The grammar, the conjugation and the morphology of Tunisian Arabic is very similar to that of other Maghrebi Arabic varieties. It is based on Classical Arabic and influenced by Berber languages and Latin, with some morphological inventions. The Berber influence is more noticeable in Pre-Hilalian dialects.
Tunisian Arabic has 7 personal pronouns since gender differentiation of the 2nd person in the singular form is absent.[1] [2] [3] [4]
| Person | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | ānā آنا | aḥnā أحنا | |
| 2nd | intī إنتِي | intūmā انتوما | |
| 3rd (m) | hūwa هوة | hūma هومة | |
| 3rd (f) | hīya هية | hūma هومة |
Example : آنا زادة « Āna zāda. » — "Me too."
The possessive pronouns are used as possessive articles when put as a suffix to a preposition or a noun. When it is used after a verb, their functions are rather direct object pronouns. The ones between parenthesis are the ones used after a structure finishing by a vowel.
| Person | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -ī (-yā) ي- | -nā نا- | |
| 2nd | -ik (-k) ك- | -kum كم- | |
| 3rd (m) | -ū (-h) ه- | -hum هم- | |
| 3rd (f) | -hā ها- | -hum هم- |
Note, that with feminine words which are generally finished with an ة a, a ت t is added before the suffixes which become tī, tik, tū, thā, tnā, tkum and thum
Indirect Object Pronouns are used as a suffix after the verb and before the ش- -š of the negation. When there is a combination of direct and indirect object pronouns, indirect object pronouns are always written in the end.[5] Furthermore, the first short i for the indirect Object pronoun is always dropped when it is written after a vowel.[6]
| Person | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -lī لي- | -ilnā لنا- | |
| 2nd | -lik لك- | -ilkum لكم- | |
| 3rd (m) | -lū له- | -ilhum لهم- | |
| 3rd (f) | -ilhā لها- | -ilhum لهم- |
Indefinite pronouns are used as a subject to explain general ideas or to report the facts which were done by an unknown person:
The next interrogative pronouns are used when asking a question in Tunisian Arabic.
| Tunisian Arabic | English | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| شنوة šnūwa (m.), شنية šnīya (f.), شنومة šnūma (pl.) | What | šnīya is used with feminine words. šnūma is used with plural words. | |
| آش āš or ش- š- | What | Used with verbs and some nouns. | |
| شكون škūn | Who | ||
| آما āmā | Which | ||
| وقتاش waqtāš | When | ||
| علاش ɛlāš | Why | ||
| لواش lwāš | What for | ||
| وين wīn or فين fīn | Where | ||
| منين mnīn | Where ... from | ||
| لوين lwīn | Where ... to | ||
| كيفاش kīfāš | How | ||
| قدّاش qaddāš | How many | ||
| بقدّاش bqaddāš | How much | ||
| فاش fāš | What ... in | ||
| مناش mnāš | What ... of | ||
| آناهو ānāhū (m.), آناهي ānāhī (f.), آناهم ānāhum (pl.) | Which one(s) |
Translated in English as "The" Article, "il-" (ال) is used as an added prefix to denote nouns as definite. If the defined nouns begins with a Sun Consonant (n, ṇ, t, ṭ, d, dz, s, ṣ, š, z, ẓ, j, ŧ, đ, ḑ, l, r and ṛ), "il-" would be pronounced as i + the Sun Consonant with which the noun begins. For example:
Like in Standard Arabic, Demonstrative Articles can be used as demonstrative pronouns when they are put alone as subjects. When they are articles, they can be written before or after the considered noun which should be definite by "il-".
| Demonstrative Articles | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This (near the speaker) | هاذا or هاذاية (m), هاذي or هاذية (f) | hāđa or hāđāya (m), hāđī or hāđīya (f) | |
| This (far from the speaker) | هاكا or هاكاية (m), هاكي or هاكية (f) | hāka or hākāya (m), hākī or hākīya (f) | |
| That | هاذاكة (m), هاذيكة (f) | hāđāka, hāđīka | |
| These | هاذومة | hāđūma | |
| Those | هاذوكم | hāđūkum |
When the demonstrative article is before the noun, it can be substituted by an abbreviated form which is ها hā for this and these, هاذْ hāđ for this and هٰاكْ hāk for that and those.[7]
For example, "This book" could be written in Tunisian as ها الكتاب hā il-ktāb.
| Possessive article[8] | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | متاعي | mtāɛī | |
| your (in Singular) | متاعك | mtāɛik | |
| his | متاعه | mtāɛū | |
| her | متاعها | mtāɛhā | |
| our | متاعنا | mtāɛnā | |
| your (in Plural) | متاعكم | mtāɛkum | |
| their | متاعهم | mtāɛhum |
Although they do exist, possessive articles in Tunisian Arabic are not used the same way as in English. They mainly show possession valorization in a sentence. Furthermore, they are only used after a definite noun.
For example: الكورة متاعك "il-kūra mtāɛik"- "Your ball"
Indeed, as in Arabic and other languages, possessive pronouns replaces them when there is not a valorization and a stress of the fact of possessing the item. These suffixes are the same as the ones used for conjugation of some verbs, and represent the ending sound of the possessive articles.
For example: كورتك "kūrtik"- "Your ball"
Differently from English which uses base form for the second verb (invariable for all pronouns), Tunisian Arabic uses present (or rather imperfect) form for it.[9] However, the second verb could be in the past (or rather perfect) form for the three modal verbs راه rāh, حقّه Haqqū and ماذابيه māđābīh (لوكان lūkān should be written before the second verb) which do not have a past form. Moreover, قاعد qāɛid could be used before an active participle. Furthermore, all the modal verbs could be in negative form as in Standard English excepting راهه rāhū and ماذابيه māđābīh. For example, ماذابينا نمشيوا māđābīnā nimšīū becomes in negative form ماذابينا ما نمشيوش māđābīnā mā nimšīūš and راهه تكلّم Rāhū tkallim becomes in negative form راهه ما تكلّمش Rāhū mā tkallimš.
| Person | Tunisian Arabic[10] | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | هاني | hānī | |
| You are (in Singular) | هاك | hāk | |
| He is | هاهه | hāhū | |
| She is | هاهي | hāhī | |
| We are | هانا | hānā | |
| You are (in Plural) | هاكم | hākum | |
| They are | هاهم | hāhum |
Example: هاني هوني « Hānī hūnī. » "I'm here."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | راني | ṛānī | |
| You are (in Singular) | راك | ṛāk | |
| He is | راهه | ṛāhū | |
| She is | راهي | ṛāhī | |
| We are | رانا | ṛānā | |
| You are (in Plural) | راكم | ṛākum | |
| They are | راهم | ṛāhum |
Example : راني هوني « Ṛānī hūnī. » — "attention, I'm here."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic[11] | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am I not | ماني | mānī | |
| Are you not | ماك | māk | |
| Is he/it not | ماهه | māhū | |
| Is she not | ماهي | māhī | |
| Are we not | مانا | māna | |
| Are you not (in Plural) | ماكم | mākum | |
| Are they not | ماهم | māhum |
Example : ماني هوني « Mānī hūnī. » — "I am here, am I not ?." or « Māchīn, māhū ?. » — "We are going, aren't we?."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | قاعد | Qāɛid | |
| You are (in Singular) | قاعد | Qāɛid | |
| He is | قاعد | Qāɛid | |
| She is | قاعدة | Qāɛda | |
| We are | قاعدين | Qāɛdīn | |
| You are (in Plural) | قاعدين | Qāɛdīn | |
| They are | قاعدين | Qāɛdīn |
Example : قاعدين ناكلوا « Qāɛdīn nāklū. » — "we are eating."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I could | نجّمت | najjamt | |
| You could (in Singular) | نجّمت | najjamt | |
| He could | نجّم | najjam | |
| She could | نجّمت | najjmit | |
| We could | نجّمنا | najjimnā | |
| You could (in Plural) | نجّمتوا | najjimtū | |
| They could | نجّموا | najjmū |
Example : نجموا ياكلوا « najjmū yāklū. » — "They could eat."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can | نَّجّم | nnajjam | |
| You can (in Singular) | تنجّم | tnajjam | |
| He can | ينجّم | ynajjam | |
| She can | تنجّم | tnajjam | |
| We can | نَّجّمُوا | nnajjmū | |
| You can (in Plural) | تنجّموا | tnajjmū | |
| They can | ينجّموا | ynajjmū |
Example : ينجّموا ياكلوا « Ynajjmū yāklū. » — "They can eat."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I should | حقني | ḥaqnī | |
| You should (in Singular) | حقك | ḥaqik | |
| He should | حقه | ḥaqū | |
| She should | حقها | ḥaqhā | |
| We should | حقنا | ḥaqnā | |
| You should (in Plural) | حقكم | ḥaqkum | |
| They should | حقهم | ḥaqhum |
Example : حقه يتكلّم « Ḥaqū yitkallim. » — "He should speak."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I would better | كارني | kaṛnī | |
| You would better (in Singular) | كارك | kaṛik | |
| He would better | كاره | kaṛū | |
| She would better | كارها | kaṛhā | |
| We would better | كارنا | kaṛnā | |
| You would better (in Plural) | كاركم | kaṛkum | |
| They would better | كارهم | kaṛhum |
Example : كارني تتكلّم « kaṛnī tkāllimt. » — "I would better have spoken."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have to | يلزمني | yilzimnī | |
| You have to (in Singular) | يلزمك | yilzmik | |
| He has to | يلزمه | yilzmū | |
| She has to | يلزمها | yilzimhā | |
| We have to | يلزمنا | yilzimnā | |
| You have to (in Plural) | يلزمكم | yilzimkum | |
| They have to | يلزمهم | yilzimhum |
Example : يلزمنا نمشيوا « Yilzimnā nimšīū. » — "We have to go."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I must | لازمني | lāzimnī | |
| You must (in Singular) | لازمك | lāzmik | |
| He must | لازمه | lāzmū | |
| She must | لازمها | lāzimhā | |
| We must | لازمنا | lāzimnā | |
| You must (in Plural) | لازمكم | lāzimkum | |
| They must | لازمهم | lāzimhum |
Example : لازمنا نمشيوا « Lāzimnā nimšīū. » — "We must go."
| Person | Tunisian Arabic | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I had better | ماذابيا | māđābīyā | |
| You had better (in Singular) | ماذابيك | māđābīk | |
| He had better | ماذابيه | māđābīh | |
| She had better | ماذابيها | māđābīhā | |
| We had better | ماذابينا | māđābīnā | |
| You had better (in Plural) | ماذابيكم | māđābīkum | |
| They had better | ماذابيهم | māđābīhum |
Example : ماذابينا نمشيوا « Māđābīnā nimšīū. » — "We had better go."
Tunisian Arabic involve Discourse markers that are used to emphasize some facts in discussions.[12] These facts could be even evidences and conclusions.
Evidence markers are mainly modal verbs. ṛāhū راهه is used to mark a fact as evident in the affirmative form. It is substituted by ṃāhū ماهه when asking about a supposed evident fact.
Conclusion markers are mainly conjunctions. yāxī ياخي is used to mark a fact as a conclusion in the affirmative form. It is substituted by mālā مالا when asking to approve supposed conclusion.
Preverbal markers or auxiliaries are verbs that are used to denote the status of a given action. They are conjugated as Subject + Preverbal marker (Any tense and form) + Action Verb (In present unless the preverbal marker is in imperative.[13] The verb is in imperative in this situation).[14] For example, qūm ixdim قوم اخدم meaning go to work.
| Tunisian Arabic | English | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| kān كان + Action Verb | to be doing something | Finalization | |
| bdā بدا + Action Verb | to begin doing something | Initiation | |
| qɛad قعد + Action Verb | to stay doing something | Progression | |
| ɛāwid عاود + Action Verb | to return doing something | Repetition | |
| ḥabb حب + Action Verb | to like doing something | Passion | |
| jā جا + Action Verb | to come doing something | Intention | |
| qām قام + Action Verb | to stand up to do something | Intention | |
| ṣār صار + Action Verb | to become doing something | Initiation | |
| wallā ولى + Action Verb | to become doing something | Initiation | |
| mšā مشى + Action Verb | to be going to do something | Intention | |
| bqā بقى + Action Verb | to remain doing something | Progression | |
| rjaɛ رجع + Action Verb | to return doing something | Repetition | |
| jarrib جرب + Action Verb | to try doing something | Experimentation | |
| ittilizim اتلزم + Action Verb | to engage oneself in doing something | Engagement | |
| kammal كمل + Action Verb | to finish doing something | Finalization |
There are significant differences in morphology between Tunisian and Standard Arabic.[15] Standard Arabic marks 13 person/number/gender distinctions in the verbal paradigm, whereas the dialect of Tunis marks only 7 (the gender distinction is found only in the third person singular). Nomadic Tunisian Arabic dialects also mark gender for the second person in singular, in common with most spoken varieties of Arabic elsewhere in the Arabic world.
In general, the regular verbs are conjugated according to the following pattern:
| perfective (Past) | imperfective (Present) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st person | pronounced as /ktibt/ كتبت | pronounced as /ktibnā/ كتبنا | pronounced as /niktib/ نكتب | pronounced as /niktbū/ نكتبوا | |
| 2nd person | pronounced as /ktibtū/ كتبتوا | pronounced as /tiktib/ تكتب | pronounced as /tiktbū/ تكتبوا | ||
| 3rd | masculine | pronounced as /ktib/ كتب | pronounced as /kitbū/ كتبوا | pronounced as /yiktib/ يكتب | pronounced as /yiktbū/ يكتبوا |
| feminine | pronounced as /kitbit/ كتبت | pronounced as /tiktib/ تكتب | |||
Verbs with a final semivowel ā, known as "weak" verbs, have a different pattern.[16] This pattern is determined according to the third letter in the root of the verb. Moreover, the verbs having a glottal stop as a first letter of their root are also considered as weak verbs.[17] [18] [19]
Nomadic dialects have a different third-person singular feminine perfective form as in مشيت pronounced as /[mʃit]/, حبيت pronounced as /[ħbit]/, بديت pronounced as /[bdit]/ and خذيت pronounced as /[χðit]/[20] and delete the stem vowel in the plural imperfective forms, giving forms such as نمشوا pronounced as /[nimʃu]/, نحبوا pronounced as /[niħbu]/, نبدوا pronounced as /[nibdu]/ and نوخذوا pronounced as /[nu:χðu]/. Furthermore, Sahil and Southeastern dialects tend to use pronounced as /link/ in place of pronounced as /link/ in the perfective conjugation. For example, تمشيوا timcīū is pronounced as [timʃe:u] in Sahil and southeastern dialects.
| perfective (Past) | imperfective (Present) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st person | mšīt مشيت | mšīnā مشينا | nimšī نمشي | nimšīū نمشيوا | |
| 2nd person | mšītū مشيتوا | timšī تمشي | timšīū تمشيوا | ||
| 3rd | masculine | mšā مشى | mšāū مشاوا | yimšī يمشي | yimšīū يمشيوا |
| feminine | mšāt مشات | timšī تمشي | |||
| perfective (Past) | imperfective (Present) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st person | ḥbīt حبيت | ḥbūnā حبونا | niḥbū نحبو | niḥbāū نحباوا | |
| 2nd person | ḥbītū حبيتوا | taḥbū تحبو | taḥbāū تحباوا | ||
| 3rd | masculine | ḥbā حبا | ḥbāū حباوا | yaḥbū يحبو | yaḥbāū يحباوا |
| feminine | ḥbāt حبات | taḥbū تحبو | |||
| perfective (Past) | imperfective (Present) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st person | bdīt بديت | bdīnā بدينا | nibdā نبدا | nibdāū نبداوا | |
| 2nd person | bdītūبديتوا | tibdā تبدا | tibdāū تبداوا | ||
| 3rd | masculine | bdā بدا | bdāū بداوا | yibdā يبدا | yibdāū يبداوا |
| feminine | bdāt بدات | tibdā تبدا | |||
| perfective (Past) | imperfective (Present) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st person | xđīt خذيت | xđīnā خذينا | nāxđ ناخذ | nāxđū ناخذوا | |
| 2nd person | xđītū خذيتوا | tāxđ تاخذ | tāxđū تاخذوا | ||
| 3rd | masculine | xđā ٰخذا | xđāū خذاوا | yāxđ ياخذ | yāxđū ياخذوا |
| feminine | xđāt خذات | tāxđ تاخذ | |||
| Pronoun | ɛandū “to have” | ḥājtū “to need” | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ānā آنا | ɛandī عندي | ḥājtī حاجتي | |
| intī إنتِي | ɛandik عندك | ḥājtik حاجتك | |
| hūwa هوة | ɛandū عنده | ḥājtū حاجته | |
| hīya هية | ɛandhā عندها | ḥājthā حاجتها | |
| aḥnā أحنا | ɛandnā عندنا | ḥājtnā حاجتنا | |
| intūmā إنتوما | ɛandkum عندكم | ḥājtkum حاجتكم | |
| hūma هومة | ɛandhum عندهم | ḥājthum حاجتهم |
The future tense in Tunisian Arabic is also similar to Berber, more precisely Zenata Berber[21] that was spoken by the majority of Tunisians' ancestors:
Taw or Tawwa can be used as a time indicator with a verb in present to mean "being going to do something".
The imperative form is considered the stem for the present tense.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| ušrub اُشْرُبْ | ušrbū اُشْرْبوا | |
| aɛṭī اَعْطي | aɛṭīū اَعْطِيوا |
The conditional present is conjugated as Kaṛū or Ḥaqqū + Verb in Present tense. This tense is generally used to show regret.
| Pronoun | Auxiliary Verbs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ānā آنا | kāṛnī كارني | ḥaqqnī حقّني | |
| intī إنتِي | kāṛik كارك | ḥaqqik حقّك | |
| hūwa هوة | kāṛū كاره | ḥaqqū حقّه | |
| hīya هية | kāṛhā كارها | ḥaqqhā حقّها | |
| aḥnā أحنا | kāṛnā كارنا | ḥaqqnā حقّنا | |
| intūmā إنتوما | kāṛkum كاركم | ḥaqqkum حقّكم | |
| hūma هومة | kāṛhum كارهم | ḥaqqhum حقّهم | |
For the past conditional, the same structures seen above are used, but instead of the present tense, the past tense is used.
This structure is conjugated as kān ynajjam + Verb in the present tense.
| Pronoun | Auxiliary Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| ānā آنا | kunt nnajjam كنت نّجّم | |
| intī إنتي | kunt tnajjam كنت تنجّم | |
| hūwa هوة | kān ynajjam كان ينجّم | |
| hīya هية | kānit tnajjam كانت تنجّم | |
| aḥnā أحنا | kunnā nnajjmū كنّا نّجّموا | |
| intūmā إنتوما | kuntū tnajjmū كنتوا تنجّموا | |
| hūma هومة | kānū ynajjmū كانوا ينجّموا |
This structure is conjugated as ṛāhū + Verb in the present tense.
Verb derivation is done by adding prefixes or by doubling consonants to the simple verb having the root fɛal (Triconsonantal) or faɛlil (Quadriconsonantal). The verb's root determines the possible derivations.[22] Generally, the patterns used in Verb Derivation are the same as in Standard Arabic.
خرج pronounced as //χraʒ// "to go out" → خرّج pronounced as //χarraʒ// "to take out"
دخل pronounced as //dχal// "to enter" → دخّل pronounced as //daχχal// "to bring in, to introduce"
قتل pronounced as //qtal// "to kill" → تقتل pronounced as //taqtal// "to be killed"
شرب pronounced as //ʃrab// "to drink" → تّشرب pronounced as //ttaʃrab// "to be drunk".
The exclamative form can be formed by the intonation and in this particular situation, the sentence ends with an exclamation mark to distinguish it from an affirmative sentence Furthermore, it can be formed using Qaddāš + Noun or Possessive Pronoun + Adjective or Imperfective verb + !.
The interrogative form can be formed by two methods: The intonation and the Suffix -š. When an interrogative adverb or pronoun exists, the question is an āš question that is equivalent to the English wh question and if the question does not involve any interrogative adverb or pronoun, it is an īh/lā question that is equivalent to the English Yes/No Question.[24]
Example: تحبّ تمشي لتونس tḥibb timšī l- tūnis?, Do you want to go to Tunisia?
Example: تعرفوشي؟ taɛṛfūšī?, Do you know him?
To make the negative form, we put me in front of the verb and š at the end of the verb.
Example: ما فهمش الدرس mā fhimš id-dars, He didn't understand the lesson.
N.B.: With the past conditional (would have) this negative form is used with the main verb.
Example: لوكان عرفت راني ما جيتش lūkān ɛṛaft rānī mā jītš, If I knew I would not have come.
To negate the present participles and the verbs conjugated in the future, mūš, or its conjugated form, is added in front of the verb.
Example: موش باش نشوفه الجمعة هاذي mūš bāš nšūfū ij-jumɛa hāđī, I won't see him this week.
موش mūš is conjugated as follows:
| Pronoun | Auxiliary Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| ānā آنا | mānīš مانيش | |
| intī إنتي | mākiš ماكش | |
| hūwa هوة | māhūš ماهوش | |
| hīya هية | māhīš ماهيش | |
| aḥnā أحنا | mānāš مناش | |
| intūmā انتوما | mākumš مكمش | |
| hūmā هومة | māhumš مهمش |
The only relative pronoun used in Tunisian Arabic is illī meaning who or that and its short form is lī.
Nouns ending either in a consonant, u, i, ū or ī are usually masculine.For example: باب bāb “door”, كرسي kursī “chair”.There are, however, some exceptions. Indeed, some consonant-final and some ī-final nouns are in the feminine gender (usually, names of countries and cities, and names of parts of the body, and nouns ending in –t are in the feminine).For example: پاريز Pārīz “Paris”, بيت bīt “room”, بسكلات bisklāt “bicycle”.
Nouns ending with a or ā vowel are usually in the feminine.
For example: سنّة sinna “tooth”, خريطة xarīṭa “map”.
There are, however, a few exceptions: أعمى aɛmā “blind man”, ممشى mamšā “alley”, عشاء ɛšā “dinner”.
Marking of the dual for nouns by adding -īn as a suffix to them is only used for quantity measures, for nouns having the CCVC form such as C is an ungeminated consonant and V is a short vowel and things often occurring in twos (e.g. eyes, hands, parents). In general, these nouns have broken plurals and not regular ones. Marking of the dual is also done by writing zūz before the regular or irregular plural noun. For example:
The plural in Tunisian can be classified according to its structure. There are mainly two types of structure: suffixed structure and internal structure. However and as reported in many studies, the rate of broken plurals for Tunisian and by that the rate of the use of the Pluralization Internal Structure is more important than the one for Standard Arabic and several other Arabic dialects.[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] This considerable use of the Internal Structure of Pluralization is considered by most linguists as an influence of the Berber substratum.[32] [33]
Using the Suffixed Structure, Singular nouns may form their plural by the suffixation of any of the following plural suffixes:
| Word end | Suffix | |
|---|---|---|
| -uw, a vowel or a consonant | –āt | |
| -iy | –īn |
Using the Internal Structure, the plural in Tunisian follows the following patterns such as C is an ungeminated consonant, V is a short vowel, C: is a geminated consonant:
| Singular pattern | Plural pattern | |
|---|---|---|
| CūC | CCāCī | |
| CāC | CīCān | |
| CaCCaC | CaCāCiC | |
| CCaC | CCūCāt | |
| CaCC | CCāC | |
| CCāC | CCuC | |
| CiCC | CCūC | |
| CVCCVC or CVCCVCa | CCāCiC | |
| CāCiC or CaCC | CCūC | |
| CāCiC | CVC:āC | |
| CVCC | CCūCa | |
| CiCCa | CCiC | |
| CCaC | uCCCa | |
| CaCCa | CCaC |
Uninflected adjectives are masculine singular. There are two main types of adjectives:
E.g. متغشّش mtġaššaš “angry”.
E.g. طويل ṭwīl “tall”.
Like participles and some nouns, adjectives form their feminine by the suffixation of a.For example, جيعان jīɛān > جيعانة jīɛāna “hungry”, سخون sxūn > سخونة sxūna “hot”.
In some cases, when the adjective ends with an i vowel, the i becomes a y. E.g. باهي bāhi > باهية bāhyaSome uninflected adjectives are in the feminine. Their masculine counterparts are either suppletive or do not exist.
For example: حبلة ḥibla “pregnant”, عزوزة ɛzūza “old woman”.
The masculine counterpart of عزوزة ɛzūza is شايب šāyib, though, عزوز ɛzūz exists in some idiolects.
Some adjectives cannot be inflected either for gender or number. E.g. وردي wardi “pink”, حموم ḥmūm “disastrous”.
Unlike nouns, adjectives are not inflected for dual. The plural is used instead.Like nouns, there are two main types of structure: suffixed structure and internal structure.
The comparative of superiority: The comparative form is the same whether the adjective is feminine or masculine.
The comparative of inferiority: It's formed by the following structure: أقلّ aqall + noun + من min. For example, هي أقلّ طول من خوها hīya aqall ṭūl min xūha “she’s less tall than her brother”
The comparative of equality: It is formed by using the following structure: noun (subject) + فرد fard + (comparative) noun + personal pronoun + و w + noun (compared). For example, فاطمة فرد طول هي و خوها Fāṭma fard ṭūl hīya w xūha “Fatma is as tall as her brother”. This structure can be simplified as follows: noun + و w + noun + فرد fard + noun. For example, فاطمة و خوها فرد طول Fāṭma w xūha fard ṭūl “Fatma is as tall as her brother”
It is formed by adding واحد wāḥid (m.), واحدة waḥda (f.) or وحود wḥūd (pl.) after the comparative of superiority.
In order to denote the proportion of the participants in the given action from a greater community, the adjectives and adverbs of proportion shown here are used.
| Cardinal | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ṣfir صفر | |
| 1 | wāḥid واحد | |
| 2 | iŧnīn or zūz اثنين or زوز | |
| 3 | ŧlāŧa ثلاثة | |
| 4 | arbɛa أربعة | |
| 5 | xamsa خمسة | |
| 6 | sitta ستّة | |
| 7 | sabɛa سبعة | |
| 8 | ŧmanya ثمانية | |
| 9 | tisɛa تسعة | |
| 10 | ɛacra عشرة | |
| 11 | ḥdāc احداش | |
| 12 | ŧnāc اثناش | |
| 13 | ŧluṭṭāc ثلظّاش | |
| 14 | arbaɛṭāc اربعطاش | |
| 15 | xumsṭāc خمسطاش | |
| 16 | sutṭāc سطّاش | |
| 17 | sbaɛṭāc سبعطاش | |
| 18 | ŧmanṭāc ثمنطاش | |
| 19 | tsaɛṭāc تسعطاش | |
| 20 | ɛicrīn عشرين | |
| 21 | wāḥid w ɛicrīn واحد وعشرين | |
| 30 | ŧlāŧīn ثلاثين | |
| 40 | arbɛīn أربعين | |
| 50 | xamsīn خمسين | |
| 60 | sittīn ستّين | |
| 70 | sabɛīn سبعين | |
| 80 | ŧmanīn ثمانين | |
| 90 | tisɛīn تسعين | |
| 100 | mya مية | |
| 101 | mya w wāḥid مية وواحد | |
| 110 | mya w ɛacra مية وعشرة | |
| 200 | mītīn ميتين | |
| 300 | ŧlāŧamya ثلاثة مية | |
| 1000 | alf الف | |
| 1956 | alf w tisɛamya w sitta w xamsīn الف وتسعة مية وستّة وخمسين | |
| 2000 | alfīn الفين | |
| 10000 | ɛacra lāf عشرة الاف | |
| 100000 | myat elf مية الف | |
| 1000000 | malyūn مليون | |
| 123456789 | mya w ŧlāŧa w ɛicrīn malyūn w arbɛa mya w sitta w xamsīn alf w sabɛa mya w tisɛa w ŧmanīn مية وثلاثة وعشرين مليون وأربعة مية وستّة وخمسين الف وسبعة ميه وتسعة وثمانين | |
| 1000000000 | milyār مليار |
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | il-iŧnīn الإثنين | |
| Tuesday | iŧ-ŧlāŧ الثلاث | |
| Wednesday | il-irbɛa الإربعة | |
| Thursday | il-xmīs الخميس | |
| Friday | ij-jimɛa الجمعة | |
| Saturday | is-sibt السبت | |
| Sunday | il-aḥadd الأحدّ |
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| January | Jānfī جانفي | |
| February | Fīvrī فيڥري | |
| March | Mārs مارس | |
| April | Avrīl أڥريل | |
| May | Māy ماي | |
| June | Jwān جوان | |
| July | Jwīlya جويلية | |
| August | Ūt أوت | |
| September | Siptumbir سپتمبر | |
| October | Uktobir أكتوبر | |
| November | Nūvumbir نوڥمبر | |
| December | Dīsumbir ديسمبر |
Note, that in this case, the modern months are a tunisification of the name of the months from French, inherited from the protectorate times.The native names of the months were that of their original Latin names, following the berber calendar:
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| January | Yennā(ye)r ينار، يناير | |
| February | Fūrā(ye)r فورار، فورسير | |
| March | Mārsū مارسو | |
| April | Abrīl أبريل | |
| May | Māyū مايو | |
| June | Yūnyū يونيو | |
| July | Yūlyū يوليو | |
| August | Awūsū أووسو | |
| September | Shtamber شتمبر | |
| October | Uktūber أكتوبر | |
| November | Nūfember نوفمبر | |
| December | Dejember دجمبر |
The ordinals in Tunisian are from one to twelve only, in case of higher numbers, the cardinals are used.
| English Ordinals | Masculine | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | أول uwwil or أولاني ūlānī | أولى ūlā or أولانية ūlānīya | أولين ūlīn or أولانين ūlānīn | |
| Second | ثاني ŧāni | ثانية ŧānya | ثانين ŧānīn | |
| Third | ثالت ŧāliŧ | ثالتة ŧālŧa | ثالتين ŧālŧīn | |
| Fourth | رابع rābiɛ | رابعة rābɛa | رابعين rābɛīn | |
| Fifth | خامس xāmis | خامسة xāmsa | خامسين xāmsīn | |
| Sixth | سادس sādis | سادسة sādsa | سادسين sādsīn | |
| Seventh | سابع sābiɛ | سابعة sābɛa | سابعين sābɛīn | |
| Eighth | ثامن ŧāmin | ثامنة ŧāmna | ثامنين ŧāmnīn | |
| Ninth | تاسع tāsiɛ | تاسعة tāsɛa | تاسعين tāsɛīn | |
| Tenth | عاشر ɛāšir | عاشرة ɛāšra | عاشرين ɛāšrīn | |
| Eleventh | حادش ḥādiš | حادشة ḥādša | حادشين ḥādšīn | |
| Twelfth | ثانش ŧāniš | ثانشة ŧānšā | ثانشين ŧānšīn |
There are special forms for fractions from two to ten only, elsewhere percentage is used. The Fractions can be used for various purposes like the expression of proportion and the expression of time... For example, the expression of 11:20 in Tunisian Arabic is il-ḥdāc w ŧluŧ and the expression of 11:40 in Tunisian Arabic is nuṣṣ il-nhār ġīr ŧluŧ. Similarly, midnight is nuṣṣ il-līl and noon is nuṣṣ il-nhār.
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| one half | نصف nuṣf or نصّ nuṣṣ | |
| one third | ثلث ŧluŧ | |
| one quarter | ربع rbuɛ | |
| one fifth | خمس xmus | |
| one sixth | سدس sdus | |
| one seventh | سبع sbuɛ | |
| one eighth | ثمن ŧmun | |
| one ninth | تسع tsuɛ | |
| one tenth | عشر ɛšur |
As said above, time measurement method and vocabulary below 1 hour is very peculiar in Tunisian and is not found in neither the other dialects of Maghrebi Arabic or standard Arabic. Indeed, Tunisian, uses fractions of 1 hour and a special unit of 5 minutes called دراج "drāj", to express time. Also, as in English as "it's 3 am/pm" or just "it's 3" and contrary to other languages such as standard Arabic, Tunisian do not precise the word "sāɛa (hour)" when expressing the time of the day as the subject is considered implied. Below is the list of the vocabulary used for time indication:
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 second | ثانية ŧānya or سيڨوندة sīgūnda | |
| 1 minute | دقيقة dqīqa | |
| 5 minutes | درج draj | |
| 15 minutes | ربع rbuɛ | |
| 20 minutes | ثلث ŧluŧ or أربعة دراج arbɛa drāj | |
| 30 minutes | نصّ nuṣṣ |
The Basic units for Tunisian Arabic are used in the same way as in English.
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| Three | kānūn كانون | |
| Four | ḥāra حارة | |
| Five | ɛiddat īdik عدّة إيدك | |
| Twelve | ṭuzzīna طزّينة | |
| One centimeter | ṣāntī صانتي | |
| One meter | mītrū ميترو | |
| One deciliter | ɛšūrīya عشورية | |
| Two deciliters | xmūsīya خموسية | |
| A quarter of a litre (fluid) | rbuɛ ītra ربع إيترة | |
| One litre | ītra إيترة | |
| Ten litres (fluid) | dīga ديڨة | |
| Ten liters (mass) | galba ڨلبة | |
| Twenty liters (mass) | wība ويبة | |
| Three grams | ūqīya أوقية | |
| One pound | rṭal رطل | |
| One kilogram | kīlū كيلو | |
| One ton | ṭurnāṭa طرناطة | |
| One second | ŧānya or sīgūnda ثانية or سيڨوندة | |
| One minute | dqīqa دقيقة | |
| Five minutes | draj درج | |
| One hour | sāɛa ساعة | |
| One day | nhar نهار | |
| One week | jumɛa جمعة | |
| One month | šhar شهر | |
| One year | ɛām عام | |
| One century | qarn قرن |
The measure units are accorded when in dual or in plural, for example:
There are two types of prepositions: single (commonly used) and compound prepositions (rarely used).
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| In | في fi- (fī before indefinite nouns or prepositions) | |
| With | بـ b- | |
| To (Place, Person) | لـ l- | |
| From | مـ m- (من min before indefinite nouns or prepositions) | |
| At | عند ɛand | |
| With | معا mɛā | |
| On, About | عـ ɛa- (على ɛlā before indefinite nouns or prepositions) | |
| Between | بين bīn | |
| Before | قبل qbal | |
| After | بعد baɛd | |
| Behind | ورا wrā | |
| Over | فوق fūq | |
| Under | تحت taḥt | |
| In the middle of | وسط wusṭ | |
| Inside | فسط fusṭ | |
| Like | كـ ki- (kīf before indefinite nouns or prepositions) | |
| As much as, as big as ... | قدّ qadd | |
| Without | بلاش blāš | |
| Even | حتّى ḥattā | |
| Round | جيهة jīhit, شيرة šīrit | |
| In front of | قدّام quddām | |
| Of | متاع mtāɛ | |
| About (number, quantity, distance) | مدوار madwār | |
| Approximatively | تقريب taqrīb |
Compound prepositions are the prepositions that are obtained through the succession of two single prepositions. وسط Wusṭ, جيهة jīhit, شيرة šīrit and متاع mtāɛ can be used as second prepositions with any single preposition before it excepting وسط Wusṭ, جيهة jīhit, شيرة šīrit and متاع mtāɛ. The other prepositions are: من بين min bīn, من بعد min baɛd, من عند min ɛand, من تحت min taḥt, من قبل min qbal, من فوق min fūq, من ورا min wrā, كيف بعد kīf baɛd, كيف عند kīf ɛand, كيف تحت kīf taḥt, كيف قبل kīf qbal, كيف فوق kīf fūq, كيف ورا kīf wrā, كيف معا kīf mɛā, قبل فوق qbal fūq, على فوق ɛlā fūq, بتحت b- taḥt, في تحت fī taḥt, ببلاش b- blāš, من قدّام min quddām and حتّى قدّام ḥattā quddām.
Coordinate conjunctions link verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, clauses, phrases and sentences of the same structure.
| Standard English | Tunisian Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| And | w و | |
| Or | w illā... wallā وإلّا.. ولّا | |
| Either ... or | ammā ... w illā/wallā أمّا و إلّا\ولّا | |
| But | lākin لكن, amā أما | |
| Without | min/mā ğīr mā من\ما غير ما | |
| Only | mā ... kān ما.. كان | |
| The contrary of | ɛaks min/mā عكس من\ما | |
| And then | hāk il-sāɛa هاك الساعة, sāɛathā ساعتها, waqthā وقتها, w iđā bīh و إذا بيه | |
| In brief | il-ḥāṣil الحاصل, il-ḥaṣīlū الحصيلو | |
| Sometimes ... sometimes | marra ... marra مرّة.. مرّة, sāɛa ... sāɛa ساعة.. ساعة, sāɛāt ساعات | |
| As far as | qadd mā قدّ ما, qadd قدّ | |
| Before | qbal قبل | |
| Otherwise | kānšī | |
| Moreover, Besides | bāra min hak | |
| Consequently | ɛal hak | |
| In addition | lī zāda | |
| Instead | lī ɛāwiđ | |
| Overall | f- il-kul | |
| Above all else | min fuq hāđa il-kul | |
| Anyway | kul f- il-kul | |
| Also | zāda |
Subordinate conjunctions introduce dependent clauses only. There two types of conjunctions: single and compound. The compound conjunctions mainly consist of prepositions that are compound with illī. The main Subordinate conjunctions for Tunisian are Waqt illī وقت اللي “When”, m- illī ماللي “Since”, qbal mā قبل ما “Before”, īđā إذا “If”, lūkān لوكان “If”, mā ما "what", bāš باش “In order to”, (ɛlā) xāṭir على) خاطر) “because”, (ɛlā) ḥasb mā على) حسب ما) “According to”.
Adverbs can be subdivided into three subgroups: single, compound and interrogative.
The nouns derived from verbs are the Active Participle, the Passive Participle and the Verbal Noun.
The verbal noun is the noun that indicates the done action itself.Its form is known through the pattern and root of the verb from which it is derived or rather the pattern of its singular imperative conjugation.