Page 274 - The Rough Guide Phrasebook - Egyptian Arabic

Verbs
Basic Verb Forms
HOW
There is no infinitive (to do, to buy etc) in Arabic. Instead,
the basic form of the verb (the root) is the perfect tense of the
third person masculine singular. This form is shown in the first
THE
column in the table of Arabic verbs below.
Where in English sentences you would use an infinitive, in
Arabic both verbs must agree with the subject of the sen-
tence:
aīzeen nakol
LANGUAGE
we want to eat
The table shows the basic form of the verb (third person mas-
culine singular, perfect tense) and the first person singular of
the two Arabic tenses (see pages 273-275):
WORKS

third person sing, first person sing, first person sing,
perfect imperfect perfect
sa’al as’al sa’alt ask
kan kont be*
■ Ve r b s
edir a’dar edirt be able to
bada’ abda’ bada’t begin
gab ageeb gibt bring
ishtara ashteree ishtarayt buy
ga ‘āgee gayt come*
sharab ashrab sharabt drink
kal ‘ākol kalt eat
edda addee iddayt give
rāh arooh roht go*
aandee have*
aaraf aaraf aaraft know
hab ahebb habbayt like; love
boss aboss bassayt look

272

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