Verbs
A verb tells you what is happening- for example, reading, walking etc. In Egyptian, the general meaning of a word is defined by the consonants, and several related words may contain this set of letters. For example, the letters ktb are used to make the words write, type, book, writer, written, writing, office and desk. The exact meaning is affected by the vowels, prefixes and suffixes (extra bits at the beginning and the end). Here are some of the ways the exact meaning can change for verbs:
- tense - when something happens (past, present, future)
- case - who is doing it (I, you, he, etc)
- mode - must, could etc
- pronouns - who is doing it, who is having it done to them
- negation - say something is NOT happening
Most of the examples in this chapter use the verb katabkatab كـَتـَب, which means write: about 30% of verbs follow this pattern.
The web site www.lisaanmasry.org and the apps that you can download from the web site all provide full details for the majority of verbs.
Pronouns
There are three main types of pronouns that can be used with verbs:
- subject - I, we, you, he, she, it, they
- object - me, us, you, him, her, it, them
- indirect object - to me, to us, to you, to him, to her, to it, to them
In Egyptian, the subject pronoun is a separate word before the verb: the object and indirect object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb. Here are a some examples:
| Pronoun | English | Egyptian | |
| Subject | I know Ahmed |  'ana Aaarif 'ahmadaacnaa Aaarif aacHmad | أنا َ عا َر ِف أحمـَد |
| Subject, object | I know him | 'ana Aarfuhaacnaa Aaarifuh | أنا َ عا َر ِف ُه |
| Object | Ahmed saw her yesterday | 'ahmad shafha 'imbaarihaacHmad shaaf-haa iicmbaariH | أحمـَد شا َفها َ إمبا َر ِح |
| Object | Sarah knows him | saara Aarfahsaarao Aaarifah | سا َر َة عا َر ِف َه |
| Object, Indirect | give it to me! | iddeehooliiiddy-hw-ly | ا ِدّيهولي |
Subject pronoun
The subject pronoun appears before the verb or participle.
| English | Egyptian | |
| I | 'anaaacnaa | أناَ |
| we | 'ihnaiicHnaa | إحناَ |
| you(m) | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ |
| you(f) | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ |
| you(pl) | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا |
| he/it(m) | huwwahuwwa | هـُوَّ |
| she/it(f) | hiyahiya | هـِيَ |
| they | hummahumma | هـُمَّ |
Object pronoun
You can attach an object pronoun (for example me or him) to the end of an imperative, verb or participle. See pronouns for more information.
'ahmad biyihsadniaacHmad biyiHsad-ny| English | Suffix | |
| me | -ni_ny | ـني |
| us | -na_naa | ـناَ |
| you(m) | -ak_ak | ــَك |
| you(f) | -ik_ik | ــِك |
| you(pl) | -kum_kum | ـكـُم |
| him/it(m) | -uh_uh | ــُه |
| her/it(f) | -ha_haa | ـهاَ |
| them | -hum_hum | ـهـُم |
If there is an -i-_i_ ــِ before the last consonant and the suffix starts with a vowel, the -i-_i_ ــِ is dropped. If the verb requires a preposition (to, from etc) the object goes on the preposition.
Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | |
| show me! | warreeniwarry-ny | و َرّيني |
| nobody helped us | mahaddish saaAidnamaHaddish saaAid-naa | مـَحـَدّ ِش سا َعـِدنا َ |
| I saw you(m) | 'ana shuftakaacnaa shuftak | أنا َ شـُفت َك |
| I love you(f) | 'ana bahibbikaacnaa baHibbik | أنا َ بـَحـِبّ ِك |
| I know him | 'ana Aarfuhaacnaa Aaarif-uh | أنا َ عا َر ِف ُه |
| I told them | 'ana 'ultilhumaacnaa qultil-hum | أنا َ قـُلتـِلهـُم |
Indirect object
Some verbs require two objects- for example:
iddeehaaliiiddy-haa-lyIt is the direct object and to me is the indirect object. The indirect object suffixes are as follows:
| English | Suffix | |
| to me | -li_ly | ـلي |
| to us | -lina_linaa | ـلـِناَ |
| to you(m) | -lak_lak | ـلـَك |
| to you(f) | -lik_lik | ـلـِك |
| to you(pl) | -luku_luku | ـلـُكُ |
| to him/it(m) | -lu_lu | ـلُ |
| to her/it(f) | -laha_lahaa | ـلـَهاَ |
| to them | -luhum_luhum | ـلـُهـُم |
Tenses
In both English and Egyptian, a verb has different tenses to indicate when something happens- in the past, now or in the future. The usage of each tense will be explained in more detail later. Here are some examples using katabkatab كـَتـَب:
| Form | Example | Meaning | No of cases | |
| perfect | katabkatab | كـَتـَب | he wrote | 8 (i/we/you, etc) |
| simple imperfect | yiktibyiktib | يـِكتـِب | used with modals - eg he must write and kaankaan كا َن - he used to write | 8 (i/we/you, etc) |
| bi-imperfect | biyiktibbiyiktib | بـِيـِكتـِب | he is writing he writes he knows how to write used with kaankaan كا َن conditionals: if I had a pen, I would write | 8 (i/we/you, etc) |
| ha-imperfect | hayiktibhayiktib | هـَيـِكتـِب | he will write used with kaankaan كا َن | 8 (i/we/you, etc) |
| active participle | kaatabkaatab | كا َتـَب | (he is) writing | 3 (m/f/pl) |
| passive participle | maktoobmaktwb | مـَكتوب | (it is) written | 3 (m/f/pl) |
| imperative | iktibiiktib | ا ِكتـِب | write! | 3 (m/f/pl) |
| polite request | miktibmiktib | مـِكتـِب | will you please write | |
| verbal noun | kitaabakitaabao | كـِتا َبـَة | (the box is covered with) writing | 2 (s/pl) |
| place | maktabmaktab | مـَكتـَب | writing place (desk or office) | 2 (s/pl) |
Case
The two main tenses of a verb are the perfect and the simple imperfect: the bi-and ha- imperfect just have prefixes added to the simple imperfect. The usage of these tenses will be explained in more detail in the section on time. Here is the he case of each tense:
| Tense | English | Egyptian | |
| perfect | he wrote | huwwa katabhuwwa katab | هـُوّ َ كـَتـَب |
| simple imperfect | he must write | huwwa laazim yiktibhuwwa laazim yiktib | هـُوّ َ لا َز ِم يـِكتـِب |
| bi-imperfect | he writes | huwwa biyiktibhuwwa biyiktib | هـُوّ َ بـِيـِكتـِب |
| ha-imperfect | he will write | huwwa hayiktibhuwwa hayiktib | هـُوّ َ هـَيـِكتـِب |
There are eight possible cases for each tense, corresponding to the eight pronoun forms (I/we/you/he, etc). Remember that the three imperfect forms are very similar.
Perfect
Here is an example of the perfect, which is used for things that occurred in the past.
| Perfect | ||||
| English | Pronoun | Verb | ||
| I wrote | 'anaaacnaa | أناَ | katabtkatabt | كـَتـَبت |
| we wrote | 'ihnaiicHnaa | إحناَ | katabnakatabnaa | كـَتـَبنا َ |
| you(m) wrote | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | katabtkatabt | كـَتـَبت |
| you(f) wrote | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | katabtikatabty | كـَتـَبتي |
| you(pl) wrote | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | katabtukatabtoo | كـَتـَبتو ا |
| he/it(m) wrote | huwwahuwwa | هـُوَّ | katabkatab | كـَتـَب |
| she/it(f) wrote | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | katabitkatabit | كـَتـَب ِت |
| they wrote | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | katabukataboo | كـَتـَبو ا |
Simple imperfect
The imperfect has no meaning on its own, but is used with other verbal forms in five ways:
- with kaankaan كا َن for things that happened in the past
- with 'iza kaaniicdhaa kaan إذا َ كا َن for conditionals
- with modals- must, could, should etc and modal verbs- like, going to.
- with bi-prefix for things happening now
- with ha-prefix for things that will happen
Here is an example with laazimlaazim لا َز ِم, which means must.
| Simple Imperfect | ||||||
| English | Pronoun | modal | Verb | |||
| I must write | 'anaaacnaa | أناَ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | 'aktibaacktib | أكتـِب |
| we must write | 'ihnaiicHnaa | إحناَ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | niktibniktib | نـِكتـِب |
| you(m) must write | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | tiktibtiktib | تـِكتـِب |
| you(f) must write | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | tiktibitiktiby | تـِكتـِبي |
| you(pl) must write | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | tiktibutiktiboo | تـِكتـِبو ا |
| he/it(m) must write | huwwahuwwa | هـُوَّ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | yiktibyiktib | يـِكتـِب |
| she/it(f) must write | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | tiktibtiktib | تـِكتـِب |
| they must write | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | laazimlaazim | لا َز ِم | yiktibuyiktiboo | يـِكتـِبو ا |
The English words must and might and the equivalent Egyptian words laazimlaazim لا َز ِم and yimkinyimkin يـِمكـِن are proper modals: they are the same for all cases. Later on, you will see how to use participles and verbs in the same way as modals, and you will see that they do change to match the case.
bi-imperfect
For the majority of verbs, the bi-imperfect is used to describe things happening now, and for habitual actions. See active participles for the exceptions
It is the same as the simple imperfect, with a bi-bi_ بـِ in front. Note that the vowels in the the beginning of the imperfect may change in some verbs when the prefix is added.
| bi-imperfect | ||||
| English | Pronoun | Verb | ||
| I write | 'anaaacnaa | أناَ | baktibbaktib | بـَكتـِب |
| we write | 'ihnaiicHnaa | إحناَ | biniktibbiniktib | بـِنـِكتـِب |
| you(m) write | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | bitiktibbitiktib | بـِتـِكتـِب |
| you(f) write | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | bitiktibibitiktiby | بـِتـِكتـِبي |
| you(pl) write | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | bitiktibubitiktiboo | بـِتـِكتـِبو ا |
| he/it(m) writes | huwwahuwwa | هـُوَّ | biyiktibbiyiktib | بـِيـِكتـِب |
| she/it(f) writes | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | bitiktibbitiktib | بـِتـِكتـِب |
| they write | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | biyiktibubiyiktiboo | بـِيـِكتـِبو ا |
ha-imperfect
The ha-imperfect is used for things that will happen at some time in the future.
It is the same as the simple imperfect, with ha-ha_ هـَ in front. Egyptian spelling is somewhat whimsical: some people use ha-Ha_ حـَ instead. Note that the vowels in the the beginning of the imperfect may change in some verbs when the prefix is added.
| ha-imperfect | ||||
| English | Pronoun | Verb | ||
| I will write | 'anaaacnaa | أناَ | haktibhaktib | هـَكتـِب |
| we will write | 'ihnaiicHnaa | إحناَ | haniktibhaniktib | هـَنـِكتـِب |
| you(m) will write | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | hatiktibhatiktib | هـَتـِكتـِب |
| you(f) will write | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | hatiktibihatiktiby | هـَتـِكتـِبي |
| you(pl) will write | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | hatiktibuhatiktiboo | هـَتـِكتـِبو ا |
| he/it(m) will write | huwwahuwwa | هـُوَّ | hayiktibhayiktib | هـَيـِكتـِب |
| she/it(f) will write | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | hatiktibhatiktib | هـَتـِكتـِب |
| they will write | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | hayiktibuhayiktiboo | هـَيـِكتـِبو ا |
is/was/will be
As mentioned earlier, there is no word for is in Egyptian. There are, however, words for was - kaankaan كا َن and will be - haykoonhaykwn هـَيكون.
kaan
kaankaan كا َن can be used on its own to talk about some situation in the past, or it can be used with the imperfect and bi-imperfect to move the meaning of the verb into the past and also for conditionals, and with the ha-imperfect to indicate something that almost or nearly happened.
| kaan | ||||
| English | Pronoun | Verb | ||
| I was | aanaaanaa | ا َناَ | kuntkunt | كـُنت |
| we were | ihnaiiHnaa | ا ِحناَ | kunnakunnaa | كـُنّاَ |
| you(m) were | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | kuntkunt | كـُنت |
| you(f) were | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | kuntikunty | كـُنتي |
| you(pl) were | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | kuntukuntoo | كـُنتوا |
| he/it(m) was | huwahuwa | هـُوَ | kaankaan | كا َن |
| she/it(f) was | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | kaanitkaanit | كا َنـِت |
| they were | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | kanukaanoo | كا َنوا |
Here are some examples:
| English | Egyptian | ||
| he was here | kaan hinakaan hinaa | كا َن هـِناَ | |
| I was too tired | kunt taAbaan 'awikunt taAbaan qawy | كـُنت تـَعبا َن قـَوي | |
| the party was good | ilhafla kaanit kuwayisaiil-Haflao kaanit kuwayisao | ا ِلحـَفلـَة كا َنـِت كـُو َيـِسـَة | |
| preposition | there was water, but it's finished | kaan fi mayaah wa KilSitkaan fy mayaah wa KilSit | كا َن في مـَيا َه و َ خـِلصـِت |
| preposition | we had a house | kaan Aandina biytkaan Aandinaa biyt | كا َن عـَند ِنا َ بـِيت |
| bi-imperfect | he was smoking a cigarette | kaan biyishrab seegaarakaan biyishrab sygaarao | كا َن بـِيـِشر َب سيجا َر َة |
| bi-imperfect | he used to smoke cigarettes | kaan biyishrab sigaayarkaan biyishrab sigaayar | كا َن بـِيـِشر َب سـِجا َيـَر |
| ha-imperfect | I almost ran him over | kunt hadoosuhkunt hadws-uh | كـُنت هـَدوسـُه |
Note that, for prepositional sentences, kaankaan كا َن does not change with the subject of the sentence - it is always kaankaan كا َن - it was.
haykwn
haykoonhaykwn هـَيكون simply means will be. Here are some examples:
| haykwn | ||||
| English | Pronoun | verb | ||
| I will be | aanaaanaa | ا َناَ | hakoonhakwn | هـَكون |
| we will be | ihnaiiHnaa | ا ِحناَ | hankoonhankwn | هـَنكون |
| you(m) will be | 'intaiicnta | إنتَ | hatkoonhatkwn | هـَتكون |
| you(f) will be | 'intiiicnti | إنتِ | hatkoonihatkwny | هـَتكوني |
| you(pl) will be | 'intuiicntoo | إنتوا | hatkoonuhatkwnoo | هـَتكونوا |
| he/it(m) will be | huwahuwa | هـُوَ | haykoonhaykwn | هـَيكون |
| she/it will be(f) | hiyahiya | هـِيَ | hatkoonhatkwn | هـَتكون |
| they will be | hummahummaa | هـُمّاَ | haykoonuhaykwnoo | هـَيكونوا |