Page 281 - The Rough Guide Phrasebook - Egyptian Arabic

ana mish rīeh
I’m not going
Negatives HOW
To form the negative, add ma- to the beginning of the verb THE
and -sh to the end:
bashrab mabashrabsh
I drink I don’t drink
aamalt maaamaltish LANGUAGE
I did I haven’t done
Another way of making a verb negative is to place the word
mish before the verb:
ana māshee mish māshee WORKS
I am going I am not going
There are a few verbs which must take the mish form of the
negative. For example, ‘to want’ and the alternatives of the
present tense mentioned above (i.e. ‘to go’, ‘to come’ and ‘to
understand’). ■ Ve r b s
mish rīeh mish fāhim mish gīya
I am not going I don’t understand I am not coming
Imperative
To form an imperative, take the second person singular or
plural of the imperfect tense and remove the initial t-:

ishrab!
drink up!
Some other useful imperatives are:
o’aod! warrehālee estanna hena
sit down! show it to me stay here
imshee! o’af! taaala hena!
go away! stop! come here!

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