Language/Egyptian-arabic/Grammar/Personal-Pronouns
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As a beginner in Egyptian Arabic, it is essential to learn the personal pronouns to communicate effectively with people. In this lesson, I will guide you through the basic personal pronouns in Egyptian Arabic.
With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Common Conjunctions & Prepositions.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are words used in place of a specific noun or nouns. They are prevalent in everyday communication, and it is necessary to understand how to use them correctly. In Egyptian Arabic, each personal pronoun has a specific form, and the verb conjugation often depends on the personal pronoun used in the sentence. Let's start with the personal pronouns in Egyptian Arabic:
| Egyptian Arabic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | ana | (I) |
| أنتَ | anta | (you - male) |
| أنتِ | anti | (you - female) |
| هو | huwa | (he) |
| هي | hiya | (she) |
| إحنا | eHnaa | (we) |
| إنتو | entoo | (you all - male or mixed group) |
| إنتوا | entooa | (you all - female) |
| هُم | hum | (they - males or mixed gender group) |
| هن | hon | (they - females) |
Now that you have learned the personal pronouns in Egyptian Arabic, let's take a closer look at each of them.
- أنا (Ana)
أنا (Ana) is the first-person singular personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to the person speaking.
Example:
- أنا طالب. (Ana taa-lib.) - I am a student.
- أنتَ (Anta)
أنتَ (Anta) is the second-person singular masculine personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to the person being spoken to.
Example:
- أنتَ طالب. (Anta taa-lib.) - You (male) are a student.
- أنتِ (Anti)
أنتِ (Anti) is the second-person singular feminine personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to the person being spoken to.
Example:
- أنتِ طالبة. (Anti taa-liba.) - You (female) are a student.
- هو (Huwa)
هو (Huwa) is the third-person singular masculine personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to masculine nouns or males.
Example:
- هو طالب. (Huwa taa-lib.) - He is a student.
- هي (Hiya)
هي (Hiya) is the third-person singular feminine personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to feminine nouns or females.
Example:
- هي طالبة. (Hiya taa-liba.) - She is a student.
- إحنا (Ehnaa)
إحنا (Ehnaa) is the first-person plural personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to a group of people that includes the speaker.
Example:
- إحنا طلاب. (Ehnaa tullab.) - We are students.
- إنتو (Entoo)
إنتو (Entoo) is the second-person plural personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to more than one person in a group and can be used for both males and females.
Example:
- إنتو طلاب. (Entoo tullab.) - You all (male or mixed group) are students.
- إنتوا (Entooa)
إنتوا (Entooa) is the second-person plural personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to more than one female in a group.
Example:
- إنتوا طالبات. (Entooa taalibaat.) - You all (female) are students.
- هُم (Hum)
هُم (Hum) is the third-person masculine plural personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to a group of males or a mixed gender group that includes at least one male.
Example:
- هُم طُلَّاب. (Hum tullab.) - They (males or mixed group) are students.
- هُن (Hon)
هُن (Hon) is the third-person feminine plural personal pronoun in Egyptian Arabic. It is used to refer to a group of females.
Example:
- هُن طالبات. (Hon taalibaat.) - They (females) are students.
It is important to note that in Egyptian Arabic, the gender of the personal pronoun is inherent in the word itself. Unlike English, which has gender-neutral pronouns like 'they,' in Egyptian Arabic, there are separate pronouns for each gender.
- Usage of Personal Pronouns with Verbs
Now, let's take a closer look at how personal pronouns are used with verbs in Egyptian Arabic. Once you know the person, you can easily identify the verb conjugation.
- First Person Pronouns (أنا and إحنا)
Verbs with first-person singular pronouns (أنا) are conjugated by adding "ي" (-i) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- أنا طالب (ana taa-lib) - I am a student
- أنا بَكْتُب (ana baktub) - I write
Verbs with the first-person plural pronoun (إحنا) are conjugated by adding "نا" (-naa) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- إحنا طُلَّاب (eh-naa tullab) - We are students
- إحنا بَنْكُلُهْ (eh-naa ban-kuluh) - We eat
- Second Person Pronouns (أنتَ, أنتِ, إنتو, إنتوا)
Verbs with the second-person singular masculine pronoun (أنتَ) are conjugated by adding "ك" (-ak) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- أنتَ طالب (anta taa-lib) - You (male) are a student
- أنتَ بتكلَم عربي؟ (anta betkallam 'arabi?) - Do you speak Arabic?
Verbs with the second-person singular feminine pronoun (أنتِ) are conjugated by adding "كِ" (-ik) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- أنتِ طالبة (anti taa-liba) - You (female) are a student
- أنتِ بتشتغلي فين؟ (anti bteshteghli feen?) - Where do you work?
Verbs with the second-person plural pronoun (إنتو) are conjugated by adding "كُم" (-kum) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- إنتو طُلَّاب (entoo tullab) - You all (mixed gender or male group) are students
- إنتو عايزين إيه؟ (entoo 'ayzeen eih?) - What do you all want?
Verbs with the second-person plural feminine pronoun (إنتوا) are conjugated by adding "كُن" (-kun) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- إنتوا طالبات (entooa taa-libaat) - You all (female) are students
- إنتوا بتسكنوا فين؟ (entooa beteskonu feen?) - Where do you all live?
- Third Person Pronouns (هو, هي, هُم, هُن)
Verbs with the third-person masculine pronoun (هو) are conjugated by adding "َا" (-a) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- هو طالب (huwa taa-lib) - He is a student*
- هو بيشرب موية (huwa bishrab moya) - He drinks water
Verbs with the third-person feminine pronoun (هي) are conjugated by adding "ََة" (-a) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- هي طالبة (hiya taa-liba) - She is a student*
- هي بتحَب اغاني كتير (hiya bteheb aghani ktier) - She loves many songs
Verbs with the third-person masculine plural pronoun (هُم) are conjugated by adding "ُوا" (-u) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- هُم طُلَّاب (hum tullab) - They (males or mixed group) are students
- هُم بيتكلموا ايه؟ (hum betkallmu eih?) - What are they talking about?
Verbs with the third-person feminine plural pronoun (هُن) are conjugated by adding "َن" (-an) to the end of the verb.
Example:
- هُن طالبات (hon taalibat) - They (female) are students
- هُن بيحببن يبقوا مبريكين (hon b-yhebben yeb-a'adu mabroukin) - They want to graduate
- Note: The verbs used in the examples above are not conjugated in these cases because the focus was on the personal pronouns only. Please refer to the present tense lesson for more information about Arabic verb conjugation.**
- Conclusion
Learning the personal pronouns is an important first step in learning Egyptian Arabic. Once you have mastered them, you can build more complex sentences and communicate effectively with native speakers. Continue practicing each pronoun until you feel comfortable with its usage, and then move on to the verb-to-be lesson to further develop your Arabic skills.
{{#seo: |title=Egyptian Arabic Grammar → Pronouns and Verb To Be → Personal Pronouns |keywords=Egyptian Arabic, Personal Pronouns, Arabic Language, Verbs, Beginners |description=In this lesson, you will learn the Egyptian Arabic personal pronouns for I, you, he, she, we, and they. Personal pronouns are words used in place of a specific noun or nouns.
Other Lessons
- Wh Questions
- Adjectives as Adverbs
- Present Tense
- Future Tense
- Adverbs of Time and Frequency
- Pronouns
- Nouns
- Subject Pronouns
- Past Tense
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