Language/Moroccan-arabic/Grammar/Indirect-Questions
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As a beginner in Moroccan Arabic, you will learn how to use indirect questions and statements. Indirect speech is a way of reporting what someone said, without using their exact words.
Indirect questions are commonly used in conversations and they are a great way to ask for information. In this lesson, we will learn how to form and use indirect questions in Moroccan Arabic.
Indirect Questions
To form an indirect question in Moroccan Arabic, you need to use the verb "kayn" (كاين) followed by the question word. "Kayan" means "there is" or "there are". Here are some examples:
| Moroccan Arabic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| كاين فين؟ | kayn fin? | Where is it? |
| كاين شنو؟ | kayn shno? | What is it? |
| كاين مين؟ | kayn min? | Who is it? |
In the above examples, we used the question words "fin" (where), "shno" (what) and "min" (who) in indirect questions.
When we report an indirect question, we use the following structure:
[Subject] + [verb] + [question word] + [the rest of the sentence]
Here's an example:
- Direct question: "لين كايدير ديالو؟" (lin kaydir dyalo?) - Where is he going? - Indirect question: "قالي واش كايدير ديالو" (gali wach kaydir dyalo?) - He asked me if/whether he was going.
Notice that in the indirect question, "kaydir dyalo" (he is going) refers to the subject "he" which is not introduced in the indirect question. Also, "li" (he) is replaced by "wach" (if/whether).
We can also use the auxiliary verb "ghadi" (going to) to form an indirect question about future events. Here's an example:
- Direct question: "شنو غادي يكون الوقت ؟" (shno ghadi ykun lwakt?) - What time is it going to be? - Indirect question: "قالي أش كان غادي يكون الوقت ؟" (gali ash kan ghadi ykun lwakt?) - He asked me what time it was going to be.
In the indirect question, "ghadi ykun" (it is going to be) was changed to "kan ghadi ykun" (it was going to be).
Conclusion
Indirect questions are an important part of Moroccan Arabic and are used in everyday conversations. When forming an indirect question, you need to use the verb "kayn" and the question word. To report an indirect question, you need to use the subject, the verb, and the rest of the sentence.
I hope this lesson was useful to you! Stay tuned for the next lesson in the Complete 0 to A1 Moroccan Arabic Course.
Sources