levantine Dialect
levantine Dialect
The Essential Levantine Arabic Verb Packs
Learn all the Levantine Arabic verbs you need to speak fluently in every conversation.
Intermediate
How to say ‘before’ in Levantine Arabic
grammar
In this lesson you’ll learn how to say ‘before’ in Levantine Arabic (both before a noun and a verb).
New word/s:
- Before
Sample sentences:
- Before I go swimming I’ll (want to) change my clothes.
- Let’s meet before the game.
- Do you want to eat before class?
Gail Reid
Hi, the first part of the PDF says that Before = Gebel+Ma, but 2 of the examples don’t use ma, just gebel, so what is the rule, when do you use ma? Is it to with when there is a verb or a noun after gebel?
Joel Barrott
Hi! So, similar to MSA, the “ma” only precedes verbs, whereas it is not needed before nouns. For example, in levantine, you say:
رح أكل شي قبل ما أنوم – rah akel shi qabel ma anum – I will eat something before I go to bed/sleep…”sleep” being the verb, “ma” must be used to link the preposition “qabel” to the verb it precedes.
As for the other example found in the PDF:
خلينا نلتكي قبل المباراه – khalina neltaki qabel almubara – let’s meet up before the game – there is no “ma” between “qabel” and “almubara” since “almubara” is a noun and not a verb.
Think of “ma” as just a verb linker. It is not really translatable in English. Hope this helps.