Arabic examples (Monica Larcom & Sandiway Fong)
| Example | Instruction stream (clickable) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ما بيروحوا ma b-yruuH-u neg indic.imperf go.they "They don't go (out)" |
[ruuH, v_unerg, [pro_henna,d], t_imperf, indic, neg, c] | (Brustad 2000:122) |
| تعلمت اللغة من جيراننا tEallm-t el-lugha min jiiran-na learned.1st.sg. the-language.f from neighbors.m-our I learned the language from our neighbor |
[lugha, el, [jiiraan, poss, [niHna,d], min], tEallm, v_trans, [pro_ana,d], t_perf, c] | Pair-merge. |
| بيروحو بهالعتمة b-y-ruuH-u bi-ha- el-ʕatma indic-go.3rd.pl.m in- the-darkness.f |
[aEtma, el, ha, bi, ruuH, v_unerg, [pro_henna,d], t_imperf, indic, c] | Brustad 2000:118 |
| ما يشوفوا العروس لليلة العرس maa y-shuuf-u el-ʕaruus la-lelt el-ʕars neg see.3rd.pl.m the-bride.f until-night.f the-wedding.m "they used to not see the bride until the night..." |
[aEruus, el,[aErs, el, gen, lelt, d, la], shuuf, v_trans, [pro_henna, d], t_imperf, neg, kaan, c] | This is currently the abbreviated version of the full phrase kaan-u maa y-shuuf-u el-ʕaruus la-lelt el-ʕars.
Was.3rd.pl.m neg. see.3rd.pl.m the-bride.f until-night.f
of-the-wedding.m
Pair-merge. |
| جاب له صحن بوظة zhaab l-u SaHn buuDHa brought.3rd.sg.m to-him plate.m (of).ice-cream.f he brought him a plate of ice cream |
[saaHn, d, [huwa, d, l], zhaab, v_trans, [pro_huwa, d], t_perf, c] | A phrase from the full sentence "zhaab l-u SaHn buuDHa Saar y-aakl-u bi-el-khebez" brought.3rd.sg.m to-him plate.m (of).ice-cream.f began.3rd.sg.m eat.3rd.sg.m-it with-the-bread he brought him a plate of ice cream, he began to eat it with bread. |
| يكونوا عم بيتمشّوا بالشارع y-kuun-u ʕam b-y-tmashh-u bi-el-shaarʕa was.3rd.pl.m prog. indic-walk.3rd.pl.m in-the-street.m ...they'd be walking in the street |
[shaarEa, el, bi, tmashh, v_unerg,[pro_henna,d], t_imperf, indic, 'Eam', kaan, c] | Brustad 2000:216 |
| الضار ما كبيرش
eD-Dar maa kbir-a-sh the-house.f.sg. not big.f.-not the house is not big |
[dar, el, kbira, t, neg, c] |
In some dialects, e.g. Moroccan and Jordanian, negation is split
into maa + -sh.
-sh affix hops over the predicate root. |