Lesson 78 · B2
I should have come
“She must be angry with me.” “I should have called.” “If only I'd listened.” English builds these with modals and “have”. Darija has three short pieces, and a fourth for when there's nothing left to do: llah ghaleb.
- Speculate about the past: yemken ykun, akid ykun.
- Express regret: kan khassni, kun ghir.
- Accept what can't be changed: llah ghaleb.
- Read and write a personal letter.
Twenty-four words
Speculation, regret, resignation, and the vocabulary of emigration, a constant theme in Moroccan song and letters.
Speculating
-
يْمْكْنْ يْكُونْ
yemken ykun
may have; might have
Before a past verb.
- أَكِيدْ يْكُونْ akid ykun must have; surely has
- غَالِبًا ghaliban probably
- عْلَى مَا كَيْبَانْ 3la ma kayban apparently
- بْحَالْ إِلَا b7al ila as if
Regretting
-
كَانْ خَصّْنِي
kan khassni
I should have
+ bare verb.
- مَا كَانْشْ خَصّْنِي ma-kansh khassni I shouldn't have
-
كُونْ غِيرْ
kun ghir
if only
+ past.
- نْدَمْ ndem to regret
- النّْدَامَة n-ndama regret
Resigning oneself
-
اللَّهْ غَالْبْ
llah ghaleb
it can't be helped
“God is stronger”.
- الْمْكْتُوبْ l-mektub fate
- الْقْدَرْ l-qder destiny; lot
- مَا كَايْنْ مَا يْدَّارْ ma-kayn ma yddar nothing to be done
Emigration
-
الْغُرْبَة
l-ghurba
exile; life abroad
Being far from home.
-
الْحْرِيكْ
l-7rig
clandestine emigration
“Burning” (the border, the papers).
- الْوْرَاقْ l-wraq papers; documents
- تّْوْحّْشْ ttwe77esh to miss (someone)
- رْجَعْ لْلْبْلَادْ rje3 l l-blad to go back home
Forgiveness
- سْمَحْ لِيَّا sme7 liyya forgive me
- الرّْضَى r-rda parents' blessing
- الدّْعَا d-d3a prayer; blessing
- الصّْبَرْ s-sber patience
- مْسْكِينْ meskin poor thing
What might have been
Four lines from the letter. One speculates, two regret, one resigns itself. Which is which?
- يْمْكْنْ تْكُونِي زْعْفْتِي عْلِيَّا حِيتْ مَا عَيّْطْتْشْyemken tkuni z3efti 3liyya 7it ma-3eyyetsh
- كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْجِي فْالْعِيدْkan khassni nji f l-3id
- كُونْ غِيرْ سْمْعْتْ لِيكْ قْبَلْ مَا نْمْشِيkun ghir sme3t lik qbel ma nemshi
- وَلَكِنْ اللَّهْ غَالْبْ، الْوْرَاقْ مَا خْرْجُوشْwalakin llah ghaleb, l-wraq ma-khrjush
What does kan add to khassni? What tense follows kun ghir?
The rule
Speculating about the past: yemken ykun + past: yemken ykun nsa, “he may have forgotten”. Surer: akid ykun wsel, “he must have arrived”. ykun agrees: yemken tkuni z3efti.
Regret: kan khassni + bare verb: “I should have…”. Negative: ma-kansh khassni.
kun ghir + past: “if only I had…”.
Resignation: llah ghaleb, l-mektub, ma-kayn ma yddar.
As if: b7al ila + clause.
Guessing and regretting
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| يْمْكْنْ يْكُونْ نْسَى | yemken ykun nsa | he may have forgotten |
| أَكِيدْ يْكُونْ وْصَلْ | akid ykun wsel | he must have arrived by now |
| غَالِبًا مَا جَاشْ حِيتْ كَانْ مْرِيضْ | ghaliban ma-jash 7it kan mrid | he probably didn't come because he was ill |
| كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْقُولْ لِيكْ | kan khassni nqul lik | I should have told you |
| مَا كَانْشْ خَصّْنِي نْمْشِي | ma-kansh khassni nemshi | I shouldn't have gone |
| كُونْ غِيرْ سْمْعْتْ لِيكْ | kun ghir sme3t lik | if only I'd listened to you |
| كَيْهْضَرْ بْحَالْ إِلَا هُوَ الْمُدِيرْ | kayhder b7al ila huwa l-mudir | he talks as if he were the boss |
| اللَّهْ غَالْبْ، هَادَا هُوَ الْمْكْتُوبْ | llah ghaleb, hada huwa l-mektub | it can't be helped, it was fate |
Row 4: kan is what turns “must” into “should have”.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: the logic. “May have”, “must have”, “should have”, “if only”: each has one Darija match.
Free: “it can't be helped” = llah ghaleb.
Costly: “have” + participle doesn't exist. Put kan before khassni, and a plain past after kun ghir or yemken ykun.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Without kan, khassni is present: “I have to come”, as if it were still possible.
×خَصّْنِي نْجِي فْالْعِيدْ اللِّي فَاتْkhassni without kan, for the past.
✓كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْجِي فْالْعِيدْ اللِّي فَاتْ“I should have come for last Eid”.
And the following verb has no ka-: kan khassni nji.
A letter to his mother
A letter written for this lesson. An emigrant son writes to his mother after missing Eid at home. Emigration, l-ghurba, is a classic theme of Moroccan song; here it's in prose. Count the guesses and the regrets.
الْوَالِدَة الْعَزِيزَة،
يْمْكْنْ تْكُونِي زْعْفْتِي عْلِيَّا حِيتْ مَا عَيّْطْتْشْ فْالْعِيدْ. عَنْدْكْ الْحَقّْ. كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْعَيّْطْ، وْ كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْجِي.
وَلَكِنْ اللَّهْ غَالْبْ: الْوْرَاقْ دْيَالِي مَا خْرْجُوشْ فْالْوَقْتْ، وْ إِلَا خْرْجْتْ مَا نْقْدْرْشْ نْرْجَعْ.
كُونْ غِيرْ سْمْعْتْ لِيكْ قْبَلْ مَا نْمْشِي. كُنْتِي كَتْقُولِي لِيَّا: «الْغُرْبَة صْعِيبَة». مَا كُنْتْشْ كَنْصَدّْقْ.
دَابَا عْرْفْتْ. كَنْتّْوْحّْشْكْ بْزَّافْ، وْ كَنْتّْوْحّْشْ الْمَاكْلَة دْيَالْكْ، وْ حْتَّى الصّْدَاعْ دْيَالْ الدَّارْ.
خُويَا قَالْ لِيَّا بْلِّي بَّا مْرِيضْ شْوِيَّة. أَكِيدْ يْكُونْ مَا بْغَاشْ يْقُولْ لِيَّا بَاشْ مَا نْخْلْعْشْ.
سْمْحِي لِيَّا، وْ دْعِي مْعَايَا. إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهْ فْالصِّيفْ نْكُونْ مْعَاكُمْ. وْلْدْكْ اللِّي كَيْبْغِيكْ، يُوسْفْ.
Did you follow?
Why does Yusef think his mother is angry?
Show answers
He didn't call at Eid.
Why didn't he go home?
Show answers
His papers didn't come through in time, and if he left he couldn't come back.
What did his mother tell him before he left?
Show answers
That life abroad is hard.
What does he guess about his father?
Show answers
That he didn't want to tell him he was ill, so as not to worry him.
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.
1Sort
Guess or regret?
يْمْكْنْ يْكُونْكَانْ خَصّْنِيأَكِيدْ يْكُونْكُونْ غِيرْغَالِبًانْدَمْتْعْلَى مَا كَيْبَانْمَا كَانْشْ خَصّْنِي
Guess
Regret
2Transform
With the piece in brackets.
- نْسَى (يْمْكْنْ)
- مَا قُلْتْشْ لِيكْ (كَانْ خَصّْنِي)
- مَا سْمْعْتْشْ لِيكْ (كُونْ غِيرْ)
- وْصَلْ (أَكِيدْ)
3True or false?
According to the letter.
- Yusef didn't call at Eid.
4Pick the right one
The correct form.
- كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْجِي
- كَانْ خَصّْنِي كَنْجِي
- خَصّْنِي جِيتْ
5Your letter
Write a seven-sentence letter apologising for something you didn't do.
كَانْ خَصّْنِيكُونْ غِيرْيْمْكْنْ يْكُونْاللَّهْ غَالْبْسْمَحْ لِيَّا
The rest is in the B2 book
The B2 bookShow answers
| 1. Sort | Guess: يْمْكْنْ يْكُونْ · أَكِيدْ يْكُونْ · غَالِبًا · عْلَى مَا كَيْبَانْ / Regret: كَانْ خَصّْنِي · كُونْ غِيرْ · نْدَمْتْ · مَا كَانْشْ خَصّْنِي |
|---|---|
| 2. Transform | يْمْكْنْ يْكُونْ نْسَى · كَانْ خَصّْنِي نْقُولْ لِيكْ · كُونْ غِيرْ سْمْعْتْ لِيكْ · أَكِيدْ يْكُونْ وْصَلْ |
The B2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Guess with yemken ykun and akid ykun.
- Regret with kan khassni and kun ghir.
- Resign myself with llah ghaleb.
- Write a letter of apology.