الباب
Lesson 1
The Door
Talk about arriving, opening the door, and hearing someone knock or ring.
18 words and phrases · 5 sentences · loading memory…
The material
Words from this lesson
Open a word to see its forms, examples and flashcard memory.
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How it works
See what changes
Amber marks the small part that carries the change.
The past tense puts the person at the end
Keep the verb stem in view and scan the ending: -t for I, no ending for he, -et for she, and -na for we.
he → she
he rang
she rang
The stem stays. She adds -et.
The everyday present puts the person at the front
The b-present says what someone does, not what you want them to do. The prefix carries the person: b- for I, bt- for you or she, and mn- for we. He takes byi- on a plain stem (byiftaḥ) and bi- on a long or doubled stem (bidiʾʾ). To tell someone to open the door, drop the b- and use the bare command: iftaḥ il-beeb, not btiftaḥ il-beeb.
I → he
I ring
he rings
The person moves into the prefix while the stem remains دقّ.
ʿam makes the action happen now
Put ʿam before the normal b-present form and keep the b-: ʿam bdiʾʾ, ʿam bidiʾʾ. You will also hear it said without the b- (ʿam ydiʾʾ); both are ordinary Beirut speech.
usually → right now
I ring
I am ringing
ʿam changes the time frame, while the whole b-present form stays intact.
An action and a state answer different questions
Sakkart il-beeb tells you what someone did. Il-beeb msakkar describes the door now. Use maʾfuul when the point is that it is locked, not merely shut.
action → result
I closed the door
the door is closed
The verb reports the action. The participle reports the resulting state.
closed → locked
the door is closed
the door is locked
Locked is more specific than closed.
In context
Sentences you can use
Open a marked word to read its grammar note.
I am ringing the bell.
She rang the bell.
He is knocking on the door.
I opened the door.
She opens the door.
Hear it in use
A short conversation
At the front door
Rima
مين عم بيدقّ عالباب؟. miin ʿam bidiʾʾ ʿal-beeb?Karim
أنا عالباب. عم بدقّ عالجرس.. ana ʿal-beeb. ʿam bdiʾʾ ʿal-jaras.Rima
الباب مقفول. المفتاح تحت الدعسة.. il-beeb maʾfuul. il-mefteeḥ taḥt id-daʿse.Karim
رح افتح الباب.. raḥ iftaḥ il-beeb.Put it into memory
Practice sets
76 questions from this lesson, cut into 13 short sets. Do one at a time and come back for the next.
0 of 13 sets finished