Conjunctions
Conjunctions are the useful little words that join clauses together to make more complex sentences.
| Part | English | Egyptian | |
| Main clause | I want to make bread | Aaayiz 'aAamil AiyshAaayiz aacAamil Aiysh | عا َيـِز أعـَمـِل عـِيش |
| Conjunction | but | laakinlaakin | لا َكـِن |
| Subordinate clause | I don't have enough flour | maAandeesh di'ee' kifaayamaAandysh diqyq kifaayao | مـَعـَنديش د ِقيق كـِفا َيـَة |
If you just want to attach a noun, you should use a preposition, but if you want to attach a clause (ie, there is a verb in bit that you want to attach), then a conjunction is required. In English, the same word is often used for both preposition and conjunction, but there are differences in Egyptian: see prepositions and conjunctions for more details.
In both English and Egyptian, you can put the subordinate clause either before or after the main clause. This doesn't change the meaning at all, just the emphasis.
If there is a subject pronoun in the second clause, it becomes a pronoun suffix attached to the conjunction. For example:
The following table lists most of the common conjunctions, and gives examples how they can be used.
| English | Egyptian | Example | |
| that |  'inniicnn | إنّ | I feared that she was lostaana Kuft 'innaha tikoon taahitaanaa Kuft iicnn-ahaa tikwn taahit ا َنا َ خـُفت إنّ َها َ تـِكون تا َهـِت |
| as long as | Tool maTwl maa | طول ماَ | as long as you water the garden, the plants will growTool ma bitis'i ilgineena, ilzaraA hayikbarTwl maa bitisqy iil-ginynao, iil-zaraA Hayikbar طول ما َ بـِتـِسقي ا ِلجـِنينـَة، ا ِلز َر َع حـَيـِكبـَر |
| because | AalashaanAalashaan | عـَلـَشا َن pronounced Aashaen | I don't have a car because there is not enough moneymaAndeesh Aarabiya Aalashaan mafiysh filoos kifaayamaAndysh Aarabiyao Aalashaan mafiysh filws kifaayao مـَعنديش عـَر َبـِيـَة عـَلـَشا َن مـَفـِيش فـِلوس كـِفا َيـَة |
| in order to | AalashaanAalashaan | عـَلـَشا َن +imperfect | I need money in order to buy food mihtaag filoos Aalashaan 'ashtiri 'aklmiHtaag filws Aalashaan aacshtiry aackl مـِحتا َج فـِلوس عـَلـَشا َن أشتـِري أكل |
| after | baAd mabaAd maa | بـَعد ماَ | we will leave after the movie has finishedhanimshi bAad ma ilfeelm yiKlaSHanimshy bAad maa iil-fylm yiKlaS حـَنـِمشي بعـَد ما َ ا ِلفيلم يـِخلـَص |
| and | wiwi | وِ | I went to the bank and it was closedraht ilbank wi kaan ma'foolraHt iil-bank wi kaan maqfwl ر َحت ا ِلبـَنك و ِ كا َن مـَقفول |
| as if | Aala 'innAalY iicnn | عـَلى إنّ | |
| as if | ka'innkaa-iicnn | كا َإنّ | he spends money as if he is rich biyuSrif filoos ka'innuh GanibiyuSrif filws kaa-iicn-nuh Gany بـِيـُصر ِف فـِلوس كا َإننـُه غـَني |
| as if | zayi mazayy maa | ز َيي ماَ | he spends money as if he is rich biyuSrif filoos zayi ma yikoon GanibiyuSrif filws zayy maa yikwn Gany بـِيـُصر ِف فـِلوس ز َيي ما َ يـِكون غـَني |
| before | 'abl maqabl maa | قـَبل ماَ | |
| but | bassbass | بـَسّ | I would like to go but I don't have timenifsi arooh bass maAandeesh wa'tnifsy aarwH bass maAandysh waqt نـِفسي ا َروح بـَسّ مـَعـَنديش و َقت |
| but | lakinlakin | لـَكـِن | ditto |
| if | 'iniicn | إن | If you go, you will get into a fight'inn rooht hinaak, haatit Kaani'iicnn rwHt hinaak, Haatit Kaaniq إنّ روحت هـِنا َك، حا َتـِت خا َنـِق |
| if | 'izaiicdhaa | إذاَ | if you have some money, lend me fifty pounds'iza kaan maAaak filoos, salifni Kamseen ginyaiicdhaa kaan maAaak filws, salifny Kamsyn ginyao إذا َ كا َن مـَعا َك فـِلوس، سـَلـِفني خـَمسين جـِنيـَة |
| instead of | badal mabadal maa | بـَد َل ماَ | instead of going, call thembadal ma matrooh, kalimhumbadal maa matrwH, kalimhum بـَد َل ما َ مـَتروح، كـَلـِمهـُم |
| like | zai mazay maa | ز َي ماَ | as you did for him, he will do for you zayi ma Aamalt feeh hayitAamil feekzayy maa Aamalt fy-h hayitAamil fy-k ز َيي ما َ عـَمـَلت فيه هـَيـِتعـَمـِل فيك |
| neither.. nor.. | laa... walaah..laa... walaah.. | لا َ٫٫٫ و َلا َه٫٫ | neither this is working nor is this workingla dah naafaA walaah dah biyinfaAlaa dah naafaA walaah dah biyinfaA لا َ د َه نا َفـَع و َلا َه د َه بـِيـِنفـَع |
| or | 'awaacw | أو | we can eat fish or chicken > mumkin naakul samak 'aw firaaKmumkin naakul samak aacw firaaKمـُمكـِن نا َكـُل سـَمـَك أو فـِرا َخ |
| or (in question) | walawalaa | و َلاَ | would you like fish or chicken?Aaawiz taakul samak wala firaaK?Aaawiz taakul samak walaa firaaK? عا َو ِز تا َكـُل سـَمـَك و َلا َ فـِرا َخ؟ |
| rather than | 'ahsanaacHsan | أحسـَن | I would prefer to eat fish rather than chicken'akul ilsamak 'ahsan min ilfiraaKaackul iil-samak aacHsan min iil-firaaK أكـُل ا ِلسـَمـَك أحسـَن مـِن ا ِلفـِرا َخ |
| otherwise | wa 'illawa iicllaa | و َ إلّاَ | shut up otherwise we go home!'iKrassi wa 'illa haarawahikiicKrassy wa iicllaa haarawaHik إخر َسّي و َ إلّا َ ها َر َو َحـِك |
| unless | 'ila 'izaiiclaa iicdhaa | إلا َ إذاَ | don't give him any money unless I allow you tomatideehoosh filoos 'ila 'iza 'ana samahteelakmatidyhwsh filws iiclaa iicdhaa aacnaa samaHtylak مـَتـِديهوش فـِلوس إلا َ إذا َ أنا َ سـَمـَحتيلـَك |
Note that and wawa وَ is used a lot in narrative to replace conjunctions like next and then. It is also often used in place of but.
that-clauses
Verbs that deal with communication, opinion or emotions can be followed by a that-clause, which specifies what you said or thought or felt. Note that, in English, the that is sometimes omitted, but it's still a that-clause.
In Egyptian, this is expressed using 'inniicnn إنّ. Note that the subject pronoun of the that-clause can be attached to 'inniicnn إنّ as a suffix.
'ana 'ultiluh 'inni kunt mashGoolaacnaa qult-il-uh iicnn-y kunt mashGwl'aftikir 'innak Galtanaacftikir iicnn-ak GaltaaN'ana Aaarif 'innuh biyikdibaacnaa Aaarif iicnn-uh biyikdibaana Kuft 'innaha tikoon taahitaanaa Kuft iicnn-ahaa tikwn taahitConditional clauses (if.. then...)
There are two words meaning if: they are 'izaiicdhaa إذاَ and lawlaw لـَو. 'izaiicdhaa إذاَ can be used under all circumstances: lawlaw لـَو cannot be used with the imperfect form of a verb or a preposition.
In English, the word then is occasionally used to complement if. In Egyptian, there is no equivalent word.
If I were rich...
If an event or situation is improbable or impossible, in English we use modals like 'would' and 'were', or backshift the tense of the verb (for example, present becomes past). In Egyptian, the word kaankaan كا َن is used after lawlaw لـَو. Compare these two sentences:
| When | conditional clause |
| past | 'iza kaaniicdhaa kaan إذا َ كا َن + perfect |
| present | 'iza kaaniicdhaa kaan إذا َ كا َن + imperfect |
| future | 'iza kaaniicdhaa kaan إذا َ كا َن + imperfect |