ayiy





























Words to help navigate today's story:

Adjective
ياي
yaay
Coming
Noun
ازعاج
iz:aaj
A disturbance
Phrase
 اسف على الازعاج
aasif :alaa l-iz:aaj
Sorry to bother you



Today ana ayiy with good news: there is a loophole to learning this tongue-twister of a verb.

shsaalfah? Well, listen to this - in Arabic, most verbs can become adjectives.

Not impressed? Well, aasif :alaa l-izaaj!

Perhaps if I explain that there are only three forms of adjectival verb to learn, the masculine, feminine and plural, while there are nine forms to learn a normal verb ... at least try and look excited!

In Arabic, the adjectival verb is used often. In the case of today's verb, ayiy, the adjectival form of the verb is yaay.

So when tyiy back home after a day's work, and someone calls to ask where you are, don't brandish your broken Arabic and reply with the stumbling equivalent of "I come" which, to be honest, doesn't sound authentic in any language.

As in you're in the process of doing shwayyat ashaa', whatever they may be, in English you add the -ing to the verb, transforming it into an adjective.

In Arabic, if you're a man coming home you say "ana yaay."

Or if a woman, "ana yaayah."

Or if you happen to be in a big group of cheerleaders at a homecoming match, "yaayiin!"


All today's words:

Verb
 انا ايي
ana ayiy I come

انت تيي
inta tyiy You (m) come

انتي تيين
intay tiyiin You (f) come
انتو تييون
intaw tiyuun You (pl) come

احن نيي
aHnaa nyiy We come

هو ييي
uhuwa iyiy He comes

هي تيي
ihiya tyiy She comes

اهم ييون
uhuma iyuun They come

ياي yaay Coming (m)
Adjectives ياية yaayah Coming (f)

يايين yaayiin Coming (pl)

شنو السالفة؟ shsaalfah? What's the story?
Nouns ازعاج iz:aaj A disturbance

شوية اشاء shwayyat ashaa' Some things
Phrase
اسف على الازعاج
aasif :alaa l-izaaj Sorry to bother you

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