Language/Moroccan-arabic/Grammar/Verbs-"to-have",-"to-be"-and-"to-do"
Hello everyone !
This chapter is devoted to the verbs "to have", "to be" and "to do".
Indeed you will realize that knowing these 3 verbs (and conjugating them) is very important since you will then be able to build several sentences in this way!
The objective of this course is to study the conjugation of these verbs (with the Moroccan dialect). We will see later how to translate "entrain de ...".
Below is the breakdown of this course:
Personal Pronouns in Arabic[edit | edit source]
Before starting, it is important to take a quick look at personal pronouns:
| English | Moroccan | Literary Arabic | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me | ana | ana | أنا |
| You (boy) / You (girl) | ènta / èntia | ènta / èntia | أنت |
| He she | houa / hia | houa / hia | هو / هي |
| We | hnaïa | nahnou | نحن |
| You | ntoma | ntoma | ينتما |
| They | homa | homa | هم |
For each of the tables in this course, we suggest that you learn the translation by heart (with the Moroccan dialect in particular) of the words and then practice writing them.
To be[edit | edit source]
You may find this surprising, but the verb "to be" in the present tense does not exist in Arabic. Ok but then how am I going to be able to tell my friends "I'm beautiful"? . Well know that fortunately we can say it in Arabic and it translates to:
- For a boy: "rané zine" with the Moroccan dialect and "ana jamile" with the Arabic language
- For a girl: "rané zina" with the Moroccan dialect and "ana jamila" with the Arabic language
You can see that with the Arabic language, we say "ana" (me) "zine" (beautiful), and there is no presence of the verb "to be". Indeed the latter is implicit. Whereas with the Moroccan dialect, we say "rané" (I am) "zina" (beautiful).
To know :
- We distinguish in Arabic the nominal sentences from the verbal sentences. The preceding sentence is a noun sentence because it is constructed as follows:
- A name/term at the start (Ana) + Information (Zine)
- Conversely, the verbal sentence is of the form:
Verb + Subject + Complements
To be in the present[edit | edit source]
You will find below the conjugation of the verb "to be" in the present:
| English | Moroccan | Literary Arabic | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | rané + adj/... | ana + adj/... | أنا |
| You are (boy) / You are (girl) | rak / raké + adj/... | ènta / èntia + adj/... | أنت |
| He is she is | rah / raha + adj/... | houa / hia + adj/... | هو / هي |
| We are | rana + adj/... | nahnou + adj/... | نحن |
| You are | rakome + adj/... | ntoma + adj/... | ينتما |
| They are (mixed) | rahome + adj/... | homa + adj/... | هم |
Note that some use the verb "kana" to express the verb "to be" in the Arabic language:
- Akoune ana (I am) (أنا أكون)
- Tkoune anta (you are) (أنت تكون)
...
Even though we use it in a Moroccan dialect, it is actually not the verb "to be" for the Arabic language.
To be in the past and future[edit | edit source]
You will find below the conjugation of the verb "to be" in the past and the future:
Verb "to be" in the past tense[edit | edit source] | |||
| English | Moroccan | Literary Arabic | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| I was | konte + adj/... | ana + adj/... | كنت |
| You were (boy) / You were (girl) | konte / konté + adj/... | ènta / èntia + adj/... | كنت/ كنتي |
| He was / She was | kène / kènte + adj/... | houa / hia + adj/... | كان / كانت |
| We were | kona + adj/... | nahnou + adj/... | كنا |
| You were | konto + adj/... | ntoma + adj/... | كنت |
| They were (mixed) | kèno + adj/... | homa + adj/... | كانو |
Verb "to be" in the future tense[edit | edit source] | |||
| English | Moroccan | Literary Arabic | Writing |
| I will be | radé nkone + adj/... | ana + adj/... | أنا |
| You will be (boy) / You will be (girl) | radé tkone / radé tkoné+ adj/... | ènta / èntia + adj/... | أنت |
| He/She will be | radé ykone / radé tkone + adj/... | houa / hia + adj/... | هو / هي |
| We will be | radé nkono + adj/... | nahnou + adj/... | نحن |
| You will be | radé tkono + adj/... | ntoma + adj/... | ينتما |
| They will be (mixed) | radé ykono + adj/... | homa + adj/... | هم |
To have[edit | edit source]
Note that the verb "to have" does not exist in Arabic either. But it does not matter, it is even advantageous one could say since the conjugation becomes easier.
For example if I want to say "I have a book", I would say:
- "Handé ktèbe" with the Moroccan dialect
- "Lya ktèb" with the Arabic language
There is no verb "to have" with the Arabic language, this one is implicit. We actually say "to me" (lya) "the book" (ktèbe).
To have in the present, past and future[edit | edit source]
You will find below the tables showing you the conjugation of the verb "to have" in the present, past and future:
Verb "to have" at the present[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
|---|---|
| I have | handé |
| You got (boy) / You got (girl) | handèk / handké.. |
| He has She has | hando / handha |
| We have | handna |
| You have | handkome |
| They have (mixed) | handhome |
Verb "to have" at the past[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
| I've had | kène handé |
| You got (boy) / You got (girl) | kène handèk / kène handké.. |
| He had / She had | kène hando / kène handha |
| We have had | kène handna |
| You had | kène handkome |
| They got (mixed) | kène handhome |
Verb "to have" at the future[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
| I will have | radé ykone handé |
| You will have (boy) / You will have (girl) | radé ykone handèk / radé ykone handké.. |
| He/she will have | radé ykone hando / radé ykone handha |
| We will have | radé ykone handna |
| You will have | radé ykone handkome |
| They will have (mixed) | radé ykone handhome |
to do[edit | edit source]
For example if I want to say "I am doing something", I would say:
- "Ndére chéhaja" with the Moroccan dialect
- "Fahala chéhaja" (أفعل شيئا) with Arabic language
"to do" in the present, past and future[edit | edit source]
You will find below the tables showing you the conjugation of the verb "to do" in the present, past and future:
"to do" at the present[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
|---|---|
| I do | ndére |
| You do (boy) / You do (girl) | tdére / tdéré.. |
| He does / She does | ydére / tdére |
| We do | ndéro |
| You do | tdéro |
| They do (mixed) | ydéro |
"to do" at the past[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
| I did | konte ndére |
| You did (boy) / You did (girl) | konte tdére / konté tdéré.. |
| He did / She did | kène ydére / kènte tdére |
| We have done | kona ndéro |
| You made | konto tdéro |
| They did (mixed) | kèno ydéro |
"to do" at the future[edit | edit source] | |
| English | Moroccan |
| I'll do | radé ndére |
| You will do (boy) / You will do (girl) | radé tdére / radé tdéré.. |
| He will / She will | radé ydére / radé tdére |
| We'll do | radé ndéro |
| You will do | radé tdéro |
| They will do (mixed) | radé ydéro |
"in the process of ..."[edit | edit source]
We have just seen the verbs "to be", "to have" and "to do". As promised, we're going to cover how to use "in the process of ..." in Arabic. This course is quite short.
For example if I want to say:
- "I am eating"
I will say :
- Rané nakoule with Moroccan dialect
- Ana akoule (أنا أكل) with Arabic language
With the Moroccan dialect, we use the verb "to be" (for the Moroccan dialect) which is "rané". It's as simple as that . Another example with the Moroccan dialect:
- "I am currently doing ..."
is translated by :
- "Rané ndere..."