Lesson 67 · B2
Never, nobody, nothing
Until now, negation has always been ma-…-sh. But “I've never been”, “nobody came” and “he bought nothing” each have their own negative word, and with it the -sh goes. What stays is ma-, which English wouldn't use: Darija needs both.
- Say “never” with 3emmer.
- Say “nobody” and “nothing”.
- Use “neither… nor…”.
- Know when -sh drops.
Twenty-four words
The first families are negative words. The rest come from the proverbs in the reading: each one turns on a negative.
Full negatives
-
عْمّْرْ
3emmer
never (with ma-)
Takes a pronoun: 3emmerni, 3emmru.
-
عْمّْرْنِي مَا
3emmerni ma-
I've never…
Also 3emmri ma-.
-
حْتَّى وَاحْدْ
7tta wa7ed
nobody (with ma-)
“Not one”.
-
حْتَّى حَاجَة
7tta 7aja
nothing (with ma-)
“Not a thing”.
-
وَالُو
walu
nothing
Can stand alone: walu, “nothing”.
- لَا… وَلَا… la… wala… neither… nor…
Reinforcers
- حْتَّى شِي 7tta shi not any; none at all
- بِالْكُلّْ b l-koll at all; completely
-
نِيهَائِيًّا
niha'iyyan
absolutely not
Formal.
-
قْطّْ
qett
ever (in negatives)
Formal, for the past.
- بْلَا مَا bla ma without
From the proverbs
- الْمْزْوْدْ l-mezwed leather food bag
- الدَّمّْ d-demm blood
- الْعْسَلْ l-3sel honey
- حَامْضْ 7amed sour
- مْسُوسْ mssus bland; unsalted
Proverb verbs
- اللُّقْمَة l-luqma mouthful
- الْكْلَامْ l-klam words; what one says
- خْسَرْ khser to lose
- حَسّْ بْ 7ess b to feel
- وْلَّى wella to become
Proverbs
- الْمْثَلْ l-mthel proverb
- الْحِكْمَة l-7ikma wisdom; moral
-
كَيْضْرْبُو الْمْثَلْ
kayderbu l-mthel
they quote the proverb
“They strike the proverb”.
When -sh has to go
Four proverbs and sentences. All negative. Look for -sh.
- عْمّْرْ الدَّمّْ مَا يْوَلِّي مَا3emmer d-demm ma-ywelli ma
- حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا كَيْقُولْ عْلَى عْسْلُو حَامْضْ7tta wa7ed ma-kayqul 3la 3slu 7amed
- مَا جَابْ لَا خُبْزْ وَلَا حْلِيبْma-jab la khubz wala 7lib
- عْمّْرْنِي مَا شْفْتْ بْحَالْ هَادْشِّي3emmerni ma-sheft b7al hadshi
How many have -sh? Which word takes its place?
The rule
With a negative word, ma- stands alone, no -sh:
3emmer + pronoun + ma-: 3emmerni ma-mshit, I've never been. 3emmru ma-ykdeb, he never lies.
7tta wa7ed + ma-: 7tta wa7ed ma-ja, nobody came.
walu, 7tta 7aja: ma-shra walu, he bought nothing.
la… wala…: la flus wala khedma, neither money nor work. With a verb: ma-jab la khubz wala 7lib.
ma-… 7tta: ma-kla 7tta luqma, he didn't eat a single bite.
Negatives with a word
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| عْمّْرْنِي مَا مْشِيتْ لْفَاسْ | 3emmerni ma-mshit l Fas | I've never been to Fes |
| عْمّْرُو مَا يْكْذْبْ | 3emmru ma-ykdeb | he never lies |
| حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا جَا | 7tta wa7ed ma-ja | nobody came |
| مَا شْرَى وَالُو | ma-shra walu | he bought nothing |
| مَا عْنْدِي حْتَّى حَاجَة | ma-3ndi 7tta 7aja | I have nothing at all |
| لَا فْلُوسْ وَلَا خْدْمَة | la flus wala khedma | neither money nor work |
| مَا كْلَا حْتَّى لُقْمَة | ma-kla 7tta luqma | he didn't eat a single bite |
| مَا جَاشْ ← حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا جَا | ma-jash → 7tta wa7ed ma-ja | he didn't come → nobody came |
Row 8: once 7tta wa7ed comes in, -sh goes out.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “neither… nor…” = la… wala….
Costly: “nobody came” has one negative in English. Darija needs two: 7tta wa7ed + ma-. Think “not… anybody”: “there didn't come anybody”.
Costly: “never” stands alone in English. 3emmer can't: it needs ma-.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Two ways to go wrong: drop ma- (English habit) or keep -sh (Darija habit). Keep ma-, drop -sh.
×عْمّْرْنِي مَا مْشِيتْشْ-sh with 3emmer.
✓عْمّْرْنِي مَا مْشِيتْ“I've never been”.
Same with 7tta wa7ed and walu: ma- yes, -sh no.
Six negative proverbs
Moroccan proverbs from oral tradition. Each one rests on a negative. Find which have -sh and which don't.
عْمّْرْ الدَّمّْ مَا يْوَلِّي مَا.
حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا كَيْقُولْ عْلَى عْسْلُو حَامْضْ.
مَا يْحَسّْ بْالْمْزْوْدْ غِيرْ اللِّي مْخْبُوطْ بِيهْ.
اللِّي مَا عْنْدُو فْلُوسْ، كْلَامُو مْسُوسْ.
اللِّي مَا عْرْفْكْ خْسْرْكْ.
لَا دِيدِي لَا حَبّْ الْمُلُوكْ.
Refranes de tradición oral marroquí, sin autor. Selección y transcripción de Learning Darija · dominio público
Did you follow?
What does the first one say about family?
Show answers
Blood never turns to water: family is family.
What does the honey one mean?
Show answers
Nobody runs down what's theirs.
Who feels the food bag?
Show answers
Only the one being beaten with it: only those who live it know.
What does la didi la 7abb l-muluk mean?
Show answers
Ending up with nothing, neither one thing nor the other.
Check
Two here, three more in the B2 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Pick the right one
The well-formed negative.
- عْمّْرْنِي مَا شْفْتُو
- عْمّْرْنِي مَا شْفْتُوشْ
- عْمّْرْنِي شْفْتُوشْ
- حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا عَيّْطْ
- حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا عَيّْطْشْ
- وَاحْدْ مَا عَيّْطْشْ
- مَا شْرِيتْ وَالُو
- مَا شْرِيتْشْ وَالُو
- شْرِيتْ وَالُو مَا
- لَا أَتَايْ وَلَا قْهْوَة
- مَا أَتَايْ وَ مَا قْهْوَة
- لَا أَتَايْ لَا وَ قْهْوَة
2Sharpen the negative
Rewrite with the word in brackets. Watch the -sh.
- مَا مْشِيتْشْ لْمْرَّاكْشْ (عْمّْرْ)
- مَا جَاشْ شِي وَاحْدْ (حْتَّى وَاحْدْ)
- مَا عْنْدُوشْ فْلُوسْ وْ مَا عْنْدُوشْ خْدْمَة (لَا… وَلَا)
- مَا كْلَاشْ (حْتَّى لُقْمَة)
3Finish the proverb
Join the two halves.
| 1 | عْمّْرْ الدَّمّْ | a | خْسْرْكْ |
|---|
4Put in order
Three sentences with fine negation.
شفتهادشيعمرنيبحالما
5Never
In six sentences, tell about a hard day. Use 3emmer, 7tta wa7ed, walu and la… wala.
عْمّْرْنِي مَاحْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَاوَالُولَا… وَلَاحْتَّى
The rest is in the B2 book
The B2 bookShow answers
| 1. Pick the right one | 1-a, 2-a, 3-a, 4-a |
|---|---|
| 2. Sharpen the negative | عْمّْرْنِي مَا مْشِيتْ لْمْرَّاكْشْ · حْتَّى وَاحْدْ مَا جَا · مَا عْنْدُو لَا فْلُوسْ وَلَا خْدْمَة · مَا كْلَا حْتَّى لُقْمَة |
The B2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Say “never” with 3emmer … ma-.
- Say “nobody” and “nothing”.
- Use la… wala….
- Drop -sh when it doesn't belong.