Tunisian Arabic
verb tenses
imperative
present tense
Tunisian
Arabic
Tuni
s ia
Arab n
ic
objectives
01 understand and use 02 understand present tense
imperative verbs verbs
use related vocabulary and •
04 use the negation ( is not, are
03
adjectives not, don't, and doesn't)
We can use imperatives to give orders and instructions
here are some exmples of imperative verbs in tunisian Arabic with their translation in English
.
Arabic English Arabic English
istana wait! ichri buy
iktib write ija come!
aghsil wash al3ib play
nadhdhif clean or9ud sleep
a9ra read / study isel ask
7il open ib3id go away
sakir close ifhim understand
imchi / bara go achta7 dance
make a simple sentences using imperative verbs
Arabic English
iktib ismik write your name
a9ra ktab read a book
7il el beb open the door
imchi lil park go to the park
nadhdhif bitik clean your room
isel soual ask a question
achtach m3aya dance with me
ija houni come here
bara al3ib m3a s7abik go to play with your freinds
practice
• describe these pictures using imperative verbs
imchi
imchi
y
n The nimchi ou
yimchiou
Present Tense Form
(go) (go)
Note: suffixes
imperative verb suffix are added only
prefex
with plural
pronouns
na7na intouma
houma
Present Tense
ena
Notes
pronoun prefix suffix
ena n Long Vowel Verbs: If the imperative verb ends with the long vowel "i,"
change the suffix to "w" when using the plural form. For different subjects:
inti t "intouma," "houma," and "na7na." For example: "imchi" becomes "intouma
imchiw," "na7na nimchiw," and "houma yimchiw."
houwa y
Consecutive Verbs: When you have two verbs appearing one after another
hiyya t in a sentence, both need to be conjugated. For instance: "ena n7eb nimchi
lil 9ahwa" means "I want to go to the coffee shop."
na7na n ou/ w
intouma t ou/ w
houma y ou/ w
The table below shows how to use verbs in (imperative) and how they change for different subjects
in the present tense:
imperative iktib english
(inti / you )
ena niktib i write
inti tiktib you write
houwa yiktib he writes
hiyya tiktib she writes
na7na / a7na niktbou we write
intouma tiktbou yoy (p) write
houma yiktbou they write
Quiz
What is the simplest base for the present tense in Tunisian Arabic when addressing a single person
(inti, singular second person)?
a) Past tense verbs
b) Imperative form of verbs
c) Future tense verbs
When the imperative verb ends with the long vowel "i," which suffix is used when addressing
"na7na" (we)?
A) "w"
B) "ou"
C) "i"
Exercise1: Conjugate the Verb "a9ra" (read ) in Present Tense
1. a9ra ktab ( houwa) .................................
2. a9ra ktab ( houma)....................................
3. a9ra ktab ( ena ) ...........................................
4. a9ra ktab ( na7na ) ......................................
Exercise2: make the verb imchi in the present
for exmple: ena nemchi fi chara3 (i Walk in the street)
1. inti .......................
2. houwa...........................
3. hiya ...........................
4. na7na.............................
5. intouma..................................
6. houma....................................
The Negative form: Using "Manich " ( i’m not) in Tunisian Arabic
• "Manich" is a term in Tunisian Arabic that helps you say something is not true or not
the case. It's like saying "i’m not" in English. We use it to make negative sentences.
• Basic Examples:
• Instead of saying "I am Tunisian," you can say "I am not Tunisian" using "manish."
• For example: "ena tunsi" (I am Tunisian) becomes "ena manich tunsi" (I am not
Tunisian).
• Another example: "manich far7an" (I'm not happy), "manich ji3an" (I'm not hungry).
• For example, "manich mouhandis" means "I'm not an engineer."
Subject Pronoun to be in negative Complement –
form different categories
ena manich i’m not tbib
enti makich you are not fi dar
houwa mahouch he is not yikdhib 3lik (lying)
hiyya mahich she is not far7ana
na7na manach we are not nikhdmou fi tunis
intouma makoumch you are not (p) tuwansa
houma mahoumch they are not ji3aneen
Practice
• make these sentences in thecnegative form by using these words (mahich ,
mahoumich , manich , makoumich ,mahouch , manach )
1. ena nkdhib 3lik
2. houwa fra7an
3. hiya ji3ana
4. intouma fransis
5. a7na fi tunis
6. houma yi5dmou fi sbe7
Making Sentences Negative in Tunisian Arabic: by using "ma:" and Suffix "ch" , which is attached
to the end of verbs
• To make a sentence negative in Tunisian Arabic (TA), you need two parts: a negative particle "ma:" and a suffix "ch"
attached to the verb.
• Negative Particle "ma:" (equivalent to "don't/doesn't" in English): This is like adding "don't" or "doesn't" in English to
make sentences negative.
• Suffix "ch" for Negative Form: This is added to the end of verbs to show that the action is negative.
Original sentence Negative form
3andi dar (a:na) ma 3andich dar" (I don’t have a house)
"nitkallem 3arbi" (I speak Arabic) (ena) ma nitkallemch 3arbi (I don’t speak Arabic)
3andhoum barsha flous (houma) ma 3andhoumch barcha flous
the verb « 7eb» in the present tense and i the negative form
Subject Pronoun present tense 7eb in the negative form
ena n7eb i like ma n7ebch i don’t like
enti t7eb you like ma t7ebch you don’tlike
houwa y7eb he likes ma y7ebch he doesn’t like
hiyya t7eb she likes ma t7ebch she doesn’t like
n7ana n7ebou we like ma n7ebouch we don’t like
intouma t7ebou you like (p) ma t7ebouch you don’t like (p)
houma y7ebou they like ma y7ebouch they don’t like
conjugate verbs in parentheses to Tunisian Arabic using the
appropriate form
1. client : salem , ( i like ) nechri el rouba hadhi
2. ahmed ( he goes) lil madersa kool youm! = everyday
3. (i don’t want) nemchi m3ak
4. (he is not tounisian) houwa fransawi
5. (they don’t like) il 9ahwa barda
6. fatma ( she likes ) ( she works) dima
7. ena lazemi ( i go) tawa
8. ena w hicham ( we are not) en couple
9. howa (he is not) m3ares
• Translate the following sentences into negative Tunisian Arabic using the provided pattern.
• I eat pizza.
• Negative: ______________________________
• She reads books.
• Negative: ______________________________
• They like ice cream.
• Negative: ______________________________
• Respond to the following sentences in negative Tunisian Arabic.
• Prompt: "inti ta7ki tounsi?"
• Response: ______________________________
• Prompt: "houma y7ebou yaklou makla tounsiya ?"
• Response: ______________________________
• Prompt: "na7na n7ebou nchoufou film."
• Response: ______________________________
have (3and) in the affirmative and negative form
Subject Pronoun affirmative form 3and in the negative form
ena 3andi i have ma 3andich i don’t haved
enti 3andik you have ma 3andikch you don’t have
houwa 3andou he has ma 3andouch he doesn’t have
hiyya 3andha she has ma 3andhach she doesn’t have
n7ana 3andna we have ma 3andnach we don’t have
intouma 3andkoum you have (p) ma 3andkoumch you don’t have
(p)
houma 3andhoum they have ma 3andhoumch they don’t have
• Exercise 1
• Complete the sentences with the appropriate affirmative form of the verb "3andi" (have).
• Example: ena _3andi ktab. (I have a book.)
• enti ________________ mongala .
• houwa ________________ mefta7.
• hiyya ________________ dar.
• n7ana ________________ talifoun.
• intouma ________________ jnina fi dida .
Thank you for your attention
do you have a question!
01. 02. 03.
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