Language/Mesopotamian-arabic/Grammar/Give-your-Opinion
Hi Mesopotamian Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to give our opinion using Mesopotamian Arabic. Expressing opinions is important to communicate with others and build relationships. We will also learn how to form a sentence with the subject, verb, and object. We will see some examples with different verbs that we commonly use to express our opinions.
Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: How to Use Have & Questions.
Basic sentence structure[edit | edit source]
Before learning how to form an opinion in Mesopotamian Arabic, let's review the basic sentence structure. A sentence in Mesopotamian Arabic generally follows this order: subject-verb-object (SVO). For example, "I read a book" is structured as "Ana 'aqla kuttaba" (أنا أقرا كتاباً). "Ana" means "I" (subject), "'aqla" means "read" (verb), and "kuttaba" means "a book" (object).
Let's see another example: "She eats an apple." This sentence is structured as "Hiya ta'kul tuffaha" (هي تأكل تُفّاحة). "Hiya" means "she" (subject), "ta'kul" means "eat" (verb), and "tuffaha" means "an apple" (object).
Remember that Arabic is written right to left. The diacritic marks, which indicate the vowels, appear above or below the letters. 📚
Giving your opinion[edit | edit source]
To express your opinion, you can use verbs such as "think" (bafikir بفكر),"believe" (abi'an ابيعن), "like" (hib تحب), 'dislike" (ktibgha كتبغا), "prefer" (afadel افضل) and "hate" (akrah اكره). Here are some examples of how to use them in a sentence:
| Mesopotamian Arabic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| أنا بفكر إنو البحر حلو. | Ana bafikir inno el-bahr heloo. | I think that the sea is beautiful. |
| أنا أبيعن إنو متل اليوم جو حلو. | Ana abian inno metel el-youm jo heloo. | I believe that the weather today is nice. |
| أنا بحب الشوكلاطة. | Ana bahib esh-shokolata. | I like chocolate. |
| أنا بكره التونة. | Ana beakrah et-tuna. | I hate tuna. |
| أنا بفضل الفلافل عالمكدوس. | Ana befadel el-falafel ala mkados. | I prefer falafel over makdous. |
Note that in Mesopotamian Arabic, we usually use "inno" (إنّو) to introduce a clause or a phrase that includes the opinion.
Let's see a dialogue to practice:
- Person 1: شو بتفكر بالمام" (Sho batefakker bel-maam?) ("What do you think about the food?")
- Person 2: أنا بفكر إنو طيب ، بس ناقصو بهارات! (Ana bafikir inno tayeb, bes na'eso baharat!) ("I think it is good, but it needs more spices!")
Asking for opinions[edit | edit source]
Now that we know how to give our opinion, let's learn how to ask for someone else's opinion in Mesopotamian Arabic. Here are some examples:
- "Shou rayak?" (شو رأيك؟) - What do you think?
- "Shou btafakker?" (شو بتفكّر؟) - What do you think?
- "Shou biqool Anta/Anti?" (شو بقول أنت؟ / شو بقوليكِ؟) - What do you say?
For example, you can ask someone's opinion about a movie using the following sentence: "Shou rayak bel-film eljadid?" (شو رأيك بالفلم الجديد؟) - What do you think about the new movie?
Let's see another dialogue:
- Person 1: شو رأيك بالسفر؟ (Shou rayak bel-sefar?) ("What do you think about traveling?")
- Person 2: بفكر إنو مفيد جداً. (Bafikir inno mofeed jeddan.) ("I think it is very useful.")
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
In this lesson, we have learned how to express and ask for opinions using Mesopotamian Arabic. Remember to use the basic sentence structure SVO (subject-verb-object) and to use the right verbs such as "think", "believe", "like", "dislike", "prefer" and "hate". To improve your Mesopotamian Arabic find native speakers and ask them any questions! You can also check out the Mesopotamian Arabic grammar section on Polyglot Club website for more lessons. 😃
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Negation & Conditional Mood.