting what someone said
Four reported sentences: a statement, two questions and a piece of advice.
- كَرِيمْ قَالْ لِيَّ بْلِّي خُوهْ مْرِيضْKarim qal liya belli khuh mrid
- سْوّْلْتْهَا وَاشْ غَادِي تْجِي لْلْعُرْسْsewwelt-ha wash ghadi tji l l-3ors
- سْوّْلْنِي عْلَاشْ مَا جِيتْشْ الْبَارَحْsewwelni 3lash ma jitsh l-bare7
- الطّْبِيبْ قَالْ لِيَّ نْرْتَاحْ سِيمَانَةt-tbib qal liya nrta7 simana
Has the tense changed from what was said? Which word follows qal liya, and which follows sewwelni?
The rule
Statement: qal liya belli + the sentence in the same tense it was said in. “I'm tired” → qal liya belli huwa 3eyyan. Only the pronouns change.
Yes/no question: sewwelni wash + sentence: sewwelni wash kankhdem, he asked me if I work.
Open question: the question word as it was: sewwelni fin saken, he asked where I live.
Order or advice: no belli, verb without ka-: qal liya nemshi, he told me to go.
From direct to reported
| Direct → reported | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| «أَنَا عْيَّانْ» ← قَالْ لِيَّ بْلِّي هُوَ عْيَّانْ | «ana 3eyyan» → qal liya belli huwa 3eyyan | “I'm tired” → he told me he's tired |
| «غَادِي نْجِي» ← قَالْ بْلِّي غَادِي يْجِي | «ghadi nji» → qal belli ghadi yji | “I'll come” → he said he'll come |
| «وَاشْ كَتْخْدَمْ؟» ← سْوّْلْنِي وَاشْ كَنْخْدَمْ | «wash katkhdem?» → sewwelni wash kankhdem | “Do you work?” → he asked if I work |
| «فِينْ سَاكْنَة؟» ← سْوّْلَاتْنِي فِينْ سَاكْنَة | «fin sakna?» → sewwlatni fin sakna | “Where do you live?” → she asked where I live |
| «سِيرْ!» ← قَالْ لِيَّ نْمْشِي | «sir!» → qal liya nemshi | “Go!” → he told me to go |
| «مَا تْجِيشْ!» ← قَالْ لِيهَا مَا تْجِيشْ | «ma tjish!» → qal liha ma tjish | “Don't come!” → he told her not to come |
| قَالُو بْلِّي... | qalu belli... | they say that... |
| حَسْبْ مَا قَالْ، ... | 7asb ma qal, ... | according to him, ... |
English backshifts: “was”, “would”. Darija keeps the original tense.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “asked if / whether”. wash is that “if”, and English already separates it from conditional “if”. So does Darija: wash versus ila.
Free: “told me to go”. Darija uses the verb without ka-, the same mechanism as after bgha.
Costly: backshift. “He said he was” is automatic for you; in Darija it's wrong.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Reporting in the past, English moves everything back: “he said he was”. You add kan, and now it means he had been tired before, not now.
×قَالْ لِيَّ بْلِّي كَانْ عْيَّانْ“He told me he had been tired”.
✓قَالْ لِيَّ بْلِّي هُوَ عْيَّانْ“He told me he's (was) tired”.
And “asked if” with ila: sewwelni ila... is a calque. Use wash.
Strike at the factory
A news item with direct quotes and, below, how someone on the street retells it in reported speech. Our text in agency format; factory and people invented.
إِضْرَابْ فْمَعْمَلْ دْيَالْ الثّْوْبْ
الْخْدَّامَة دْيَالْ الْمَعْمَلْ وَقّْفُو الْخْدْمَة الْيُومْ. وَاحْدْ مْنْهُمْ قَالْ: «مَا خْلّْصُونَاشْ هَادِي جُوجْ شْهُورْ.»
الْمُدِيرْ قَالْ لْلصَّحَافَة: «الْفْلُوسْ غَادِي تْوْصَلْ الْجُّمْعَة. كَنْطْلَبْ مْنْ الْخْدَّامَة يْرْجْعُو.»
صَحَافِي سْوّْلُو: «وَاشْ مْتْأَكّْدْ؟» الْمُدِيرْ جَاوْبْ: «إِيهْ، كَنْوْعْدْكُمْ.»
سْمْعْتِي؟ الْخْدَّامَة دْيَالْ الْمَعْمَلْ قَالُو بْلِّي مَا خْلّْصُوهُمْشْ هَادِي جُوجْ شْهُورْ.
وْ الْمُدِيرْ قَالْ بْلِّي الْفْلُوسْ غَادِي تْوْصَلْ الْجُّمْعَة، وْ طْلَبْ مْنْهُمْ يْرْجْعُو.
وَاحْدْ الصَّحَافِي سْوّْلُو وَاشْ مْتْأَكّْدْ، وْ هُوَ قَالْ بْلِّي كَيْوْعْدْهُمْ.
Did you follow?
Why have the workers stopped?
Show answers
They haven't been paid for two months.
What does the director promise?
Show answers
The money will arrive on Friday.
What does he ask them to do?
Show answers
Go back to work: tleb menhum yrej3u.
How does “Are you sure?” become reported speech?
Show answers
sewwlu wash mt'ekked: with wash.
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.
1Report it
Put what was said into reported speech. Change pronouns, not tense.
- خْتِي: «أَنَا مْرِيضَة.»
- كَرِيمْ: «غَادِي نْجِي غَدَّا.»
- مّي: «وَاشْ كْلِيتِي؟»
- الْأُسْتَاذْ: «كْتْبُو الدَّرْسْ!»
2Fill in
belli, wash, a question word or a verb. No vowels.
بليواشفيننجي
- قال لي ___ الماتش تلغى
- سولتو ___ عندو الوقت
- سولاتني ___ ساكن
- قال لي ___ بكري
3True or false?
According to the news.
- The workers stopped work today.
4Match
Each direct sentence with its reported version.
| 1 | «عْيِيتْ» | a | سْوّْلْنِي عْلَاشْ تْعَطّْلْتْ |
|---|
5A phone call
Report a recent conversation in five sentences: what you were told, asked, and asked to do.
قَالْ لِيَّ بْلِّيسْوّْلْنِي وَاشْطْلَبْ مْنِّيوْعْدْنِي
The rest is in the B1 book
The B1 bookShow answers
| 1. Report it | خْتِي قَالَتْ لِيَّ بْلِّي هِيَ مْرِيضَة · كَرِيمْ قَالْ بْلِّي غَادِي يْجِي غَدَّا · مّي سْوّْلَاتْنِي وَاشْ كْلِيتْ · الْأُسْتَاذْ قَالْ لِينَا نْكْتْبُو الدَّرْسْ |
|---|---|
| 2. Fill in | بلي · واش · فين · نجي |
The B1 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Report statements with qal liya belli.
- Report questions with wash and question words.
- Report orders with the verb without ka-.
- Leave the tense where it was.