Lesson 58 · B1
I've been waiting an hour
Every complaint starts with time: how long you've been waiting, how many days with no answer. English needs a special tense for it. Darija doesn't: hadi, “this”, the duration, “and”, plain present. hadi sa3a u ana kantsenna.
- Say how long something has been going on.
- Ask since when.
- Name what goes wrong on a journey.
- Write a clear complaint.
Twenty-four words
Transport, what breaks, and how to complain. Several nouns come from French: tran, kar, biyyi. One from Spanish: blasa.
The journey
-
التْرَانْ
t-tran
train
From French train.
-
الْكَارْ
l-kar
coach (intercity)
From French car.
- الطُّوبِيسْ t-tobis city bus
- الْمَحَطَّة l-ma7etta station
-
الْبِيِّي
l-biyyi
ticket
From French billet.
-
الْبْلَاصَة
l-blasa
seat
From Spanish plaza.
What goes wrong
-
تْعَطّْلْ
t3ettel
to be delayed; break down
Form V: it happens, nobody does it.
- تْلْغَى tlgha to be cancelled
- تّْوْدّْرْ ttwedder to get lost
- تْهَرّْسْ therres to get broken
- عَامْرْ 3amer full
Complaining
-
شْكَا
shka
to complain
shka 3la, complain about.
- الشّْكَايَة sh-shkaya complaint
-
رْجّْعْ الْفْلُوسْ
rejje3 l-flus
to refund
“Give back the money”.
- التَّعْوِيضْ t-ta3wid compensation
- الْمَسْؤُولْ l-mas'ul person in charge; manager
Luggage and counter
- الشَّانْطَة sh-shanta suitcase
- الْحْوَايْجْ l-7wayej things; clothes
- الشّْبَّاكْ sh-shebbak ticket window; counter
- الرّْقَمْ r-reqm number
Complaint phrases
-
هَادِي سَاعَة
hadi sa3a
for an hour (now)
Literally “this, an hour”.
- شْحَالْ هَادِي؟ sh7al hadi? how long?; since when?
- مَا بْقِيتْشْ قَادْرْ ma-bqitsh qader I can't take it any more
-
مَاشِي مَعْقُولْ
mashi ma3qul
it's not right; unacceptable
The line in every complaint.
Hadi, the time, and “and”
Four complaints at a station. Look at what comes before the duration and what links it to the rest.
- هَادِي سَاعَة وْ نُصّْ وْ أَنَا وَاقْفْ فْالْمَحَطَّةhadi sa3a u nuss u ana waqef f l-ma7etta
- هَادِي جُمْعَة وْ مَا رْجّْعُو لِيَّ الْفْلُوسْhadi jum3a u ma-rejj3u liyya l-flus
- شْحَالْ هَادِي وْ التْرَانْ مْعَطّْلْ؟sh7al hadi u t-tran m3ettel?
- كَانْ هْنَا مْنْ هَادِي شْوِيَّةkan hna men hadi shwiyya
Which word opens the sentence? What sits between the duration and the event? What tense follows?
The rule
hadi + duration + u + clause: “I've been … for X”, “it's been X since…”.
For something still happening: plain present or participle. hadi sa3a u ana kantsenna, “I've been waiting an hour”.
For something that hasn't happened in that time: negative past. hadi jum3a u ma-jawbunish, “they haven't answered for a week”.
The question: sh7al hadi u…?, “how long have…?”.
With no clause after it, men hadi + duration = “ago”: kan hna men hadi shwiyya, “he was here a while ago”.
How long
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| هَادِي سَاعَة وْ أَنَا كَنْتْسَنَّى | hadi sa3a u ana kantsenna | I've been waiting for an hour |
| هَادِي يُومَايْنْ وْ الشَّانْطَة مْوَدّْرَة | hadi yumayn u sh-shanta mwedra | the suitcase has been lost for two days |
| هَادِي جُمْعَة وْ مَا جَاوْبُونِيشْ | hadi jum3a u ma-jawbunish | they haven't answered for a week |
| هَادِي شْهَرْ وْ مَا شْفْتُوشْ | hadi shher u ma-shftush | I haven't seen him for a month |
| شْحَالْ هَادِي وْ نْتَا هْنَا؟ | sh7al hadi u nta hna? | how long have you been here? |
| هَادِي شِي شْوِيَّة | hadi shi shwiyya | a little while ago |
| هَادِي عَامْ وْ هُوَ سَاكْنْ فْطَنْجَة | hadi 3am u huwa saken f Tanja | he's been living in Tangier for a year |
| مْنْ هَادِي سَاعَة | men hadi sa3a | for an hour now |
No present perfect anywhere. The frame does the work.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Costly: “have been waiting”. English marks this with a tense. Darija has no such tense: plain kantsenna, “I wait”, inside the hadi … u frame.
Costly: “for” doesn't translate. There's no preposition before the duration: hadi sa3a, not l sa3a.
Free: “a week and still nothing”: that informal English order is close to Darija's.
Your mistake, not someone else's
You translate “for an hour” and bolt it onto the verb. Without hadi, the sentence sounds like a plan, not a complaint.
×كَنْتْسَنَّى سَاعَة“I wait an hour”: sounds like a plan.
✓هَادِي سَاعَة وْ أَنَا كَنْتْسَنَّى“I've been waiting an hour”.
Don't drop the u: hadi sa3a ana kantsenna sounds clipped.
A complaint letter
A letter written for this lesson; the company is not a real one. Careful Darija, the kind you'd send to customer service: formula at the top, a concrete request at the bottom.
إِلَى السَّيِّدْ الْمَسْؤُولْ عْلَى خِدْمَة الزّْبْنَاءْ،
السّْلَامْ عْلِيكُمْ. كْتْبْتْ لِيكُمْ بَاشْ نْشْكِي عْلَى دَاكْشِّي لِّي وْقَعْ لِيَّا نْهَارْ الْجُمْعَة.
خْدِيتْ التْرَانْ دْيَالْ الثْمَنْيَة دْ الصّْبَاحْ مْنْ فَاسْ لْكَازَا. التْرَانْ تْعَطّْلْ سَاعْتَيْنْ فْالطّْرِيقْ، وْ حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا شْرَحْ لِينَا عْلَاشْ.
مْلِّي وْصَلْنَا، لْقِيتْ الشَّانْطَة دْيَالِي تّْوْدّْرَاتْ. هَادِي جُمْعَة وْ أَنَا كَنْعَيّْطْ لْلْمَحَطَّة، وْ حْتَّى لْدَابَا مَا جَاوْبُونِيشْ.
دَاخْلْ الشَّانْطَة كَايْنِينْ حْوَايْجْ الْخْدْمَة وْ الْبِيسِي دْيَالِي. هَادْشِّي مَاشِي مَعْقُولْ.
كَنْطْلْبْ مْنْكُمْ تْقَلّْبُو عْلَى الشَّانْطَة، وْ تْرَجّْعُو لِيَّا نُصّْ ثْمَنْ الْبِيِّي عْلَى التَّعْطِيلْ. رْقَمْ الْبِيِّي: ٤٤٧٢١.
كَنْتْسَنَّى الْجْوَابْ دْيَالْكُمْ. وْ السّْلَامْ.
Did you follow?
Where was the train going from and to?
Show answers
Fes to Casablanca, the 8 a.m. train.
How late was it?
Show answers
Two hours.
What was in the suitcase?
Show answers
Work clothes and the writer's computer.
What does the writer ask for?
Show answers
A search for the suitcase and a refund of half the ticket.
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
Join the time to what's happening.
| 1 | هَادِي سَاعَة | a | وْ نْتَا سَاكْنْ هْنَا؟ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | هَادِي جُمْعَة | b | وْ أَنَا كَنْتْسَنَّى الطُّوبِيسْ |
| 3 | شْحَالْ هَادِي | c | مْنْ هَادِي شْوِيَّة |
| 4 | كَانْ هْنَا | d | وْ مَا جَاوْبُونِيشْ |
2Put time first
Use the given duration to build a hadi sentence.
- كَنْتْسَنَّى — سَاعَة
- مَا جَاوْبُونِيشْ — جُمْعَة
- هُوَ سَاكْنْ فْطَنْجَة — عَامْ
- التْرَانْ مْعَطّْلْ — شْحَالْ؟
3True or false?
According to the letter.
- The train left from Casablanca.
4Put in order
Three complaint sentences.
معطلهاديالترانساعتينو
5Your complaint
Write five sentences to a company: what happened, how long ago, what you want.
هَادِيتْعَطّْلْالشّْكَايَةرْجّْعْ الْفْلُوسْمَاشِي مَعْقُولْ
The rest is in the B1 book
The B1 bookShow answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c |
|---|---|
| 2. Put time first | هَادِي سَاعَة وْ أَنَا كَنْتْسَنَّى · هَادِي جُمْعَة وْ مَا جَاوْبُونِيشْ · هَادِي عَامْ وْ هُوَ سَاكْنْ فْطَنْجَة · شْحَالْ هَادِي وْ التْرَانْ مْعَطّْلْ؟ |
The B1 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Say how long something has been going on with hadi … u.
- Ask sh7al hadi u…?
- Use the negative past for “haven't … for”.
- Write a complaint with a concrete request.