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Module 9 · Grammar and communication

Lesson 88 · Lower intermediate · 4 min

The past tense: telling about a trip

Telling what you did: I went, we slept, he didn’t come.

  • Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.

In this lesson

  • Form the past tense of common verbs
  • Recognise the endings -t, -ti, -na, -tou, -aw
  • Make the past tense negative

In the past there’s no prefix: the endings show the person. mchit (I), mchiti (you), mcha (he), mchat (she), mchina (we), mchitou (you all), mchaw (they).

No audio for this lesson yet

This lesson hasn’t been recorded yet, and we won’t fake it with a made-up voice. Read the dialogue out loud with the help of the transliteration key.

Dialogue

  1. SarahFin mchiti f l3otla?Where did you go on holiday?
  2. SimoMchit l Merzouga m3a s7abi.I went to Merzouga with my friends.
  3. SarahWa3er! Chno dertou tmma?Great! What did you do there?
  4. SimoRkebna 3la jjmal w n3esna f lkhayma.We rode camels and slept in a tent.
  5. SarahW chefti ghroub chchems?And did you see the sunset?
  6. SimoIyyeh, w chefna njoum bzzaf f lil.Yes, and we saw loads of stars at night.
  7. SarahW khouk? Mcha m3akom?And your brother? Did he go with you?
  8. SimoLa, ma mchach. B9a f ddar 7it kan mrid.No, he didn’t go. He stayed at home because he was ill.
How to read the transliteration

Darija is written here in Latin letters, the way many Moroccans text. A few symbols stand for sounds English, French and Swedish don't have:

3
a tight sound from the throat (Arabic ع)
7
a breathy h, stronger than English h (ح)
9
a k made deep in the throat (ق)
gh
like a French r (غ)
kh
like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach (خ)
ch
like English sh (ش)

Vocabulary

mchitمشيت
I went
mchitiمشيتي
you went
mcha / mchatمشا / مشات
he went / she went
mchina / mchitou / mchawمشينا / مشيتو / مشاو
we / you all / they went
ma mchachما مشاش
he didn’t go
dertouدرتو
you (all) did
rkebnaركبنا
we rode, got on
n3esnaنعسنا
we slept
chefti / chefnaشفتي / شفنا
you saw / we saw
b9aبقا
he stayed
kanكان
he was
jjmal / lkhayma / njoumالجمال / الخيمة / نجوم
camels / the tent / stars

Repeat after me

Read each phrase out loud, then cover it and say it from memory.

  • Fin mchiti f l3otla?

    فين مشيتي فالعطلة؟

    Where did you go on holiday?

  • Mchit l Merzouga m3a s7abi.

    مشيت لمرزوكة مع صحابي.

    I went to Merzouga with my friends.

  • Rkebna 3la jjmal w n3esna f lkhayma.

    ركبنا على الجمال ونعسنا فالخيمة.

    We rode camels and slept in a tent.

  • La, ma mchach. B9a f ddar 7it kan mrid.

    لا، ما مشاش. بقا فالدار حيت كان مريض.

    No, he didn’t go. He stayed at home because he was ill.

Quiz

  1. Question 1 of 7Why didn’t Simo’s brother go?
  2. Question 2 of 7Fill in the blank l Merzouga m3a s7abi.I went to Merzouga with my friends.
  3. Question 3 of 7What does “ma mchach” mean?
  4. Question 4 of 7Match each expression with its meaning.
  5. Question 5 of 7What does “dertou” mean?
  6. Question 6 of 7How do you say “he stayed” in Darija?
  7. Question 7 of 7 · Review from lesson 83Review (lesson 83): what does “machi” mean?

Your turn

Tell about your last weekend in three past-tense sentences.

Show an example answer

Nhar ssebt mchit l souq. Klit m3a s7abi. Nhar l7ed b9it f ddar.

نهار السبت مشيت للسوق. كليت مع صحابي. نهار الحد بقيت فالدار.

On Saturday I went to the market. I ate with my friends. On Sunday I stayed at home.

Summary

Past = endings: mchit, mchiti, mcha, mchat, mchina, mchitou, mchaw. Negative: ma mchitch, ma mchach.

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