Long time asked me how say this. Alf Thanks again.
--
Llevo mucho tiempo preguntandome cómo se dice. Mil gracias de nuevo.

salaam , very useful lesson once again ,maybe if possible you can give a lesson about giving directions to a driver , i have had this problem when abroad before (also im a driving instructor) might make some arabic speakers more comfortable , min fadlik. usman

Thanks guys. Usmdrive, search 'directions' on the main page for lessons and you'll find quite a few, but no doubt there will be more to come on the subject

Hello friends,

Apparently there is a problem with the Audio PDF for this lesson, I cannot seem to open it. Perhaps a corrupt file? Thank you!

Tomes

Hi Tomes,

We have tested the file and it seems to be working fine!
Can you download the file? The size should be 344 kB, please check that if you are able to download.
If you managed to get the file with the right size, then please tell us what message you get when you try to open it.

how can i get these audio files to my ipod i would like to listen to them throughout the day

You need iTunes, see: http://www.apple.com/itunes/

Hey guys,

Great lesson as always. This one was particularly useful to me as مبتدئ.

I did have one question, though. Why do we say تكلم rather than تتكلم? I thoughtتكلم was the root, and therefore you need an extra ت to make it second person. Ehab says in the lesson it is a command, so that might explain it, but I thought commands started with إ, which would make it إتلم. Thanks!

I like the logic that you use

You are right تكلّم is a root and it is imperative (command), however it is not 3 letters root like ذهب which has إذهب as a command.
The form that you mentioned of using إفعل as a command pattern is used with 3 letters roots, however, 4 and 5 letters roots have different patter. This verb تكّلم and any similar sound verbs take the same command pattern of تفعّلْ,, here are some examples:
تكلّم تعلّم توقّف تمهّل ...

Hope that makes is clear now

That's very useful, I think I understand now. شكرا!

For several weeks now I have been listening to Nile TV news from Egypt and, I was surprised at how much I understood. But, I would have understood much more if the newscasters would speak more slowly. For the most part they present the news as if they were already late for a great meal and didn't want to miss the first course. Then I remembered this GREAT lesson. Therefore, I'm going to plagiarize...hope I spelled that word correctly because it is not one I use everyday...waite it in arabic and send them an e-mail.

من فضلك تكلّم ببطء أكثر. Ask questions one of your lesson advised...hope I remembered it correctly. If not, please explain what I did write. Sometimes...I've been advised by a very close source: "You let your mouth or fingers say, or write, something before your brain gets in gear."

Well, anyone who has taught english and other languages can afford to be picky.

I just have to be cunning and crafty...and, she doesn't know about that yet. In fact, one of these days I'm going to present a lesson on the subject...titled."..."How to keep husbands from 'squatters rights in the Dog House."

MC

Dad, now that I'm learning Arabic with you, you can't be telling stories about Mom anymore!
Tell them about the time you convinced me I'd slept through Saturday. That's pretty funny.

Dee

lol I'd love to hear that story Dee.

MC, well done on your Arabic text. However, If you're sending it to a news agency or a company etc, then it would be best to change the sentence so that it is addressed to more than one person i.e. make it plural:

من فضلكم تكلّموا ببطء أكثر

Better yet, it’s best to be more formal and use classical words. تكلم which means speak is generally more colloquial than تحدث so the whole sentence again in classical Arabic would be

الرجاء التحدث ببطء أكثر

Or

من فضلكم تحدثوا ببطء أكثر

Thanks,Moshaya.

As you may immediately notice, I am learning,but does the phrase: "My brain does not always get in gear as quickly as it should or, my fingers are not listening!"
Worse than that,my daughter will not only be listening...she can read! Oh! The evil of it all. She learned Japanese in two years while it took me the full six years...living there. Even then, all I still remember are the most important words like: "How much and 化粧室 [けしょうしつ. I hope that still means toilet!"...or, Benjoo. You better ask Dee about that because it has been a longtime...it might even mean something eles like: "Where's the raw fish bar?" And that is not really what I had in mind!

Thanks again.

MC

Today,as I do most days, I listened to Nile TV International for an hour or two and I am pleased to report that I am beginning to 'tag-a-long.' Oh, I still have a long way to go,but I did learn more about soccer than I ever knew before. And, if you ever listened to a sports broadcaster...and actually understood what they were yelling about...you 'ain't been wasting your time by not studying!

As you may have observed...from previous note above...I had even thought about sending them a suggestion that they slow down their rapidfire delivery system. But I probably would have had more success trying to snare a meteorite with a fishing net.I even thought about sending it in a more polite format...courtesy of Moshaya...su ch as

as I was saying before I hit some wrong key and I have no idea what happened.

...من فضلكم تحدثوا ببطء أك

Hope I spelled that right,but the way things are going tonight I wouldn't bet on it!

Oh' yes, there are a couple of words that I frequently hear on the Nile TV...can't spell them in arabic because one sounds like the number 10, but since it is frequently followed by the adv. very and that would make little sense. The other sounds like ...Opra...the TV lady. Both the words are used frequently...anyone know what they mean? I certainly can't find them in my arabic dictionary.

Now, I think I will visit the kitchen and see what I can liberate before going to bed.

MC

Hey MC,

I can't think of an Arabic word that sounds like Opra, the closest thing I can think of is 3ebrah – عبرة which means an example that we can learn from.

Thanks Moshaya,

That may well be it.
However I did hear a word I learned from one...or more... of your lessons. The female broadcaster asked a question about a problem with a building. I knew it was a question because the sentence began with: "Hel." While I did not understand the remainder of the sentence...it went on for several more seconds, I did understand the male broadcaster's single word response: "Leesh."

You know, I do believe they have been listening to arabicpod.

MC

I had the same idea as Mohamed. There aren’t very many disyllabic words that consist of a vowel followed by “bra”. The only other example I can think of is ﺇﺒﺭﺓ, which means “needle”. The first syllable of this noun is pronounced like the “ib” in Engl. “liberty”.

I’ve just had another idea. The noun mentioned by Mohamed can have several meanings. If there is a fatha above the first letter, ﻋﺒﺭﺓ means "tear" (= drop of liquid), but if the fatha is replaced by a kasra it means "example" or "warning". In a TV programme devoted to politics a word meaning "warning" is much more likely to occur than a word which means "an example that ought to be imitated".

Moshaya/Ehab - I was wondering does the word 'maazilt' (still) remain the same whichever way its used? I ask because it looks a bit like a verb.

For example instead of 'I am still...' ana maazilt if we we wanted to say 'We are still...' would we say "nahnu maazilt"?

Jz

@ Zacheriya

If you look up "the sisters of kaana" in an Arabic grammar you'll find an answer to your question. "Maa zilt" is a negative particle followed by a verb, and the verb has to be conjugated. Thus, for instance, "maa zaala yaktub(u)" means "he is still writing". The literal translation would be "he has not stopped writing".

If you replace "maa" by "lam" you have to change the first verb and say "lam yazal yaktub(u)".

I think there ought to be a podcast about the sisters of "kaana". Nearly all the "sisters" have occurred in various podcasts, but they have never been properly explained.

Thanks Desmond!

So am I right in saying to say, "We are still/we have no stopped..."

would be 'maa zilnaa...'?

@Zacheriya

زال / يزال
zaala / yazaalu - to cease to be, to vanish
A Form I Hollow verb

It is conjugated similar to other Hollow verbs, but it used with negation ONLY; and so its meaning becomes - to continue to be, still, yet, didn't cease, doesn't cease

After negation, zaal may be conjugated in the Past tense or Standard present tense or Jussive mood of present tense. Whatever is used, the meaning of the sentence is in the PRESENT TENSE.

ما زال / لا يزال / لم يزل
maa zaal / laa yazaal / lam yazal
All of the above means – He is still – PRESENT TENSE

Similarly, maa ziltu / laa azaal / lam azal – I am still
maa zilnaa / laa nazaal / lam nazal – We are still

When zaala is used, the predicate should be in the accusative case.
ما زال سعيدًا / لا يزال سعيدًا
He is still happy

If you want to negate, negate what follows the conjugated form of zaala
ما زلت لا أفهم
I still do not understand

When the intended meaning of the sentence is in the past tense, do NOT conjugate zaala in the past tense. That is, do NOT use maa zaal.
كان لا يزال سعيدًا
He was still happy