Polyglutton

idk about you guys but I think this is the best video to ever exist

these are some songs that will put you right in the middle of an old café, nested in one of el Mdina’s districts

Tabbaani – Hedi Jouini 

Matfakarchi – Ali Riahi

Ana ki el Tir – Ali Riahi

Mahla Gaddak – Mohamed Jamoussi and Safia Chamia

Rihet Lebled – Mohamed Jamoussi

Kahwaji Ydour – Mohamed Jerrari

Dima Nadh’hak – Hamadi Jaziri

Halk el Oued (Un été à la Goulette) – Lotfi Bouchnak

Asfour Stah (Halfaouine) – Anouar Brahem 

!السلام عليكم

The Arabic word for possessive adjectives (الضمائر الملكية) would be translated to possessive pronouns as in Arabic there are no possessive pronouns; mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, these pronouns do not exist in Arabic. Therefore, we’re going to regard them as pronouns.

Like most pronouns in Arabic, the possessive pronouns are suffixes attached to the end of the word that they indicate its ownership.

My book - كِتَابِي  (kitabi)

As usual, these pronouns are different according to gender and number. (Remember that Arabic has a dual form! We use when we’re talking about two people and no more. It appears here with our, your, their. Here’s our lesson on the dual form.) In English, the possessive adjectives are: my, your, his, her, our, their.

[possessive pronouns - possessive suffix - corresponding personal pronouns] 

Singular

My - ـي  (i) - أنا

Your (masc.) - ـكَ (ka) - أنتَ

Your (fem.) - ـكِ  (ki) - أنتِ

His - ـه  (hu) - هو

Her - ـها (ha) - هي

Dual

Your - ـكُمَا (kuma) - أنتما

Their - ـهُمَا (huma) - هما

Plural

Our - ـنا  (na) - نحن

Your (masc.) - ـكُم (kom) - أنتم

Your (fem.) - ـكُنَّ (kunna) - أنتن

Their (masc.) - ـهُم (hom) - هم

Their (fem.) - ـهُنَّ  (hunna) - هن

You can pick on how different letters indicate different aspects of the pronoun, that will make memorising them much easier. Notice how when you want to talk to someone the pronoun has the letter ـكـ and and if you’re talking about someone the pronoun has the letter  ـهـ . The letter م is used with masculine pronouns, and ن is used with feminine nouns.

This is worth knowing as it’s true for most pronouns.

Notes: 

If the noun ends in a taa’ marbuta (ـة), it has to be made into a regular taa’ (ت) before adding the suffix. 

لُعْبَة - game→ لُعْبَت and then add the suffix; لُعْبَتهُم = Their game

If the noun is dual (ending in ان- or ين- ) or a sound masculine plural (ending in ون- or ين- ), the ن -nuun is dropped to make it easier for pronunciation.

عَينَين - (two) eyes → عَينَيها -her (two) eyes

لاعبون - players → لاعبوهم - their players

The possessive adjective ‘its’ doesn’t exist in Arabic; because nouns are gendered, you use the possessive pronouns for his ـه , and her ـها . 

As we mentioned the pronouns mine, yours, his, hers, etc.. do not exist in Arabic either. The closest thing to that would be the word مِلْك + possessive suffix.E.g. هَذا الكِتَابُ مِلْكِي  = This book is mine. 

Nouns with possessive suffixes are considered definite, so adjectives describing them have the definite article ال because of adjective agreement.

قطتنا الجميلة = Our lovely cat

Now here is a little quiz to practice adding possessive pronouns to nouns. For example: قلم (pen) - أنا –> قلمي [qalamy] 1. بَيت (house) - أنتما 2. حَقيبۃ (bag) - أنتم 3. ظِل (shadow) - هن 4. شَجَرۃ (tree) - هما 5. رَعايا (subjects) - هي 6. مُشْكِلَتَين (two problems) - انتَ 7. شَعْر طَويل (long hair) - هو 8. قُمصان (shirts) - هم 9. بَرْنامِج (programme) - نحن 10. رِوَايۃ (novel) - أنتِ Answers 1. بَيتكُما [baytukumā] 2. حَقيبَتكُم [haqybatukum] 3. ظِلهُنَّ [ẓalluhunna] 4. شَجَرَتهُما [shajaratuhumā] 5. رَعاياها [ra'āyāhā] 6. مُشْكِلتيكَ [mushkilatayka] 7. شَعْره الطَويل [sha'ruhu alṭawyl] 8. قُمْصانهُم [qumṣānuhum] 9. بَرْنامِجنا [barnāmijunā] 10. رِوَايَتكِ [riwayatuki]

Language Learning Tip: The majority of major fashion and lifestyle magazines have many international editions in many different languages! I’ve found reading these magazines in my target language to be really helpful, especially as a beginner. Not only does it allow me to read in my target language and learn words and grammar in context, but the text tends to be a bit lighter and less complex, so I don’t feel entirely overwhelmed. Many will also have social media accounts that are good to follow (and sometimes they have a youtube channel!). 

If anyone’s interested, I’ve compiled a list below of international editions of various magazines. Enjoy!

FRENCH

Vogue Paris

Marie Claire France

Marie Claire Belgium

Elle France

Glamour Paris

Cosmopolitan France

Vanity Fair France

L’Officiel 

SPANISH

Vogue España

Marie Claire España

Cosmopolitan España

Vanity Fair España

Elle España

Vogue México y Latinoamérica

Marie Claire México y Latinoamérica

GQ México y Latinoamérica

Elle México

Glamour México

InStyle México

Though you can’t avoid the reading or the due dates, studying at a German university can differ in some significant ways from the United States. The obvious differences are that courses are, generally, conducted in German. But there a few less obvious things to consider when trying to study full time abroad.  

Basically free

Probably the “least best kept secret” about German schools are their low cost. In 2015, all 16 German states had officially gotten rid of tuition fees. There is still a small fee to cover administration and other costs per semester and often housing is paid for separately from the university, but generally it is very cheap compared to the tuition costs at American schools.

Public vs. private universities

Since public universities in Germany are free, it makes them that much more competitive. Want to be a doctor? You better have almost perfect grades and Abitur score (university qualifying exam) to even be admitted. Though private universities are still high quality, most students would choose no tuition over even the low tuition of a private school.

Forget the rankings

Sure, lists ranking German schools are out there, but any German would tell you that it basically makes no difference if you go to one public university vs. the other. All public universities are thought to give you an equal quality education.

Degrees are different lengths

Gone away are the automatic four year degrees. Instead, many bachelor programs are just three years. Dual programs to receive both a bachelors and master’s degree are very popular and often four years long.

One big exam or paper rather than smaller assignments

There is relatively little hand holding at German universities. You don’t get points just for attending, or for small daily assignments. Rather, typically, your entire grade depends on one or two exams or papers and going to lectures is not mandatory.

Students don’t always start college right after high school

In the United States, the percentage of students who defer admissions for a year or more remains very small—generally 1% or less of an admitted class, according to PBS. In Germany, many students take time off after graduating from high school and travel for a year (or two or three). In fact, the tradition of setting out on travel for several years after completing an apprenticeship as a craftsman dates back to medieval times!

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