Darija lesson 60: I think, maybe

1

Twenty-four words

Opinions, agreement, disagreement, and the vocabulary of the reading's debate: the medina, cars, residents.

Giving a view

كَنْضَنّْ بْلِّي kandenn blli I think (that)
From denn, to suppose.
فْرَأْيِي f ra'yi in my opinion
بَانْ لِيَّ ban liyya it seems to me
يْمْكْنْ yemken maybe; might
The verb after it: no ka-.
بْلَا شَكّْ bla shekk no doubt
مْتْأَكّْدْ mt'akked sure; certain

Agreeing and not

عْنْدْكْ الْحَقّْ 3ndek l-7eqq you're right
“You have the right”.
مْتَّافْقْ مْعَاكْ mttafeq m3ak I agree with you
مَا مْتَّافْقْشْ ma-mttafeqsh I don't agree
مَاشِي بْحَالْ هَاكَّا mashi b7al hakka that's not how it is
مْنْ جِهَة… وْ مْنْ جِهَة men jiha… u men jiha on the one hand… on the other

The debate

الرَّأْيْ r-ra'y opinion
النّْقَاشْ n-nqash debate; discussion
الْحَلّْ l-7ell solution
الْمُشْكِيلْ l-mushkil problem
الْفَايْدَة l-fayda benefit; use

The city

الْمْدِينَة الْقْدِيمَة l-mdina l-qdima the old medina
الطُّومُوبِيلَاتْ t-tomobilat cars
From French automobile.
الزّْحَامْ z-z7am traffic jam; crowding
التّْلَوُّثْ t-talawwuth pollution
Formal, newspaper word.
السُّكَّانْ s-sukkan residents

Deciding

مْنَعْ mna3 to ban
سْمَحْ بْ sma7 b to allow
قْنَعْ qne3 to be convinced; convince

2

Kandenn blli, yemken

Four lines from the column. Look at the verb after kandenn, after ma-kandennsh, and after yemken.

كَنْضَنّْ بْلِّي الْمْدِينَة خَاصّْهَا تْكُونْ بْلَا طُومُوبِيلَاتْkandenn blli l-mdina khassha tkun bla tomobilat
يْمْكْنْ يْخْسْرُو التّْجَّارْ شْوِيَّة فْاللّْوّْلْyemken ykhesru t-tujjar shwiyya f l-luwwel
مَا كَنْضَنّْشْ بْلِّي السُّكَّانْ غَادِي يْقْبْلُوma-kandennsh blli s-sukkan ghadi yqeblu
فْرَأْيِي، الْمُشْكِيلْ هُوَ الزّْحَامْf ra'yi, l-mushkil huwa z-z7am

Does the verb change when kandenn is negative? What's missing from the verb after yemken?

The rule

kandenn blli + ordinary sentence: kandenn blli 3ndu l-7eqq, I think he's right.

Negative: ma-kandennsh blli + the same sentence. ma-kandennsh blli ghadi yji, I don't think he'll come.

yemken + verb without ka-: yemken yji, he might come. On its own, yemken = “maybe”.

f ra'yi and bla shekk go first, followed by a pause.

ban liyya blli is softer than kandenn.

Opinions

Form	Say it	Means
كَنْضَنّْ بْلِّي عْنْدُو الْحَقّْ	kandenn blli 3ndu l-7eqq	I think he's right
مَا كَنْضَنّْشْ بْلِّي غَادِي يْجِي	ma-kandennsh blli ghadi yji	I don't think he'll come
فْرَأْيِي، هَادَا هُوَ الْحَلّْ	f ra'yi, hada huwa l-7ell	in my view, this is the solution
بَانْ لِيَّ بْلِّي الْفِكْرَة مْزْيَانَة	ban liyya blli l-fikra mzyana	it seems to me the idea is good
يْمْكْنْ يْجِي غْدَّا	yemken yji ghedda	he might come tomorrow
يْمْكْنْ	yemken	maybe
بْلَا شَكّْ غَادِي يْنْجَحْ	bla shekk ghadi ynje7	no doubt he'll pass
مَا مْتَّافْقْشْ مْعَاكْ	ma-mttafeqsh m3ak	I don't agree with you

Row 5: English “might come”, Darija bare yji.

What English gives you, and what it costs

Free: “I don't think he'll come”. Negate the thinking verb, leave the rest alone. Darija does exactly that.

Costly: “maybe he comes”. After “maybe” English uses a normal verb; after yemken Darija drops ka-. Think “he might come”: a modal, then a bare verb.

Costly: “you're right” is built with “have”: 3ndek l-7eqq.

Your mistake, not someone else's

“Maybe he comes tomorrow” leads you to yemken kayji. But yemken behaves like “might”: bare verb after it.

×يْمْكْنْ كَيْجِي غْدَّاka- after yemken.

✓يْمْكْنْ يْجِي غْدَّا“He might come tomorrow”.

Translate yemken as “might”, not “maybe”, and the verb falls into place.

3

An opinion column

A column written for this lesson. A resident argues for closing the medina to cars. Find each place where she gives a view, concedes a point, or denies one.

الْمْدِينَة بْلَا طُومُوبِيلَاتْ؟

هَادِي شْهُورْ وْ الْجَّمَاعَة كَتْنَاقْشْ وَاشْ تْمْنَعْ الطُّومُوبِيلَاتْ فْالْمْدِينَة الْقْدِيمَة. أَنَا، فْرَأْيِي، هَادَا هُوَ الْحَلّْ.

الزّْنَاقِي دْيَالْ الْمْدِينَة مَا تّْبْنَاتْشْ لْلطُّومُوبِيلَاتْ. مْلِّي كَتْدْخُلْ طُومُوبِيلْ، كَيْوْقْفْ كُلّْشِي: النَّاسْ، الْكْرُوسَة، وْ الْحْمِيرْ.

كَايْنِينْ لِّي كَيْقُولُو بْلِّي التّْجَّارْ غَادِي يْخْسْرُو. يْمْكْنْ يْخْسْرُو شْوِيَّة فْاللّْوّْلْ، وَلَكِنْ مَا كَنْضَنّْشْ بْلِّي هَادْشِّي غَادِي يْدُومْ.

فْمْدُونْ أُخْرَى، مْلِّي مْنْعُو الطُّومُوبِيلَاتْ، وْلَّاتْ النَّاسْ كَتْتْمْشَّى أَكْثَرْ وْ كَتْشْرِي أَكْثَرْ.

بْلَا شَكّْ، خَاصّْنَا نْفَكّْرُو فْالسُّكَّانْ الْكْبَارْ وْ فْالْمْرَاضْ. الْحَلّْ سَاهْلْ: طُوبِيسَاتْ صْغَارْ كَيْدُورُو بْرَّا الْمْدِينَة.

الْمْدِينَة دْيَالْنَا مَاشِي بَارْكِينْغْ. خَلِّيوْهَا لْلنَّاسْ.

A medina without cars?

Did you follow?

What does the writer think?
Show answers
That banning cars from the medina is the solution.
What objection does she mention?
Show answers
That shopkeepers will lose money.
How does she answer it?
Show answers
They might lose a little at first, but she doesn't think it'll last.
What does she suggest for the elderly and sick?
Show answers
Small buses running around the outside of the medina.

4

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.

1Fill the gap

With the opinion word that fits.

كنضنيمكنفرأييبلا شك

___ بلي الفكرة مزيانة
ما عرفتش، ___ يجي و يمكن لا
___، المشكيل هو الزحام
خدم بزاف، ___ غادي ينجح

2Pick the right one

The correct form.

1. يْمْكْنْ يْجِي
2. يْمْكْنْ كَيْجِي
3. يْمْكْنْ جَا غَادِي
1. مَا كَنْضَنّْشْ بْلِّي
2. كَنْضَنّْ مَاشِي بْلِّي
3. كَنْضَنّْشْ مَا بْلِّي
1. مَا مْتَّافْقْشْ مْعَاكْ
2. مَا مْتَّافْقْ مْعَاكْشْ
3. مْتَّافْقْ مَاشِي مْعَاكْ