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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ArabicPod101.com This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 21 - Talking About Possession in Arabic. Becky Here.
Nora: I'm Nora.
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use possessive pronouns. The conversation takes place in a classroom.
Nora: It's between several friends.
Becky: The speakers are friends, so they will use informal Standard Arabic. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
جون: أحمد, لمن هذا القلم؟ هل هو قلمك؟
أحمد: لا, قلمي معي. أظن أنه قلم مها.
جون: مها, أهذا قلمكِ؟
مها: أسألت هؤلاء الطلاب هناك؟ أظن أنه قلمهم.
جون: يا شباب, أهذا القلم قلمكم؟
آشلي: نعم! هو قلمنا. شكراً جزيلاً!
جون: لا شكر على واجب.
Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
جون: أحمد, لمن هذا القلم؟ هل هو قلمك؟
أحمد: لا, قلمي معي. أظن أنه قلم مها.
جون: مها, أهذا قلمكِ؟
مها: أسألت هؤلاء الطلاب هناك؟ أظن أنه قلمهم.
جون: يا شباب, أهذا القلم قلمكم؟
آشلي: نعم! هو قلمنا. شكراً جزيلاً!
جون: لا شكر على واجب.
Becky: Listen to the conversation with the English translation
John: Ahmed, whose pen is this? Is it yours?
Ahmed: No, my pen is with me. I think it's Maha's pen.
John: Maha, is this your pen?
Maha: Did you ask the students over there? I think it's their pen.
John: Hi guys, is this your pen?
Ashley: Yes! It's our pen, thank you very much!
John: No problem.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Nora, expressing gratitude is important in all cultures, so what about in the Middle East, is there something we should know?
Nora: It’s important in the Middle East too, but keep in mind that the ways to say thank you differ depending on the amount of gratitude you’re showing, as well as the dialect of Arabic.
Becky: But there’s a word that’s common to all the Arabic world right?
Nora: There is! It works in all dialects and all Arab countries, and it’s شُكراً (shukran)
Becky: So listeners, if you ever feel stuck and are not sure which one to use, shukran is your safest bet!
Nora: Right, on one hand شُكراً (shukran), on the other hand عَفوْاً ʿafwan
Becky: which means “you’re welcome”. Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is..
Nora: لمن [natural native speed]
Becky: whose
Nora: لمن[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: لمن [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: قلم [natural native speed]
Becky: pen
Nora: قلم[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: قلم [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: هؤلاء [natural native speed]
Becky: these/those
Nora: هؤلاء[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: هؤلاء [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: طالب [natural native speed]
Becky: student
Nora: طالب[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: طالب [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: شباب [natural native speed]
Becky: youth, group of young people
Nora: شباب[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: شباب [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: شكر [natural native speed]
Becky: thanking
Nora: شكر[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: شكر [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have..
Nora: واجب [natural native speed]
Becky: duty, obligation
Nora: واجب[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: واجب [natural native speed]
Becky: And last..
Nora: هو [natural native speed]
Becky: it
Nora: هو[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nora: هو [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is..
Nora: شكراً جزيلاً (šukran ǧazīlan)
Becky: meaning "Thank you very much."
Nora: This is a step-up from the simple shukran. You use it to express deep gratitude, especially when you’re talking a bit formally.
Becky: This expression stays the same no matter who you are and who you're talking to. Can you break the phrase down, Nora?
Nora: Sure, shukran, as you know, means “thanks,” and the second word jaziilan means “strong” and “great.”
Becky: How do you say "Thank you very much for your help."?
Nora: That would be شكراً جزيلاً على المساعدة. (šukran ǧazīlan ʿalā al-musāʿadah.)
Becky: Okay, what's the next word?
Nora: أهذا (ʾahaḏā)
Becky: meaning "Is this...?"
Nora: The أ at the beginning of hada is actually a shortened question marker for Yes/No questions.
Becky: Follow this with the object you want to ask about.
Nora: If the object in question is a feminine noun, it changes to أهذهِ (ahadihi).
Becky: Can you give us an example using this word?
Nora: Sure. For example, you can say.. أهذا هاتفك؟
Becky: .. which means "Is this your phone?" Okay, what's the next phrase?
Nora: لا شكر على واجب (lā šukr ʿalā wāǧib)
Becky: meaning "No problem."
Nora:This is the answer to shukran jaziilan. La means “no,” shukr means “thanks,” 'ala means “on,” and waagib means “duty.”
Becky: So the overall literal meaning is "You shouldn't thank me for doing my duty."
Nora: The other shorter more casual way to say "You're welcome" is عفواً ('afwan).
Becky: Can you give us an example using the first phrase?
Nora: Sure. For example, you can say.. لا شكر على واجب يا صديقي.
Becky: .. which means "No problem, friend."
Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use possessive pronouns, but first let’s take a look at which is the equivalent Arabic question word for “whose”
Nora: It’s liman which is basically the combination of the two words li and man, with li meaning “for,” and man meaning “who.” You basically put the object in question right after this expression.
Becky: Can you give us an example?
Nora: Sure, for example لِمَن هَذا الكِتاب؟ (liman haḏā al-kitāb?)
Becky: Which means “Whose book is this?” Ok, now we can introduce the possessive pronouns that are necessary to answer this question.
Nora: The unique thing about possessive pronouns in Arabic is that they are attached as a suffix to the possessed noun.
Becky: That’s why you need to be familiar with all their forms so that you don’t confuse them for original letters in the noun.
Nora: Let’s take a look at all possessive pronoun forms in Arabic, using the word كتاب (kitaab) meaning “book.”
Becky: Nora, please say the Arabic and I will follow with the English translation.
Nora: Sure, here is the first person singular كِتابي (kitābī)
Becky: which means “my book”
Nora: كِتابُكَ (kitābuka)
Becky: “your book”
Nora: If the owner is a woman كِتابُكِ (kitābuki)
Becky: also meaning “your book”
Nora: كِتابُه (kitābuh)
Becky: “his book”
Nora: كِتابُها (kitābuhā)
Becky: “her book”
Nora: كِتابُهُم (kitābuhum)
Becky: “Their book”
Nora: Finally, if we want to refer to someone specific, for example Maha, we can say كِتابُ مَها (kitābu mahā)
Becky: which means “Maha’s book”
Nora: The word kitab itself doesn’t change, but note how the suffix is different for every pronoun.
Becky: in Arabic, the possessive pronoun always comes AFTER the possessed noun, whether it is a suffix or a person’s name.
Nora: Unfortunately this rule also has some irregularities. In fact, the last letter of a noun changes if it was a feminine object. Let’s consider the noun حقيبة (haqiibah) meaning “bag."
Becky: So, for example what’s the Arabic for “my bag”?
Nora: حَقيبَتي (ḥaqībatī)
Becky: and “your bag”, supposing that the owner is a woman
Nora: حَقيبَتُكِ (ḥaqībatukī)
Becky: and “Maha’s bag”?
Nora: حَقيبَةُ مَها (ḥaqībaẗu mahā). As you can see, the rule of thumb is that you will switch the h sound at the end of the feminine word to a t sound, then add the possessive pronoun suffix.
Becky: Okay. Let’s put these in some example sentences:
Nora: For example أَيْنَ حَقيبَتي؟ (ʾayna ḥaqībatī?)
Becky: “Where is my bag?”
Nora: in this case, حقيبة (haqiibah) meaning “bag” is a feminine noun, that’s why there’s a T sound before the ii sound. Here is another example هَذا بَيْتي. (haḏā baytī.)
Becky: which means “This is my house.”
Nora: In this case, the word بيت (bayt) meaning “house” is masculine so you just add an ii to the end. Another example could be مَها صَديقَتي. (mahā ṣadīqatī.)
Becky: meaning “Maha is my friend.”
Nora: Here, the word صَديقَة (sadiiqah) meaning “female friend” is a feminine noun, and that’s why we added the T sound before the ii.
Becky: Let’s wrap up this lesson with another couple of sample sentences. If you learn these by heart, it will help you master the possessive pronouns in Arabic.
Nora: Right, for example هَذا خَطيبي مُراد. (haḏā ḫaṭībī murād.)
Becky: "This is my fiancee, Morad."
Nora: لِمَن هَذِه السيارة؟ (liman haḏih al-sīārh?)
Becky: "Whose car is this?"

Outro

Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Nora: إلى اللقاء (ʾilaā al-liqaāʾ)

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