SHOE...la mo'akhza

I've seen students who know more grammar rules than me! And if I give them any grammar rule...they love me forever and ever! Bas eh el fayda? Eh el fayda inee 3araf kol el grammar bas ma 3andeesh kalimat kefa 3ashan to express myself?

DICTIONARY, DICTIONARY, DICTIONARY, DICTIONARY wa kaman mara DICTIONARY!

eh el dawsha dee 3al dictionary??!!! Most people don't use it even though it's one of the best books to help your English. You need both...ARABIC/English wa ENGLISH/ENGLISH.

How to build up your vocabulary:

Khodo kilma...eya noun...SHOE masalan (la mo'akhza) and see the different things that make a shoe...zay:

shoe laces (el robat)
sole (el na3al)
heel (el ka3b)
tongue (el lesan)
straps (sharayit el sanadil)

Material:

leather (gild)
suade (chamois...not sure of this spelling and it's French anyway..fa 3ozurunee)
canvas (el omash zay beto3 gizam el kawitch...el my students always tell me coochy!)

Types of shoes:

sneakers (gizam kawitch)
half boots (boots usayara)
boots
sandals (sanadil)
slippers (shabashib)
platforms or wedgies (dababat)

Shoftu kam kilma til3it min hetit ...shoe!

Expression of the day:

I wouldn't like to be in his shoes! = ma hibish akoun fee makanu howa.

Alo?..Aloooo? Alooooooooooo? Masr?

Telephone dialogues can be a royal pain in the....neck! Moshkila el telephone da...waqt usayer 3ashan nakhod kol el ma3loumat wa nidee kol el ma3loumat. There's no time for: Eh? betoul eh? Mafeesh waqt lil tahtaha: uh...uh...yes...no...uh...uh...no speak English!
Lazem na3raf shwyiat basic English phrases when making a phone call or answering a fone call:

Making a Phone Call:

- Hello. May I speak to Mr. Sherif?(formal-- rasmy)
- Hello. Can I speak toMr. Sherif? ( a bit informal)
- Hello. Is Mr. Sherif there? (howa mawgoud?...informal)
- Hello. Is Mr. Sherif available? (Fomal ...howa mawgoud?)

Lou hat ulu 'please'....hutuha akher el gomlah, mish awel el gomlah. Hello. May I speak to Sherif, please?

Tayeb...ifrid se' Sherif da mish mawgoud wa 3ayzeen nesiblu resalah. Lou hat oul inak hat kalim tanee..dee lewahdaha resalah bardu.

Making a phone call:
- May I leave a message? or May I leave him a message?
- Can I leave a message? or Can I leave him a message?
- Can you tell him that Mrs. M called? (momken te oululu in Mrs. M kalimit)
- Can you tell him that I'll call him again tomorrow?
- Can you tell him that the meeting has been postponed till Tuesday? (el igtima3 itagil)
- Can you tell him that there has been a change of plans? I will meet him tomorrow afternoon and not tomorrow morning. (hasal tagheer)

Answering a Phone Call:

- Who's speaking please? (mish INTA MEEN!...WHO ARE YOU?..that's very informal wa mish polite).
- May I take a message?
- Can I take a message?
- Would you like to leave a message? (Formal- tihib teseeb resalah)
- Do you want to leave a message? (Informal)

Useful Telephone Phrases:

- I'm sorry, I can't hear you. The line is breaking (be ma3nah inak soutak be 3ata3 bas bil English, el khat be3ata)

- The line is busy. (el khat mashgoul) (British English also say 'the line is engaged).
- Hold on please. (lama 3ayzeen nindah 7ad ye rod...YA SHERIIIIIIIIIIIF..3ASHANAK!!)
- I'm sorry. He's not here now. or He's not in now.
- He just stepped out for a moment...(mawgoud bas mish fee maktabu)
- Can you please repeat that again? (fatak ism, 3anwan, nimrah...tanee mara 3ashan el beh!)
- Hold on, I'll connect you. (da lou 3ayez tewasal had le nimrah tanya).
- Can you please call back later? (Informal).

Useful tip:
- Lou lazem takhod resalah 3ala phone...it's useful intak te3eed kalam el speaker. ya3nee if you have to write a number repeat the numbers as you write or an address, etc...

- Fee herouf momken nitlakhbat fehom...if that happens we use a 'word' to make sure we have the right letter. Say for example your name is Hany wa wahid agnabee mish fahmak (tab3an ha yiftikir ismak honey..ya 3asal)

So, you can spell your name by saying H as in House. A as in apple...etc...
Khoususan fee herouf shabah ba3d.. S or F....E or D......M or N...

And that's your mini-lesson for today...

Thank you. (Bas? khalas keda?)

What do you say when someone does you a big favor or even just a small favor?
Taba3an han oul 'thank you' bas yimkin 3ayezeen ne zawid shwyia...what else can we say after thank you?
Below are some responses you can use. El IF means informal (kalam gheir rasmy, for friends and people you know a bit). El F means formal (kalam rasmy, for people you don't know well, your boss, officials, older people, etc...) B means you can use the phrase for both.

1. Some one did you a favor: (small khedma)

- Thank you. I really appreciate it. (B)
- Much appreciated. (IF)
- I hope you didn't go out of your way. ( a bit F) (da lou inta hasis in el shakhs 3amal maghoud zeyada 3ashanak). (lou lesa ma3amalsh el khidma..you can say: Please don't go out of your way.
- Thank you. (It's) Kind of you to say that. (a bit IF). (da lou el shakhs ALAK haga. compliment ya3nee. momken bil 'it's or min gheirha).
- Thank you. I'm very grateful. (F)
- Thank you for taking the time out to read my email. (B) (hena be toshkor el shaks inu khad min waktu y3amelak haga. It is followed by infinitive to+base verb.)

2. Inta 3amalt khidma le had...and he is thanking you...hat oul eh?

- Don't mention it. (IF)
- Not at all. (F)
- No problem (IF)
- It was my pleasure. (F) (khoususan lou kont 3azamt had, or just met him in a formal gathering min gheir ma ya3melak khedma.)
- It was no problem at all. (F)
- Any time. (IF) (ista3id ba'a toa3d ta3mel khidamet 3alatoul..ma any time ba'a!)

Taba3an intu lazem ta3rafu el khidma dee it3amalit khalas (then use past tense...It was my pleasure) wala ha tit3amil lesa (future tense) It will be my pleasure. boso 3al verb wa qararu.
Of course there are different ways to express a 'thank you' and these are just some ways thanking someone for a favor done.

yala...kefaya keda for now...eya khidma ya basha!

Hi. My name is Ball...ya3nee ne shoutak wala eh?

Some talk on PRONUNCIATION FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS:
I think kan usdu ye'oul...My name is Paul:)

El 3abara, el fasad, el ghilew, el zahma wa el p wa el b min dimn mashakilna. Bas nekhalee el p wa b shwyia 3ala gamb delwaty 3ashan heya moshkila qawmeya.

When I enter a class and ask students: "Do you speak English?" momken wahid yerod 3aleya wa ye'oul:
"Yes. We have taken lots of lessons before but we don't always have time to study so we sink we need more lessons.

Moken arouh class tanee and ask the same question wa wahid ye rod 3aleya wa ye'oulee: "Yes. We think so.

Which student speaks better English? I think (mish sink) the second student...be raghm awil student idanee gomlah 3areda taweela.

El student el masree faker 3ashan zimeelou fee el class fahmu, wa ana fahma shwyia...yib'a khalas..gab el deeb min dailu! Dayman nasee in almost everyone in the world who speaks English doesn't speak Arabic!
MO3ZAM EL MASHAKEL FE EL NO'T HOWA EL KASAL...KASAL...KASAL.
MET3AWID YE OUL EL KELMA BE TAREEQA WA MISH RADEE Y3MEL EFFORT TO CHANGE IT.

My name is Ball....(tayeb..ana Masreya wa fahma howa usdu Paul. Tayib el agnabee da ha yifham bardu? Wahyatak wala ha yifham haga...hay oul:
Ball? Your name is Ball????(hehehehe)...fa3lan, lazem titshat!)
My name is Paul.


We 'sink'...(sink zay el 3abarah keda..howa ahna ha neghra wala ha na3taqid wala eh bezabt?)
We think.

To improve your pronunciation a bit:
- watch some movies, listen to native speakers of English AND PRONOUNCE THE WAY YOU HEAR IT...NOT THE WAY YOU KNOW IT.

- The ideal way is to listen to an audio - DAILY! Listen to it then memorize as much as you can of it and repeat it to yourself...THE WAY YOU HEAR IT>>>NOT THE WAY YOU KNOW IT.

- read outloud (be sot 3alee). It helps to hear yourself.

- find words that rhyme together. For example:
The word flower rhymes with:
power (qowah)
tower (borg)
sour (mor)
our (haga bita3tna)
hour (sa3a wahda...like 1 hour)

But it doesn't rhyme with 'blower' even though it's almost spelt the same way. Actually, the problem is in English spelling, not pronunciation.

Students wa kol el nas be oulu in el Americans or Brits 'be yaklu el kalam.'
Actually, this is TRUE AND NOT TRUE.
El fikra in English is a 'Stress Language'....ya3nee fee kalimat fehom ta'keed wa kalimat la. Zay eh?

Stressed words: most nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
Non-Stressed words: determiners (a, an, the, this, that), prepositions, (of, to, before, etc...), pronouns (they, he, she, etc...) conjunctions (and, but etc....)

"Read the following sentence aloud:
1.The beautiful mountain appeared brillantly in the distance.

Read the following sentence aloud:
2.He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening."

be raghm in el gomlah el tanya atwal...both sentence taqreban take the same amount of time to read.

In sentence 1 el kalimat bi red STRESSED...el pronunciation wadeh. The other words are not stressed.
In sentence 2 el kalimat bi blue STRESSED.... the other words are not stressed.

INAK TINTA'A KOL KILMA SAH...MISH HOWA DA ILI YE SA'LAH EL NO'T. BAS INAK TA3MEL TA'KEED 3AL STRESSED WORDS IN ENGLISH WA 'TIBLA3' SHWYIA EL NON-STRESSED WORDS..HOWA DA ILI YE SA'LAH.



Write down a few sentences, or take a few example sentences from a book or exercise.
First underline the stressed words, then read aloud focusing on stressing the underlined words and gliding over the non-stressed words.
Be surprised at how quickly your pronunciation improves!

Later, I will add you some links because for sure, to improve your accent and pronunciation you need audio.

BY THE WAY.....Egyptian pronunciation in English is not so bad benesba belad tanya. Fe she3oub..walahee ma tifham kilma minhom bil English. Bas ahna kaslaneen.

Talat mashakel fee hayatna...Since wa For wa Ago

It's really not such a big moshkila, bas bardu....el nas betitlakhbat fehom:

For + a period of time: (general times)
1. I've been sitting here for 2 hours.
2. I'm going to travel for 6 months.
3. I've known her for a long time.

Since + the start of a period: (specific times)
1. I've been sitting here since 3:00
2. I've been traveling since June.
3. I haven't seen you since the feast.

For: two hours, 20 minutes, five days, six months, a week, 50 years, a long time, ages (masalan y3nee...of course all these can be subsitued, 20 minutes could be 25 minutes) (for is used for general times)

Since: 8:00, Monday, May 20, March, 2002, breakfast, New Years, I was a child (since is used for specific times)

Ago is usually used at the end of a sentence (or in the middle for a question):

- I lived in the States ten years ago. (mish I've been living in the States ten years ago).
- Where's Sally?I don't know. She was just standing here five minutes ago.
- How long ago did you begin this blog? (min imta)
I began this blog about one month ago.

Look at the difference in these sentences:
I broke my leg 8 months ago.(itkasarit min taman toshor)
I broke my leg for 8 months. (itkasarit le modit taman toshor. ( 8 months?? Leh? regl feel!)
I broke my leg since 8 months.(oulna since ma tinfa3sh ma3 general times)

mish 3arfah leh mo3zam el nas beyista3milu since ma3 ago:I went to the doctor since one week ago. (leh???) wa malha:I went to the doctor one week ago.

Easy exercise link:
http://http://a4esl.org/q/h/9807/km-sincefor.html

More difficult link:
http://http://cla.univ-fcomte.fr/english/grammar/tenses_time_words/05_michele/05_forago.htm

Weekend SLANG...haiiiiiii!!!!

So, I guess every weekend, when I'm tooooo lazy to do anything, I can just add some new expressions people use in everyday language. You'll find the answers at the bottom. Mat gheishoush!!!

bas eh ra'yokom fee el soura dee? Momken te 3alaku 3al soura? Ya3nee el manzar el gameel da...momken te'oulu eh 3aleh? Aiwa! bil English taba3an!!
Momken masalan ne oul:
Wow! What a beautiful sight! or I've never seen anything so perfect in my life! or I wish I were there now!
(tamreen halw aiwe inokom teboso 3ala eya haga wa tekalimu 3aleha or describe it) Now, you think of some thing to say:

1. I'm not going to spoon-feed you everything!
2.I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't give me the time of day.
3. You talk a lot but you don't do anything. Why don't you practice what you preach?!
4. I've got so much junk in my house.
5. She's a real beauty but she's so air-headed.
6. I come from a small but real close-knit family.
7. You're lucky that you don't have to work but not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
8. The whole plan is ruined! Now we have to start from scratch.
9. You always lie to me and I'm really fed-up with it.
10. Give me a break!

The Answers:

1. to give all the answers; I'm not going to tell you everything (ya3nee lazem intu tefakaru shwyia)
2. ignoring someone; (lama 7ad ma 3arbanash, yetanishna)
3. to do as you say. (af3alak yib'a mashee ma3 kalamak)
4. things (usually useless things....la, mish gozek!)
5. silly (mokh fadee)
6. a close family (this expression is always used just about families. We can't say I'm close-knit with my friend.)
7. Having everything. (bil 3arabee, ma3la'a dahab...homa ba'a fadah. Wa homa el ma3la'a lazem tekoun fee bo'ohom - mouth - .
8. to start something from the beginning.
9. Had enough...(khalaaaaaaas! itkhan'at!) (it's the past of feed bas ma yinfa3sh khalis teoul inak fed-up 3ashan kalt kiteer. Da yib'a ilit zo'a. Min nahyet el akl, momken te'oul I'm full up.)
10. El rahmaaaaaaaaa!!

'Once upon a time' I was a princess but then I kissed the frog!

Some students like to use the phrase, "Once upon a time" to talk about a real event that happened to them in the past........biiiiiiiig GHALAT. Once upon a time is like saying in Arabic, kan ya makan...

'Once upon a time' is reserved for fairy tales, children stories like Cinderella, Snow White, El Shater Hassan, Ali Baba, etc...
Lou inta Ali Baba or el Shater Hassan, mashee...ib'a oul Once upon a time I lived in a small house in the forest. Bas lou inta banee adam wa 3andak shahadit milad zayena keda, ma yinfa3sh testakhdim once upon a time lil madee. Wala tinfa3 tistakhdimha for historical facts (haqaiq tareekheya).
Eh? han oul: Once upon a time there was World War II (????). mish hadouta heya!

The word 'once' is enough to describe something that you did one time or at one period in your life. You can use it at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence, depending on the meaning you want to give:

- I once went to the circus. (mara roht el serk) (nifham keda inaha ghalibin mara min el marat ili roht.) We use this format especially when we want to express that something else happened after the first action.
I once went to the circus and met a clown...meen? gozee?! habibi!!

-I went once to the circus. (roht mara lil serk) (same meaning as above)
- I went to the circus once. (roht el serk mara be ma3na mara wahda fee hayatee).

ya3nee the point is, 'once' is used to express a one time action in the past.

3ala fekra, you can use 'once upon a time' when you are making fun of something...tary'a ya3nee:

Once upon a time - before I got married - I was a princess living in a big castle. Life was great! Then I kissed the frog and he became 'a' husband and ..ehhhhhhhhh...we got married. I guess I made a big mistake....once!

An old Egyptian tradition wala An Egyptian old tradition?

An old traditon.
An Egyptian tradition.

Aiwa, ma howa sahl aiwe when you are only using 1 adjective in the sentence. Bas ha ta3melee eh when you want to describe something with several adjectives?

I bought a brown, old, small, lovely, table, French . (keda dakhalna fee el Lawindee).

The general rule is:
1.size / 2.age / 3.color / 4.where from/ 5.material (ma3moul min eh).....NOUN. Thus:

I bought a small, old, brown, French, table.

More examples:

I have a short, red, silk dress. ( 1 + 2 + 5) (wala te sada'u)
He has a big, black, Sudanese girlfriend. (1 + 3 + 4) (zo'o keda..ahna malna!!)
Do you want this old, white, cotton shirt? ( 2 + 3 + 5) (aiwa, 3ayza ya om mahmoud wa rouhee shoufee shoghlik delwaty!)

Size and length (big/small/short/long/tall etc..) usually go before shape and width (round/fat/slim/wide etc...)

A large, round table.
A tall, thin girl.

The general rule is that you put the facts first. The word 'lovely', for example, is not a fact. It is an opinion. It is your opinion, so put the facts first.

Barely, Hardly, mafeesh 'fastly'

As an instructor, ana basma3 el gomlah dee kiteer:

"I studied hardly to pass the test."

Usdak eh? usdak inak inta 3abqaree fa neghit min gheir mozakra? wala usdak inak zakarit gamid (ya wad ya gamid inta) 3ashan tingah?

When you use the word 'hardly' ma3nitha inak ma 3amaltish maghoud. Look at these sentences:

*I hardly studied, but I passed. (taqreeban mazakirtish, bas I passed).
*I was sick and I hardly ate anything last night. (kont 3ayana, makaltish taqreeban eya haga).

Now look at these:

* I studied hard to pass the exam. (inta keda wad gada3 wa zakirt 'gamid' ya3nee kiteer!)
*I worked very hard last week so I'm taking a holiday for the next 10 years!

There r not many things that we do 'hard':

Try hard
Think hard
Work hard
play hard
search/look hard (dol ili gayeen 3ala balee delwaty)

But there r a lot of things we 'hardly' do: (hardly + verb)

* I hardly watch TV. (kadaba! da intee oudamu toul el nahar)
*I hardly eat. (kadaba! ma el tokhn da min eh?)
*I hardly talk to my friends. (kidb, kidb, kidb)

el kholasa: anything that you don't do a lot or ma 3amaltish maghoud fee, you can say 'hardly'.

Barely: nista3mel 'barely' lama 3ayzeen ne oul we just did something right before the time we were supposed to do it. And also we can use it like 'hardly'

I hardly watch TV or I barely watch TV....el itnin halween:)

But I can't say:

I hardly caught the bus. Ghalat, ghalat XX!
I have to say:

I barely caught the bus. (y3nee, ya dobak lehit el bus).
I barely had enough time to cook before my husband came back from work. (ya dobak kan 3andee time adbokh abl ma el beh ye sharaf!)

(mish ghalat inak teoul, "I hardly had enough time." Bas dee 3ayzah wahid ye koun a bit strong in English 3ashan ya3raf imta dee wa imta dee.)

Wa 3ashan nigeeb min el akher wa nekhalas badree 2day....mafeesh haga ismaha 'fastly'. Fe haga ismaha 'quickly'.

I drove my car quickly.
I drove my car fast.

He always thinks quickly.
He always thinks fast.

Iffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Iffffffff 3ala qa3dit "IF": Ghilsaaaaaaaa...de hata aghlas minee! Heya ghilsa to teach it bas mish ghilsa aiwe to learn it because there are rules. The rule of 'if' is based on:

1. a condition ...el 7ala
2. a result.... el natega

3ashan keda we call them 'Conditionals':

*Zero Conditional: for facts: (you are talking about something that is always true)
If you boil water, it evaporates. (If you + base verb+comma...+ base verb).
(the condition) (the result)
(In zero conditon, we can use the word 'when' instead of 'if' because it is a sure happening (haga akeeda)

*1st Conditional: for things that are likely to happen: (let's say 50% of happening)

If you buy a dog without telling your wife, she will kick you out of the house (and keep the dog). (the condition) (the result)

(If you + base verb+ comma...+ will + base verb)

Momken nebadel kilmit 'will' with modal verbs zay:

might, may, can.

*2nd Conditional: for things not very likely to happen:( 10% masalan)

If I knew him, I would talk to him.

(If + past simple+comma....+ would + present simple

(afham hena in ana ma3rafoush, bas lou kont 3arafu kont kalimtu..batakhayal ya akhee...inta malak inta! lou kont 3arafu kont kalimtu!)

In 2nd conditional, we conjugate the verb 'was' to 'were':

If I were rich, I wouldn't be here doing this blog!

I can put the 'result' before the condition but without the comma:

I would talk to him if I knew him.

3rd Conditional: for things that didn't happen and will not happen (no way!)

If you had taken my advice, you wouldn't have been in this mess you're in now! (bas inta ma khatish nashitee wa 3ashan keda inta fee el moseeba de delwaty!)

If + past perfect....+ present perfect

In zero condition you are talking about any time. (any time the condition is there, anytime the result happens)

In 1st and 2nd condition you are talking about a future possibility; the 1st having a stronger possibility of happening. El 2nd inta bet kalim ka'inu madee (past) bas ma3nitu mish past.

In 3rd condition you are talking about the past. (mafeesh haga 7asalit wala ha tihsal...3agbak keda?!)

These are the main conditionals of If.

Yala...kefaya dawsha minee and here is your practice link:

http://http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_conditionals.htm

SUPERWOMAN IS A SUPER, DUPER TROOPER

Superwoman is a super, duper trooper= Superwoman is a really great, excellent person! (super = great; duper malhash eya ma3na, kilma leha naghma wa khalas ma super wa trooper, trooper = soldier. So, super, duper trooper only applies to people. Lou bakalim 3ala haga that is excellent, momken a oul (it's super!)

Hellllllloooooo again. Since it's the weekend, I'm gonna take it easy 2day and give some slang expressions of English. Slang English (ili howa el kalam el 3am) is, most of the time, standard English (meaning that you will find them in most dictionaries) but it is words or phrases used in an informal way. (istikhdam gheir rasmee). So make sure you don't use slang language with your boss or someone you don't know well...unless you are ABSOLUTLY sure how and when and with whom to use slang language with.

Now, I'll write down some sentences in slang and you try to guess what they mean. I'll put the answers at the bottom...so "don't scroll down and cheeeeeeeat!" 3ala ra'y el FW emails!

1. I really wanna go out. Why did I have to marry such a couch potato! (kanaba batatis???)
2. Do you have the guts to jump out the window?
3. Will you stop goofing off and study some English for a change!
4. This month I'm really flat broke. (mebatat maksoor???) (el shahr da bas? kol shahar wahyatkom!)
5. Aziz is such a jerk! (Oh! Hello Mr. Aziz. I didn't see you standing right behind me! )
6. Oops! I think I screwed up on my English test!
7. When Teacher_Ghilsa sees my answers of the test, she's gonna have a fit!
8. This English blog really sucks! (keda bardu?! la ana za3lana keda.)
9. My friend is a real computer whiz. Are you a whiz at anything? (el not'ea; pronunciation zay 'with' bas bil 'z'. 3ashan keda 3ayzeen ne batal neoul 'with' zay wiz!)
10. They stopped him at the airport. Somebody must have snitched on him.

ANSWERS:

1.Couch potato = some one who watches too much TV

2. Guts = courage (shega3a)

3. Goofing off = fooling around (not doing anything serious)

4. flat broke = no money (mefalis, 3al hadida)

5. jerk = stupid person (ahbal or ghilis) (offensive)

6. screwed up = made a mistake or many mistakes. (it also means a person who is not very stable...wahid mish mezabt fee afqaru or his ways is a screwed up person) (offensive)

7. have a fit = get really angry

8. sucks = unpleasent, bad (offensive if you say it to a person...you suck! ilit zo'a, so be careful using it)

9. whiz = someone with a special talent in something.

10.snitched = when you tell someone about someone else (ya3nee a 'snitch' is a 'fatan' in Arabic. (snitch can be a person (noun) or a verb).

Notice that some of the words have 'offensive' written near them. Ya3nee momken 7ad yeza3al min el kalam because some words are a bit rude....

Tayeb katabteehom leh ya Teacher_Nasha? So that you at least know the meaning...and when you know the meaning...inta momken teqarar ezay wa imta wa ma3 meen tist3amilhom.

Have a nice weekend:)

I 'HOPE' you can come to my party! (geit wa kan damak ta'eel aiwe!) I "WISH" you hadn't come!

We all have hopes and wishes...sometimes it's the only thing that keeps us going.
Meen aqwa - hope wala wish?
Hope is the stronger word.......leh?
Coz.
(coz why? mat khalaseena ba'a!)
Tayeb, tayeb!
Coz there's a chance that your hopes might come true (happen) but not your wishes...(ma3lish...ma tiz3aloush...ba kalim min nahyet el logha).

Compare these two sentences:

When Saeed was a 5-year-old boy. He said: I hope I'll grow to be a tall man.
(fet 40 sana wa ba'a howa delwaty 45 years old. Kol sana wa inta tayeb ya Saeed! We really wish you a happy birthday! Bas ya haram...tila3 osayar wa mish bayen min el ard; hata bintu ili 3andaha 13 sana atwal minu).

Now, he's 45 years old and says: I wish I were tall.
(it's very common to use 'were' when using wish).
(ha yitwal keda? ana la a3taked!!)

HOPE

"Hope" is used to express FUTURE (wishes ):
- I hope you will visit my blog one day.
- I hope the world will be at peace. (Ameeen)

EHHHHHHH HOWA DA? ya3nee I can't say 'I hope you're alright' ???!!!!
-(hader! hader! ma khalastish lesa!!)

"Hope" is used to express the PRESENT with the present:
- I hope you're alright (ahe..matiza3loush!)
- I hope he likes my cooking.(akeeed la!)

"Hope" is used to express the PAST with the past:
- I hope you found your ring.(already daya3it el khatem; past)
- I hope you had a nice trip. (already rahu el rehla wa reg3ou)

WISH

"Wish" is often used with the past perfect (had + past participle):

- I wish I hadn't lost her phone number. (la, naseh!)

- I wish I hadn't given him my phone number. (hazek halw! ma howa daya3ha uslan).

(if you look again at the title of this post, you'll notice the title: I hope you can come to my party...I wish you hadn't come. I didn't say, I wish you didn't come)

"Wish" is used to express the present with the past:

- I wish I had a better job. (meaning you have a bad one now).

- I wish I lived in a bigger house. (but you don't. You have a small house).

(This is maybe the main way, we use 'wish'...to express our present situation that we wish would change)

If you want to use "Wish" for the future, you must use "would" with it:

- I wish you would stop forgetting my birthday!

-Well, I wish you would cook me a nice meal!

note: notice that if you are going to use 'wish' with the future, it gives a bit of an aggressive attitutde. Many times we use it to express that we wish a person would stop doing something:

I wish you would stop talking, so I can say something!

(ok, hader...you can say what you want now.)....LA! Istanu! Bas 3amel summary:

If you think there's a strong possibility of something happening, use 'hope'.

If you want to practice, go to this link:

http://http://eslprograms.vcc.ca/ESLWEB/wishhope.htm

akheran khalast!

Can you 'do' me a favor? Please don't say 'make' me a favor!

Make wala do? Do wala make? Yea..it's a bit confusing because they are similar words in meaning. El moshkila is that there is no basic rule. You just have to learn it through practice. Momken ne'oul in kilmit "make" is used when you're 'doing' something. Y3nee eh? Mish 3arfa.
Let's try explaining that again:

I want to make a cup of tea. I'd like to make a lot of money (kolina).
In both cases, you're creating something. And this is when you usually say 'make.'

Can you do something for me? What are you going to do tonight?
Hina, ana mish bahadid eh howa ili ha yet3mel bezabt. Sah? When, I'm not being exact on what is to be done, I use 'do'. 3ashan ana lou ana oult le 7ad, "Can you make something for me?" they will understand it that you're asking for some particular creation.

The main point here is that we usually use 'do' with the words: nothing and something, everything, and anything.

- What are you doing?
- I'm not doing anything.
- La, you're doing something!
- Abadan walahee..I'm not doing anyting! I told you!
- Ok. But make sure if you do nothing or something or everything, I'll find out. Ana warak, warak!
- Hader, hader (Ya Rab toub 3aleya min el sit dee!)

English phrases that go with MAKE:
make an appointment
make a phone call
make a mistake
make a decision
make an effort
make plans
make a promise
make fun of (yitary'a 3ala 7ad)
make money!!!!!

English phrases that go with DO:

do homework (taba3an awil wahda!)
do a job
do a favor
do business
do harm
do (your) hair
do housework (taba3an akher haga)

Beginners - Intermediate - Advanced

ma3lish...bare with me for a while...coz everything now is under one blog. But of course, everyone is a different level. But actually, there are many advanced students that are similar to intermediate and vice versa. But I have started a blog for real beginners. In reality, anyone can benefit something from it maybe. But I have only just begun both blogs so you might find me and blogee a bit disorganized at the beginning.

lou fee 7ad maloush khalis fee el English, momken ye bos 3al blog: Alf_Beh_Teh_of_English.

And if you're an intermediate or advanced student, momken tebos bardu (mat khafsh...mish ha oul le 7ad!)

"Does'" you like me? La ya baba..."Do" you like me? (No, mish aiwe bardu)

For real beginners (and some advanced students wahyatkom):

Verb to "BE" in positive:
I am
You are
He/she/it is
We are
They are

Negative:
I am not (I'm not)
You are not (You're not)
He/she/it is not (He/she/it isn't)
We are not (We aren't)
They are not (they aren't)

Question:
Am I?
Are you?
Is he/she/it?
Are we?
Are they?

Verb to "DO" positive:
I do
You do
He/she/ it does
We do
They do

Negative:
I do not (I don't)
You do not (You don't)
He/she/it does not (He doesn't)
We do not (We don't)
They do not (They don't)

Question:
Do I?
Do you?
Does he?
Do we?
Do they?

Boso ba'a....min gheir el hagat el basics dee...mish ha yinfa3 (khaleek ba'a fe ili inta fee da...I is, wa she do, wa he do, wa kolina dodo).

For sure you're going to ask: Tayeb imta asta3mel verb to 'be' wa imta asta3mel verb to 'do'. Sah? Mana 3arfa. It's a story that I can't do now but for the time being you should know this:

'be' + verb+ ing: I am helping you (ya3nee 3ala adee). He is looking at you.
or
'be' + adjective: Are you hungry? Yea, you bet I'm hungry.
I'm so tired, I'm really tall, (151 cm.3amlaqa), She's so silly.

'do' + base verb (verb asas):

Do you listen to music? (mish do you listening to music... ya ustaz)
Do you use MSN? (mish do you using...ya ustaza)

I haven't yet answered the question when do we use 'do' or 'be' coz I'm busy now and have some things to finish first. But el mara el gaya, let's talk about the difference between saying:
Are you reading the books? and Do you read books? (present continuous and present simple? sa7! mana kiwisa aho...)

You have 'a' nice hair Mrs.M & a nice black eye

Yea, yea, yea...I know. The 'a' and 'an' articles are KG1 level. If so, then why do we keep making the same mistakes with them? Kasal akeed. We're just sooo busy and soooooo lazy to put 'a' and 'an' before our nouns...yea, I know how life can just get so busy!

'An' is followed by all words that begin with vowels; a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes 'h' to simplify pronunciation.
'A' is followed by all other other letters (constonants).
Both are followed by singular objects.... a cat....an egg

Now, no matter how much or how hard you want to change English into Arabic, you won't be able to. In Arabic we can say, da blog lil English...so then you translate it and say, this is English blog. But it doesn't work like that. You've got to say...This is a blog for English and this is a lesson for you. Balash el tanash da in the 'a' and 'an' put before singular objects coz it's these small silly mistakes that make your English seem weaker than what it is.

The real problem is when you put 'a' or 'an' before plural and non-countable nouns.
"You have a nice hair." El kalam da halw aiwe...lou eh? Oul..lou eh?....Lou 3andee sha3raya wahda yateema 3ala rasee; bashampooha, wa nashifha, wa a7ot 3aleha gel wa mousse wa adeha blowdryer ba3 keda. Kol el dawsha dee 3ala sha3raya wahda?! Inshala ma 7ad!
But thankfully, I've got more than that! And hair is a non-countable noun. Sooooooo, "You have nice hair."

"You have a nice eye." Merci ya sidi...wa el tanya mish 3agbak leh? I have 2 eyes elhamdlilAllah. Sooooooooo, "You have nice eyes"

When you talk about eye colors, it's all the same thing...you have nice blue, green or brown eyes.
ILA EL BLACK. If you make the mistake of using 'a' with 'eyes' and say, "You have a nice black eye," this is a fatal mistake.
If you don't know what a 'black eye' is, you can ask Mike Tyson, the boxer....it's a 'boneya' in the eye when your eye gets red first, then blue, then purple and finally black...thus, 'a black eye' as a result of a punch or bump.

So, don't forget to use ur a's and an's before singular objects.

Have a good night:)

Tamer says, "I am boring." (Howa inta hat oulee? mana 3arfa)

Ay ya albee! This is one of the more common mistakes people make..."I am boring."
When you are talking about something (3ala haga) put the 'ing' ending.
The movie is boring. This lesson is confusing.

When you are talking about how something makes you feel (inta hasis be eh) put the 'ed' ending:
The move bored me. This lesson confused me.

Shoft ba'a ya Tamer. Don't say, "I am boring," 3ashan keda ma3nitha inak INTA momil -- gheir lou inta fa3lan usdak te'oul keda. Inta momil ya Tamer wala inta malit?
Bas lou inta got nothing to do, wa malit min haga, say, 'I am bored."

Practice with some of these:
surprised / surprising (itfa'git / mofag'a:
I wasn't surpised at all by your behavior coz I know your behavior is never surprising.

worried / worrying (il'it / ala'a) (this franco/arabic is difficult!!
Stop worrying me more! I am already worried!

embarrased / embarrasing (itkasaft / kasfa!!)
I gave her a banana for her birthday coz she loves bananas. She threw it in my face and said, "howa inta fakirnee irda?!. " That was so embarrasing. Bas ana wad tilim...I didn't get embarrased.

Yala...I'll leave you now, so you don't get bored!

I like this blog 'too' much....GHALAT YA MORSEE

Hello ya Sha3b el Masree...ahlan, ahlan. You're great, you're a wonderful nation and don't get me wrong...I AM ONE OF YOU...ONE OF THE SHA3B EL MASREE. But let's face it....our English sucks! But so what? It's not our language, so we're not expected to be fluent in it. But wouldn't it be rather nice if we were? Badal ma inta dakhel fee el chat wa 3amal tiktib 'hi' - hih, alif, yeh? Wa mish fahim wala kelma min el bint, wa bil 3afya 3aref titfahim ma3ha....
Or some people get on chat and tell me, "me Ahmed" (masalan ya3nee) Eh "me Ahmed" dee? What are you exactly? An American Indian? Coz that's the way they used to talk...without any verbs! Not even any objects. For any sentence to make sense, you've got to have:
1. subject 2. verb 3. object. So, obviously 'me Ahmed' dee should be I am Ahmed. Or better yet, why not say, 'My name is Ahmed, which is a much more natural way of speaking.
But akeeeeeeeeeed, if you can't say, 'My name is....' then you can't understand a word I'm saying here!Anyway, this blog is meant to help Egyptians with their English....don't worry...I'm qualified walahee! I'm a professional instructor. Walahee ana bint nas and I'm offering you some help through this blog. (Khaleena niksab sawab).
This blog is restricted for Egyptians and Arabs, coz as u can see, I'll also be using franco/arabic while I 'teach' you.
Let's start with something really small. Kilmit 'too.' I don't know why I've choosen to start with this, bas yala..ma3 3alena.
'Too' is used when describing something negative or when you have 'too' much of something that you don't need.
Ma yinfa3sh ya sidi/sitee te oul/oulee, I like chatting 'too' much, wala 'I like blogging too much, wala I like eya haga too much. Oulee leh ba'a? Coz these are positive sentences (mish postive ya3nee halween; positive y3nee mish negative).
But you can say, I like chatting so much or very much (and actually very much is the better choice.) And that's why we use 'too' for negative or hagat zeyada...like it's too hot...it's too crowded. If the weather is 'too hot' that doesn't mean that heat is bad. It just means that there is too much of it.
You can say you like something 'too much' lau inta usdak inak fa3lan bethib haga zeyada wa dee 3amlalak azmah:)
EX: "Do you like eating pizza?"
"Yea! Too much!" (gives the meaning that you would like to cut down a bit, eating pizza)
So, that's your first lesson....it might not be the greatest...but I'm just trying to help...mashee ya 'too too'?