Determiners
A determiner introduces a noun. There are four types of determiner:
| Type | English Examples |
| article | the, and |
| demonstrative | this, that |
| quantifier | some, any |
| possessive | my, his |
Articles
In English, there are two articles. The definite article the indicates that we are referring to something we have already mentioned, or the listener will understand which one we are talking about. The indefinite article a/an indicates that we are not talking about any particular instance of something. In Egyptian, there is a definite article il-iil_ ا ِلـ but no indefinite article.
To talk about a particular man- the listener is expected to know which man we are referring to- we say 'the man' in English. In arabic, we attach il-iil_ ا ِلـ to the front of the noun.
Note that adding il-iil_ ا ِلـ to a word affects the pronunciation if it begins with a sun letter.
For compound nouns, where we use a noun to describe another noun, the is used before the compound noun. In Egyptian, it is used before each word in the compound noun:
Note that, in Egyptian, il-iil_ ا ِلـ is used before nouns expressing abstract concepts. In English, it is not unless you are referring to a particular kind of whatever the noun relates to.
| English | Egyptian |
| love is all you need | ilhubb huwwa kull illi 'inta mahtalKaiil-Hubb huwwa kull iil-ly iicnta maHtalKao ا ِلحـُبّ هـُوّ َ كـُلّ ا ِلّي إنت َ مـَحتـَلخـَة |
| the love of God | 'allah ilhubbaacllah iil-Hubb ألّـَه ا ِلحـُبّ |
| give peace a chance | 'iddi ilsalaam furSaiicddy iil-salaam furSao إدّي ا ِلسـَلا َم فـُرصـَة |
| movement is blessed | ilharaka barakaiil-Harakao barakao ا ِلحـَر َكـَة بـَر َكـَة |
Demonstratives
Demonstratives are words that you generally use when you are pointing at something. In English, there are four demonstratives- this and that (singular) and these and those (plural). You generally use this/these to refer to something nearer to you, and that/those for something further away. They can be used either as pronouns (on their own) or as determiners (introducing a noun). In Arabic, there is just one demonstrative, but there are three forms- masculine, feminine and plural. It is used either as a pronoun (on its own) or as a demonstrative adjective (after a noun). Let's see how that works:
| Usage | English | Egyptian |
| pronoun | I like this (m) | 'ana baahibb dahaacnaa baaHibb dah أنا َ با َحـِبّ د َه |
| pronoun | I like this (f) | 'ana baahibb dihaacnaa baaHibb dih أنا َ با َحـِبّ د ِه |
| pronoun | I like these (pl) | 'ana baahibb dulaacnaa baaHibb dul أنا َ با َحـِبّ د ُل |
| determiner/adjective | I like this book(m) | 'ana bahibb ilkitab dahaacnaa baHibb iil-kitab dah أنا َ بـَحـِبّ ا ِلكـِتـَب د َه |
| determiner/adjective | I like this garden(m) | 'ana bahibb ilgineena dihaacnaa baHibb iil-ginynao dih أنا َ بـَحـِبّ ا ِلجـِنينـَة د ِه |
| determiner/adjective | I like these book(m) | 'ana bahibb ilkutub dulaacnaa baHibb iil-kutub dul أنا َ بـَحـِبّ ا ِلكـُتـُب د ُل |
Note that, when this is used as a demonstrative determiner, dahdah د َه is used as a demonstrative adjective: it goes after the noun, and il-iil_ ا ِلـ is used as a determiner before then noun.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers specify how much or how many of something we are talking about. Numbers give exact information, whereas quantifying determiners give an approximate idea. English examples are some, enough, any, many, few. Most English quantifiers do not have an equivalent in Egyptian: instead, quantifying adjectives (which follow the noun) are used. any does not have an equivalent: it is simply omitted.
| Usage | English | Egyptian |
| determiner | I want some milk | Aaayiz shuwayit labanAaayiz shuwayio laban عا َيـِز شـُو َيـِة لـَبـَن |
| adjective | I don't have enough money |  maAandeesh filoos kifaayamaAandysh filws kifaayaoمـَعـَنديش فـِلوس كـِفا َيـَة |
| - | he has any money | maAanduhsh filoosma-Aanduh-sh filws مـَعـَند ُهش فـِلوس |
| adjective | you have many friends formal | Aandak 'aShaab kiteerAandak aacSHaab kityr عـَند َك أصحا َب كـِتير |
| adjective | you have a lot of friends informal | Aandak 'aShaab yaamaAandak aacSHaab yaamaa عـَند َك أصحا َب يا َما َ |
| determiner | I am tired of too much talk | 'ana zahQaaen min kutr ilkalaemaacnaa zahQaaen min kutr iil-kalaem أنا َ ز َهقا َ ۤن مـِن كـُتر ا ِلكـَلا َم |
Possessive suffixes
Possessives indicate who owns something- in English, they are words like my, his and their. In both English and Egyptian, they are similar to the corresponding possessive pronouns (mine, his, theirs), but they introduce a noun rather than being used on their own. In Egyptian, they are suffixes attached to the noun that they relate to, or to the ownership word bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع the latter is used for most imported words.
The posessive suffixes themselves are pretty easy to learn, but when they are attached to nouns, the vowels do a little dance to make sure that you don't get three consonants in a row. Here are examples for nouns that end with one or two consonants:
| Nouns ending in two consonants | ||||
| English | after -C | after -CC | ||
| suffix | SaahibSaaHib صا َحـِب | suffix | kalbkalb كـَلب | |
| my | -i_y ـي | SahbiSaaHib-y صا َحـِبي | -i_y ـي | kalbikalb-y كـَلبي |
| our | -na_naa ـناَ | SaahibnaSaaHib-naa صا َحـِبناَ | -ina_inaa ــِناَ | kalbinakalb-inaa كـَلبـِناَ |
| your(m) | -ak_ak ــَك | SahbakSaaHib-ak صا َحـِبـَك | -ak_ak ــَك | kalbakkalb-ak كـَلبـَك |
| your(f) | -ik_ik ــِك | SahbikSaaHib-ik صا َحـِبـِك | -ik_ik ــِك | kalbikkalb-ik كـَلبـِك |
| your(pl) | -kum_kum ـكـُم | SaahibkumSaaHib-kum صا َحـِبكـُم | -ukum_ukum ــُكـُم | kalbukumkalb-ukum كـَلبـُكـُم |
| his/its(m) | -uh_uh ــُه | SahbuhSaaHib-uh صا َحـِبـُه | -uh_uh ــُه | kalbuhkalb-uh كـَلبـُه |
| her/its(f) | -ha_haa ـهاَ | SaahibhaSaaHib-haa صا َحـِبهاَ | -aha_ahaa ــَهاَ | kalbahakalb-ahaa كـَلبـَهاَ |
| their | -hum_hum ـهـُم | SaahibhumSaaHib-hum صا َحـِبهـُم | -uhum_uhum ــُهـُم | kalbuhumkalb-uhum كـَلبـُهـُم |
For nouns ending in -a_ao ــَة, the -a_ao ــَة is replaced by -t_t ـت or -it_it ــِت and then the ending is added.
| Nouns ending in -a_ao ــَة | ||||
| English | after -C | after -CC | ||
| suffix | koorakwrao كور َة | suffix | shanTashanTao شـَنطـَة | |
| my | -ti_ty ـتي | koortikwr-ty كورتي | -iti_ity ــِتي | shanTitishanT-ity شـَنطـِتي |
| our | -itna_itnaa ــِتناَ | kooritnakwr-itnaa كور ِتناَ | -itna_itnaa ــِتناَ | shanTitnashanT-itnaa شـَنطـِتناَ |
| your(m) | -tak_tak ـتـَك | koortakkwr-tak كورتـَك | -itak_itak ــِتـَك | shanTitakshanT-itak شـَنطـِتـَك |
| your(f) | -tik_tik ـتـِك | koortikkwr-tik كورتـِك | -itik_itik ــِتـِك | shanTitikshanT-itik شـَنطـِتـِك |
| your(pl) | -itkum_itkum ــِتكـُم | kooritkumkwr-itkum كور ِتكـُم | -itkum_itkum ــِتكـُم | shanTitkumshanT-itkum شـَنطـِتكـُم |
| his/its(m) | -tuh_tuh ـتـُه | koortuhkwr-tuh كورتـُه | -ituh_ituh ــِتـُه | shanTituhshanT-ituh شـَنطـِتـُه |
| her/its(f) | -itha_it-haa ــِتهاَ | koorithakwrit-haa كور ِتهاَ | -itha_it-haa ــِتهاَ | shanTithashanTit-haa شـَنطـِتهاَ |
| their | -ithum_it-hum ــِتهـُم | koorithumkwr-it-hum كور ِتهـُم | -ithum_it-hum ــِتهـُم | shanTithumshanT-it-hum شـَنطـِتهـُم |
Nouns that end in alif -a_aa ـاَ are treated almost like feminine nouns, ie the alif is replaced by -it_iit ـا ِت and then the ending is added.
Nouns ending in -i_y ـي or -w_w ـو are listed below.
Note that for most words ending in -w_w ـو, for example baltwbaltw بـَلتو, one would normally use bitaAbitaA بـِتـَع rather than a posessive suffix.
| Nouns ending in a vowel | ||||
| English | -a_aa ـاَ |
-i_y ـي |
-w_w ـو | |
| suffix | veelavylaa ڤيلاَ | koorsikwrsy كورسي | AadwAadw عـَدو | |
| my | -ya_ya ـيَ | veelitivyliit-y ڤيلا ِتي | koorsyakwrsy-aa كورسياَ | AadwiAadw-y عـَدوي |
| our | -na_naa ـناَ | veelitnavyliit-naa ڤيلا ِتناَ | koorseenakwrsy-naa كورسيناَ | AadoonaAadw-naa عـَدوناَ |
| your(m) | -k_k ـك | veelitakvyliit-ak ڤيلا ِتـَك | koorseekkwrsy-k كورسيك | AadookAadw-k عـَدوك |
| your(f) | -ki_ki ـكِ | veelitikvyliit-ik ڤيلا ِتـِك | koorseekikwrsy-ky كورسيكي | AadwikAadw-ik عـَدو ِك |
| your(pl) | -kum_kum ـكـُم | veelitkumvyliit-kum ڤيلا ِتكـُم | koorseekumkwrsy-kum كورسيكـُم | AadookumAadw-kum عـَدوكـُم |
| his/its(m) | -h_h ـه | veelituhvyliit-uh ڤيلا ِتـُه | koorseehkwrsy-h كورسيه | AadoohAadw-h عـَدوه |
| her/its(f) | -ha_haa ـهاَ | veelithavyliit-haa ڤيلا ِتهاَ | koorseehakwrsy-haa كورسيهاَ | AadoohaAadw-haa عـَدوهاَ |
| their | -hum_hum ـهـُم | veelithumvyliit-hum ڤيلا ِتهـُم | koorseehumkwrsy-hum كورسيهـُم | AadoohumAadw-hum عـَدوهـُم |
Father and brother 'abbaacbb أبّ and brother 'aKKaacKK أخّ become 'abw-aacbw_ أبوـ and brother 'aKw-aacKw_ أخوـ when a possessive is added.
| English | father | brother |
| 'abbaacbb أبّ | 'aKKaacKK أخّ | |
| my | 'abwyaaacbwyaa أبوياَ | 'aKwyaaacKwyaa أخوياَ |
| our | 'aboonaaacbwnaa أبوناَ | 'aKoonaaacKwnaa أخوناَ |
| your(m) | 'abookaacbwk أبوك | 'aKookaacKwk أخوك |
| your(f) | 'abookiaacbwky أبوكي | 'aKookiaacKwky أخوكي |
| your(pl) | 'abookumaacbwkum أبوكـُم | 'aKookumaacKwkum أخوكـُم |
| his/its(m) | 'aboohaacbwh أبوه | 'aKoohaacKwh أخوه |
| her/its(f) | 'aboohaaacbwhaa أبوهاَ | 'aKoohaaacKwhaa أخوهاَ |
| their | 'aboohumaacbwhum أبوهـُم | 'aKoohumaacKwhum أخوهـُم |