Tunisian Arabic morphology

The grammar, the conjugaison and the morphology of Tunisian Arabic is very similar to that of other Maghrebi Arabic varieties.^[1] 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.^[1]

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Tunisian Arabic has 7 personal pronouns since gender differentiation of the 2nd person in the singular form is absent.^[1][2][3][4]

Person[1][2][3][4]	Singular[1][2][3][4]	Plural[1][2][3][4]
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."^[1][2][3][4]

Possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns are used as possessive articles when put as a suffix to a preposition or a noun.^[1][2][3][4] When it is used after a verb, their functions are rather direct object pronouns.^[1][2][3][4] The ones between parenthesis are the ones used after a structure finishing by a vowel.^[1][2][3][4]

Person[1][2][3][4]	Singular[1][2][3][4]	Plural[1][2][3][4]
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^[2][3]

Indirect object pronouns

Indirect Object Pronouns are used as a suffix after the verb and before the ش- -š of the negation.^[1][2][3][4] When there is a combination of direct and indirect object pronouns, indirect object pronouns are always written in the end.^[4][5] Furthermore, the first short i for the indirect Object pronoun is always dropped when it is written after a vowel.^[3][6]

Person[1][2][3][4]	Singular[1][2][3][4]	Plural[1][2][3][4]
1st	-lī لي-	-ilnā لنا-
2nd	-lik لك-	-ilkum لكم-
3rd (m)	-lū له-	-ilhum لهم-
3rd (f)	-ilhā لها-	-ilhum لهم-

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used as a subject to explain general ideas or to report the facts which were done by an unknown person:^[1][3][4][6]

• واحد wāḥid (m.), واحدة waḥda (f.), وحود wḥūd (pl.) “Someone”
• الواحد il-wāḥid “The individual”
• فلان flān, Fem. فلانة flāna “such”
• أيّ eyy “Any”
• إلّي يجي illī yjī, Fem. إلّي تجي illī tjī “Anyone”
• كل واحد kull wāḥid “Everyone”
• حاجة ḥāja “Something”
• حتّى واحد ḥattā wāḥid “No one”
• آخر āxir (m.), أخرة uxra (f.), أخرين uxrīn (pl.) “Other”
• الكل il-kull “Everybody”

Interrogative pronouns

The next interrogative pronouns are used when asking a question in Tunisian Arabic.^[3][4]

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)

Articles

Definite articles

Translated in English as "The" Article, "il-" (ال) is used as an added prefix to denote nouns as definite.^[1][2][3][5] 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.^[1][2][3][5] For example:

• الجريدة il-jarīda [ɪʒ:æri:dæ] meaning the Newspaper^[3][6]
• الكرسي il-kursī [ɪlkʊrsi] meaning the chair^[3][6]

Demonstrative articles

Like in Standard Arabic, Demonstrative Articles can be used as demonstrative pronouns when they are put alone as subjects.^[2][3] When they are articles, they can be written before or after the considered noun which should be definite by "il-".^[2][3]

Demonstrative Articles	Tunisian Arabic[1][2][3][7]	Pronunciation[1][2][3][7]
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

For example: "This book" could be written in Tunisian as هٰاذا الكتاب hāđā il-ktāb or even as الكتاب هٰاذا il-ktāb hāđā.^[7]

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.^[1][7]

For example, "This book" could be written in Tunisian as ها الكتاب hā il-ktāb.^[7]

Possessive articles

Possessive article[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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.^[2][3][6][8]

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.^[1][2]

For example: كورتك "kūrtik"- "Your ball"

Modal verbs

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.^[2][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.^[3][9] Moreover, قاعد qāɛid could be used before an active participle.^[2][3][4][5] Furthermore, all the modal verbs could be in negative form as in Standard English excepting راهه rāhū and ماذابيه māđābīh.^[3][9] 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.^[3][9]

Hāhū (To be, drawing attention to the presence of the referent)

Person[4][8]	Tunisian Arabic[1][10]	Pronunciation[1][10]
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."

Ṛāhū (To be, with more intensity by emphasizing it)

Person[4][8]	Tunisian Arabic[4][8]	Pronunciation[4][8]
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."

Māhū (To be, as an evidence marker or in a questioning manner as in tag questions)

Person[4][8]	Tunisian Arabic[11][12]	Pronunciation[11][12]
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. » — "Am I not, here ?." or « Māchīn, māhū ?. » — "We are going, isn't it?."

Qāɛid (To be, at the immediate moment)

Person[2][3][4][6]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][4][6]	Pronunciation[2][3][4][6]
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."

Najjam (Could)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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."

Ynajjam (Can, To be able to)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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."

Ḥaqū (Should)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
I should	حقني	ḥaqnī
You would better (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."

Kaṛū (Would better, stronger intensity than should)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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."

Yilzmū (Have to)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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."

Lāzmū (Must)

Person[2][3][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[2][3][6][8]	Pronunciation[2][3][6][8]
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."

Māđābīh (Had better)

Person[3][5][6][8]	Tunisian Arabic[3][5][6][8]	Pronunciation[3][5][6][8]
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."

Discourse markers

Tunisian Arabic involve Discourse markers that are used to emphasize some facts in discussions.^[11] These facts could be even evidences and conclusions.^[11]

Evidence markers

Evidence markers are mainly modal verbs. ṛāhū راهه is used to mark a fact as evident in the affirmative form.^[11] It is substituted by ṃāhū ماهه when asking about a supposed evident fact.^[11]

Conclusion markers

Conclusion markers are mainly conjunctions. yāxī ياخي is used to mark a fact as a conclusion in the affirmative form.^[11] It is substituted by mālā مالا when asking to approve supposed conclusion.^[11]

Preverbal markers

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).^[13][14] For example, qūm ixdim قوم اخدم meaning go to work.

Tunisian Arabic	English	Status
kān كان + Action Verb[13]	to be doing something	Finalization
bdā بدا + Action Verb[13]	to begin doing something	Initiation
qɛad قعد + Action Verb[13]	to stay doing something	Progression
ɛāwid عاود + Action Verb[13]	to return doing something	Repetition
ḥabb حب + Action Verb[13]	to like doing something	Passion
jā جا + Action Verb[13]	to come doing something	Intention
qām قام + Action Verb[13]	to stand up to do something	Intention
ṣār صار + Action Verb[14]	to become doing something	Initiation
wallā ولى + Action Verb[6]	to become doing something	Initiation
mšā مشى + Action Verb[13]	to be going to do something	Intention
bqā بقى + Action Verb[14]	to remain doing something	Progression
rjaɛ رجع + Action Verb[13]	to return doing something	Repetition
jarrib جرب + Action Verb[13]	to try doing something	Experimentation
ittilizim اتلزم + Action Verb[13]	to engage oneself in doing something	Engagement
kammal كمل + Action Verb[14]	to finish doing something	Finalization

Verb conjugation

Perfective and imperfective tenses

Regular verbs

There are significant differences in morphology between Tunisian and Standard Arabic.^[1][2][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).^[1][2][15] 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.^[1][15]

In general, the regular verbs are conjugated according to the following pattern:^{[1][2][4][5][15]}

k-t-b "to write"

		perfective (Past)		imperfective (Present)
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		ktibt كتبت	ktibnā كتبنا	niktib نكتب	niktbū نكتبوا
2nd person		ktibt كتبت	ktibtū كتبتوا	tiktib تكتب	tiktbū تكتبوا
3rd	masculine	ktib كتب	kitbū كتبوا	yiktib يكتب	yiktbū يكتبوا
	feminine	kitbit كتبت		tiktib تكتب

The second-person singular of the three Nomadic Tunisian Arabic dialects has distinct masculine and feminine forms, with the masculine forms being as above كتبت ktibt and تكتب tiktib, and the feminine forms being كتبتِ ktibtī (perfective) and تكتبي tiktbī (imperfective).^[1]

Weak verbs

Verbs with a final semivowel ā, known as "weak" verbs, have a different pattern.^[1][16] This pattern is determinated according to the third letter in the root of the verb.^[1][16] Moreover, the verbs having a glottal stop as a first letter of their root are also considered as weak verbs.^{[2][5][17][18][19]}

Nomadic dialects have a different third-person singular feminine perfective form as in مشيت [mʃit], حبيت [ħbit], بديت [bdit] and خذيت [χðit]^[1][19][20] and delete the stem vowel in the plural imperfective forms, giving forms such as نمشوا [nimʃu], نحبوا [niħbu], نبدوا [nibdu] and نوخذوا [nu:χðu].^[1][19] Furthermore, Sahil and Southeastern dialects tend to use /eː/ in place of /iː/ in the perfective conjugation. For example, تمشيوا timcīū is pronounced as [timʃe:u] in Sahil and southeastern dialects.^[1]

[j] as a third letter of the root (y aspect)
m-ʃ-j mšā "to go"^[1][2]

		perfective (Past)		imperfective (Present)
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		mšīt مشيت	mšīnā مشينا	nimšī نمشي	nimšīū نمشيوا
2nd person		mšīt مشيت	mšītū مشيتوا	timšī تمشي	timšīū تمشيوا
3rd	masculine	mšā مشى	mšāū مشاوا	yimšī يمشي	yimšīū يمشيوا
	feminine	mšāt مشات		timšī تمشي

[w] as a third letter of the root (w aspect)
ħ-b-w ḥbā "to crawl"^[1][2]

		perfective (Past)		imperfective (Present)
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		ḥbīt حبيت	ḥbūnā حبونا	niḥbū نحبو	niḥbāū نحباوا
2nd person		ḥbīt حبيت	ḥbītū حبيتوا	taḥbū تحبو	taḥbāū تحباوا
3rd	masculine	ḥbā حبا	ḥbāū حباوا	yaḥbū يحبو	yaḥbāū يحباوا
	feminine	ḥbāt حبات		taḥbū تحبو

[ʔ] as a third letter of the root
b-d-ʔ bdā "to begin"^[5][19]

		perfective (Past)		imperfective (Present)
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		bdīt بديت	bdīnā بدينا	nibdā نبدا	nibdāū نبداوا
2nd person		bdīt بديت	bdītūبديتوا	tibdā تبدا	tibdāū تبداوا
3rd	masculine	bdā بدا	bdāū بداوا	yibdā يبدا	yibdāū يبداوا
	feminine	bdāt بدات		tibdā تبدا

[ʔ] as a first letter of the root
ʔ-χ-ð xđā "to take"^[16][19]

		perfective (Past)		imperfective (Present)
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		xđīt خذيت	xđīnā خذينا	nāxđ ناخذ	nāxđū ناخذوا
2nd person		xđīt خذيت	xđītū خذيتوا	tāxđ تاخذ	tāxđū تاخذوا
3rd	masculine	xđā ٰخذا	xđāū خذاوا	yāxđ ياخذ	yāxđū ياخذوا
	feminine	xđāt خذات		tāxđ تاخذ

Irregular verbs

Pronoun	ɛandū “to have”[4][6]	ḥājtū “to need”[4][6]
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

Future tense

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:^[1]

• باش bāš + verb → "will" + verb (ex: باش تتكسّر /baːʃ titkassir/ → it will break)^[1][3]
• ماش māš or باش bāš + verb → "will" + verb (ex: ماش نكسّرها /maːʃ nkassirha/ → I will break it)^[1][3]

Taw or Tawwa can be used as a time indicator with a verb in present to mean "being going to do something".^[3][6]

Imperative tense

The imperative form is considered the stem for the present tense.^[3][6]

Singular	Plural
ušrub اُشْرُبْ	ušrbū اُشْرْبوا
aɛṭī اَعْطي	aɛṭīū اَعْطِيوا

Conditional tenses

Conditional present

The conditional present is conjugated as Kaṛū or Ḥaqqū + Verb in Present tense.^[2][4] This tense is generally used to show regret.^[2][4]

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

Conditional past

I should have done something

For the past conditional, the same structures seen above are used, but instead of the present tense, the past tense is used.^[3][6]

I could have done something

This structure is conjugated as kān ynajjam + Verb in the present tense.^[4][6]

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

I would have done something

This structure is conjugated as ṛāhū + Verb in the present tense.^[4][6]

Verb derivation

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.^{[1][3][6][22]} Generally, the patterns used in Verb Derivation are the same as in Standard Arabic.^[1][3]

Triconsonantal verbs

• Causative: is obtained by doubling consonants :

خرج /χraʒ/ "to go out" → خرّج /χarraʒ/ "to take out"^[3][6]

دخل /dχal/ "to enter" → دخّل /daχχal/ "to bring in, to introduce"^[3][6]

• Adding ā between the first two radical consonants, e.g. xālaṭ “to frequent”^[3][6]
• Inchoative: Adding ā between the last two radical consonants, e.g. ḥmār “turn red”^[3][6]
• Passive: This derivation is influenced by Berber and is different from the one of Classical Arabic (the passive voice in classical Arabic uses vowel changes and not verb derivation), it is obtained by prefixing the verb with /t-/ (First letter in the root as Moon Consonant), /tt-/ (First letter in the root as Sun Consonant), /tn-/ (can efficiently substitute tt- when the verb is conjugated in Present Tense) or /n-/ (can efficiently substitute t- when the verb is conjugated in Present Tense):^{[1][2][3][4][6][23]}

قتل /qtal/ "to kill" → تقتل /taqtal/ "to be killed"^[1]

شرب /ʃrab/ "to drink" → تّشرب /ttaʃrab/ "to be drunk".^[1]

• Prefixing ist– to the verb, e.g. istaxbar “to get informed”^[3][6]
• Prefixing i- to the verb and Infixing t after the first radical consonant, e.g. اجتمع ijtmaɛ “to assemble”^[3][6]

Quadriconsonantal verbs

• Prefixing it– to the verb, e.g. اتفركس itfarkis “to be searched” ^[6][22]

Verb forms

Exclamative form

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^[2][3][4][6] Furthermore, it can be formed using Qaddāš + Noun or Possessive Pronoun + Adjective or Imperfective verb + !.^[2][3][4][6]

Interrogative form

The interrogative form can be formed by two methods: The intonation and the Suffix -š.^[4][6] 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.^[4][6][24]

• The Intonation: Which is a variation of the spoken pitch to distinguish a question from an affirmative sentence. In writing, a question mark is used after an affirmative sentence to transform it into an interrogative sentence.^{[3][4][5][6][24]}

Example: تحبّ تمشي لتونس tḥibb timšī l- tūnis?, Do you want to go to Tunisia?

• The Suffix -š: -š or -šī can be suffixed to the verb to indicate an interrogative sentence.^{[3][4][5][6][24]}

Example: تعرفوشي؟ taɛṛfūšī?, Do you know him?

Negative form

• With verbs conjugated in the present, past and conditional tenses:

To make the negative form, we put me in front of the verb and š at the end of the verb.^{[1][2][3][5]
[24]} Example: ما فهمش الدرس mā fhimš il-dars, He didn’t understand the lesson.
N.B.: With the past conditional (would have) this negative form is used with the main verb.^[3][4][24]
Example: لوكان عرفت راني ما جيتش lūkān ɛṛaft rānī mā jītš, If I knew I would not have come.

• With The Future And Present Participle:

To negate the present participles and the verbs conjugated in the future, mūš, or its conjugated form, is added in front of the verb.^{[1][2][3][5][24]}
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:^[3][4]

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

Relative clause

The only relative pronoun used in Tunisian Arabic is illī meaning who or that and its short form is lī.^[5][6]

Nouns

Gender

Masculine gender

Nouns ending either in a consonant, u, i, ū or ī are usually masculine.^[4][6] For example: باب bāb “door”, كرسي kursī “chair”.^[4][6] 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).^[4][6] For example: پاريز Pārīz “Paris”, بيت bīt “room”, بسكلات bisklāt “bicycle”.^[4][6]

Uninflected feminine gender

Nouns ending with a or ā vowel are usually in the feminine.^[1][4]

For example: سنّة sinna “tooth”, خريطة xarīṭa “map”.

There are, however, a few exceptions: أعمى aɛmā “blind man”, ممشى mamšā “alley”, عشاء ɛšā “dinner”.^[4]

Inflected feminine gender

• Feminization: Generally, male nouns form their feminine by the suffixation of a vowel.^[4][6] For example, كلب kalb > كلبة kalba, جدّ jadd > جدّة jadda, بطل bṭal > بطلة baṭla. Some male nouns, however, do not form their feminine by the suffixation of a, but have suppletive female counterparts.^[4][6] For example, راجل rājel > مرا mra, ولد wlad > طفلة ṭufla, بو bū > أمّ umm.^[4][6]
• Individual singular of collective plural and mass nouns: Similarly, collective plural and mass nouns form their feminine by the suffixation of a. For example, زيتون zītūn “olive” > زيتونة zītūna “an olive”, تمر tmar “dates” > تمرة tamra “a date”.^[4]
• Individual singular of verbal nouns: Generally, verbal nouns form their individual singulars by the suffixation of a. For example, بني bany > بنية banya, تفركيس tfarkīs > تفركيسة tfarkīsa.^[4][6]

The dual

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).^[1][6] In general, these nouns have broken plurals and not regular ones.^[6] Marking of the dual is also done by writing zūz before the regular or irregular plural noun.^[3][6] For example:

• سبوع sbūɛ (finger) becomes سبوعين sūbɛīn
• ليل līl (night) becomes زوز ليالي zūz lyālī

The plural

The plural in Tunisian can be classified according to its structure. There are mainly two types of structure: suffixed structure and internal structure.^[4] 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.^{[3][4][6][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]} This considerable use of the Internal Structure of Pluralization is considered by most of the 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:^[4]

Word end	Suffix
-uw, a vowel or a consonant	–āt
-iy	–īn

This kind of plural is considered as regular plurals.^[3][4] However, There is a suffixed structure which is considered as a broken plural which is the plural of name of the noun constituted of the name of a town or a group of people and the suffix ī.^[3][4] This structure is done to attribute the person to a group or a city and its plural is obtained by adding ā after the second letter of the root and adding a as a suffix in the end of the word.^[4]

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:^[4][6]

Singular pattern	Plural pattern
CūC	CCāCī
CāC	CīCān
CaCCaC	CaCāCiC
CCaC^5	CCūCāt
CaCC^5	CCāC
CCāC	CCuC
CiCC	CCūC
CVCCVC or CVCCVCa	CCāCiC
CāCiC or CaCC^5	CCūC
CāCiC^5	CVC:āC
CVCC^5	CCūCa
CiCCa	CCiC
CCaC^5	uCCCa
CaCCa	CCaC

^5 CaCC, CCaC and CāCiC could have multiple patterns as plural noun patterns.^[4] The criterion of the choice of the plural form for CaCC, CCaC and CāCiC is still not known.^[4]

Adjectives

Gender

Masculine

Uninflected adjectives are masculine singular.^[4] There are two main types of adjectives:^[4]

• Participial adjectives: Participles, whether real or historical, may function both as adjectives and nouns.^[5]

E.g. متغشّش mtġaššaš “angry”.

• Other adjectives: These include any non-participial adjectives.^[4]

E.g. طويل ṭwīl “tall”.

Feminine

Like participles and some nouns, adjectives form their feminine by the suffixation of a.^[4] 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.^[4] E.g. باهي bāhi > باهية bāhya Some uninflected adjectives are in the feminine. Their masculine counterparts are either suppletive or do not exist.^[4]

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.^[4]

Some adjectives cannot be inflected either for gender or number.^[4] E.g. وردي wardi “pink”, حموم ḥmūm “disastreous”.

Number

Unlike nouns, adjectives are not inflected for dual. The plural is used instead.^[4] Like nouns, there are two main types of structure: suffixed structure and internal structure.^[4]

• Suffixed Structure: There are two types of plural suffixes which can be suffixed to a singular adjective: –īn (when the adjective finishes with an i+Consonant) and –a (for all other situations excepting the ones having an internal form).^[4]
• Internal Structure: Generally, adjective’s plural follows the following structures: CCāC (for CCīC, CCūC, CVCCūn and CVC: as singular patterns), CuCCā (for CCīC and CCiy as singular patterns), CCāCiC (for CVCâC, CVC:ūC, CCV:CV, CVCCV:C as singular patterns), CCuC (for CCīC, aCCā and aCCaC as singular patterns), CCaC (for CaCCī as a singular pattern), CCāCa (for CCīC and CVCCV as singular patterns and for adjectives finishing by an ān), CCī (for aCCaC and aCCā as singular patterns), CuCCān (for CuCāC as a singular pattern), CCaC:Ca (for CaCCūC as a singular pattern), CVC:āC (for CāCiC as a singular pattern), CūCa (for CīC as a singular pattern) and CCāCCa (for CVCCV:C as a singular pattern and for adjectives finishing by an ī).^[4][6]

Adjective forms

Comparative form

The comparative of superiority: The comparative form is the same whether the adjective is feminine or masculine.^[3][6]

• Adjectives composed of 3 consonants with a full vowel on the second The comparative form is formed by adding a before the adjective and by replacing the full vowel with a breve vowel, plus min after the adjective. E.g. كبير kbīr > أكبر من akbir min “bigger than”^[3][6]
• Adjectives ending with a vowel The comparative is formed by adding a as a prefix, and replacing the final vowel with ā. When the first syllable of the adjective has a long vowel, this vowel is removed. E.g. عالي ɛālī > أعلى aɛlā min “higher than”.^[3][6]

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”^[3][6]

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”^[3][6]

Superlative form

It is formed by adding واحد wāḥid (m.), واحدة waḥda (f.) or وحود wḥūd (pl.) after the comparative of superiority.^[3][6]

Proportion in Tunisian Arabic

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.^[3][6]

• کل kull (adj.) “Every”
• جمیع or معا بعضنا jmīɛ (adj.) or mɛā bɛaḑnā (adv.) “Together”
• بعض or شويّة baɛḑ or šwayya (adj.) “Some”
• فرد fard (adj.) “Same”
• وحد waḥd with possessive pronoun (adv.) “Alone”

Numerals

Cardinals

• Cardinal numbers: The transcription of cardinal numbers is the same as in English and some other European languages.^[6][34] The number is read from left to right.^[6][34] This table provides several examples of names of cardinals in Tunisian Arabic and can give a better overview about this fact.^[6][34]

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

• Nouns following a cardinal number:
  • Number one is generally not used with the single object counted unless we want to emphasize that there is only a single thing. E.g. طاولة ṭāwla “a table”, طاولة واحدة ṭāwla waḥda “one table”.^[6][34]
  • For the number two, we use the dual of the noun or we use زوز zūz plus the plural of the noun.^[6][34]
  • From 3 to 10, we use the number plus the plural of the noun. E.g. خمسة كتب xamsa ktub “five books”.^[6][34]
  • From 11 to 19, we use the number to which we add the consonant n plus the noun in singular. E.g. سبعطاش كتاب sbaɛţācn ktāb “17 books”.^[6][34]
  • From 20 to 99, we use the number plus the singular. E.g. ثمانين دينار ŧmānīn dinār “80 Dinars”^[6][34]
  • For numbers ending with a like مية mya, an –at is suffixed to it when used with a noun. E.g. مية دولار myāt dolār “100 dollars”.^[6][34]
  • For the other numbers, we use the number plus the singular. E.g. الف ميترو alf mītrū “1000 meters”.^[6][34]
  • Number zero is generally expressed as حتّى ḥatta + noun. E.g. حتّى كرهبة ḥatta karhba “zero cars”.^[6][34]

Days of the week

Standard English[2][6]	Tunisian Arabic[2][6]
Monday	il-iŧnīn الإثنين
Tuesday	il-ŧlāŧ الثلاث
Wednesday	il-irbɛa الإربعة
Thursday	il-xmīs الخميس
Friday	il-jimɛa الجمعة
Saturday	il-sibt السبت
Sunday	il-aḥadd الأحدّ

Months of the year

Standard English[2][6]	Tunisian Arabic[2][6]
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 months are a tunisification of the name of the months from French, inherited from the protectorate times. Before, the names of the months were that of their original Latin names.

Ordinals

The ordinals in Tunisian are from one to twelve only, in case of higher numbers, the cardinals are used.^[5]

English Ordinals[5][6]	Masculine[5][6]	Feminine[5][6]	Plural[5][6]
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	سادسين 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

Fractions

There are special forms for fractions from two to ten only, elsewhere percentage is used.^[5][6] The Fractions can be used for various purposes like the expression of proportion and the expression of time...^[6] 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.^[6] Similarly, midnight is nuṣṣ il-līl and noon is nuṣṣ il-nhār.^[2]

Standard English[5]	Tunisian Arabic[5]
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

Time measurement during the day

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[5][6][22]	Tunisian Arabic[5][6][22]
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	نصف nuṣf or نصّ nuṣṣ

Basic measures

The Basic units for Tunisian Arabic are used in the same way as in English.^[5][6][22]

Standard English[5][6][22]	Tunisian Arabic[5][6][22]
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:^{[2][5][6][22]}

• dqīqa becomes دقيقتين dqīqtīn (2 minutes) in dual
• sāɛa becomes سوايع swāyaɛ (hours) in plural

Prepositions

There are two types of prepositions: single (commonly used) and compound prepositions (rarely used).^[5]

Single prepositions

Standard English[5][6]	Tunisian Arabic[5][6]
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

Compound prepositions are the prepositions that are obtained through the succession of two single prepositions.^[5] 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.^[5] 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.^[5]

Conjunctions

Coordinate conjunctions

Coordinate conjunctions link verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, clauses, phrases and sentences of the same structure.^[5][6]

Standard English[5][6]	Tunisian Arabic[5][6]
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

Subordinate conjunctions introduce dependent clauses only. There two types of conjunctions: single and compound.^[5][6] The compound conjunctions mainly consist of prepositions that are compound with illī.^[5][6] 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”.^[5][6]

Adverbs

Adverbs can be subdivided into three subgroups: single, compound and interrogative.^[6][22]

Single adverbs

• Adverbs of time:^[5][6]
  • tawwa توة Now
  • taww تو A moment ago
  • dīmā ديما Always
  • bikrī بكري Early
  • fīsaɛ فيسع Fast, quickly
  • māzāl مازال Still
• Adverbs of place:^[5][6]
  • hnā هنا Here
  • ġādī غادي There
• Adverbs of manner:^[5][6]
  • hakka هكة Like this
  • hakkāka, hakkīka هكاكة، هكيكة Like that
• Adverbs of measure:^[5][6]
  • barša برشة Much, very
  • šwayya شوية Little
  • yāsir ياسر Very, much
  • taqrīb تقريب About
  • bark برك Only

Compound adverbs

• Adverbs of time:^[5][6]
  • taww taww تو تو Here and now / Immediately
  • min baɛd من تو Afterwards
  • min bikrī من بكري A moment ago
  • min tawwa من توة From now on
• Adverbs of place:^[5][6]
  • l- fūq لفوق On (Up)
  • l- il-ūṭa لأوطى Bellow
  • l- dāxil لداخل In
  • l- barra لبرة Out
  • l- quddām لقدام Upwards
  • l- tālī لتالي Backwards
  • min hūnī من هوني From here
  • min ġādī من غادي From there
• Adverbs of manner:^[5][6]
  • b- il-sīf بالسيف Forcibly
  • b- il-syāsa بالسياسة Kindly
  • b- il-ɛānī بالعاني Purposely
  • b- il-šwaya بالشوية Slowly
  • b- il-zarba بالزربة Rapidly
• Adverbs of measure:^[5][6]
  • ɛa- il-aqall عالاقل At least

Interrogative adverbs

• Adverbs of the time:^[5][6]
  • waqtāš وقتاش When
  • nhārāš نهاراش Which day
  • ɛāmāš عاماش Which year
• Adverbs of place:^[5][6]
  • wīn, fīn وين، فين Where
  • l- wīn لوين Where to
  • min wīn, mnīn من وين، منين Where from
• Adverbs of manner:^[5][6]
  • kīfāš كيفاش How
• Adverbs of measure:^[5][6]
  • qaddāš قداش How much

Nouns derived from verbs

The nouns derived from verbs are the Active Participle, the Passive Participle and the Verbal Noun.^[1][2][4][6]

Participles

• Active Participle: The Active Participle is the noun used to call the person or the object who/that did the action. It can be used as a subject and an adjective.^[1][2][4][6]
  • They are obtained for the simple verb having the root fɛal or faɛlil by adding ā between the first and the second letters of the root and changing the vowel between the last but one and the last letters of the root into i.^[1][2][4][6] For example, ɛāzif عازف is instrument player in Tunisian and is obtained from the verb ɛzaf عزف.^[6]
  • They are obtained for the derived verbs by adding m as a prefix and changing the vowel between the last but one and the last letters of the root into i.^[1][2][4][6] For example, mšērik مشارك is a participant in Tunisian and is obtained from the verb šērik شارك.^[6]
• Passive Participle: The Passive Participle is the noun used to call the person or the object who/that received the action. It can be used as a subject and an adjective.^[1][2][4][6]
  • They are obtained for the simple verb having the root fɛal or faɛlil by adding ma as a prefix and changing the vowel between the last but one and the last letters of the root into ū.^[1][2][4][6] For example, maɛzūfa معزوفة is a musical composition in Tunisian and is obtained from the verb ɛzaf عزف.^[6]
  • They are obtained for the derived verbs by adding m as a prefix and changing the vowel between the last but one and the last letters of the root into a.^[1][2][4][6] For example, mhaddad مهدد is threatened person in Tunisian and is derived from the verb haddad هدد.^[6]

Verbal noun

The verbal noun is the noun that indicates the done action itself.^{[1][2][4][5][6]} 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.^{[1][2][4][5][6]}

• Simple Verb:
  • CiCC or Triconsonantal Verb: According to the root^[1][4]
    • Regular: CiCC or CiCCa
    • ʔ-C-C: māCCa
    • C-C-ʔ: CCāya
    • C-C-j: CiCy, CiCyān or CiCya
    • C-w-C: CawCān
    • C-C₁-C₁: CaC₁C₁ān
  • CaCCiC or Quadriconsonantal Verb: CaCCCa^[1][4]
• Derived Verb: According to the pattern^[1][4]
  • Regular: Verbal nouns for all regular derived verbs is obtained through the addition of ā between the last and the last but one letter of the root.^[1][4]
  • Irregular:
    • Doubling the second letter of the root: taCCīC^[1][4]
    • Adding t as a prefix and doubling the second letter of the root: tCaC₁C₁uC₂^[1][4]
    • Adding t as a prefix and ā between the first and the second letter of the root: tCāCuC^[1][4]
    • Adding i as a prefix and t between the first and second letter of the root: iCtCāC^[1][4]

See also

Help: IPA for Tunisian Arabic

References

1. Gibson, M. (2009). Tunis Arabic. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, 4, 563–71.
2. (German) Singer, Hans-Rudolf (1984) Grammatik der arabischen Mundart der Medina von Tunis. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
3. Ben Abdelkader, R., & Naouar, A. (1979). Peace Corps/Tunisia Course in Tunisian Arabic.
4. Chekili, F. (1982). The morphology of the Arabic dialect of Tunis (Doctoral dissertation, University of London).
5. Talmoudi, Fathi (1979) The Arabic Dialect of Sûsa (Tunisia). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
6. Ben Abdelkader, R. (1977). Peace Corps English-Tunisian Arabic Dictionary.
7. Khalfaoui, A. (2007). A cognitive approach to analyzing demonstratives in Tunisian Arabic. Amesterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science Series 4, 290, 169.
8. Scholes, R. J., & Abida, T. (1966). Spoken Tunisian Arabic (Vol. 2). Indiana University
9. (French)Mion, G. (2013). Quelques remarques sur les verbes modaux et les pseudo-verbes de l'arabe parlé à Tunis. Folia orientalia. Vol. 50, 51-65
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17. (French) Cohen, D. (1970). Les deux parlers arabes de Tunis. Notes de phonologie comparee. In his Etudes de linguistique semitique et arabe, 150(7).
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External links

• Tunisian Arabic Arabizi Dictionary
• McNeil Tunisian Arabic Corpus
• Tunisian Arabic VICAV Dictionary
• Tunisian Arabic Swadesh list (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix)