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The adjective in Egyptian Arabic has some special features. We already took a look at the basic singular and plural forms.
In this last part of our miniseries about adjectives, I will examine some peculiarities of the comparative and superlative forms.
“more tired”: the comparative of long adjectives
If you want to say bigger in Egyptian Arabic, you use the standard pattern that is also used in Modern Standard Arabic: ุฃูููุนูู. So, we eventually get ุฃูููุจูุฑ.
This formula works perfectly for short adjectives that are derived from I-form verbs (not augmented).
But what should we do if we have adjectives that are quite long regarding the number of letters? We use the additional word ุฃูููุชูุฑ and put it after the adjective. This helping construction works very well for most adjectives and is often used instead of the regular comparative.
tired | ุชูุนูุจุงู |
more tired | ุชูุนูุจุงู ุฃูููุชูุฑ |
more tired than you | ุชูุนูุจุงู ุฃูููุชูุฑ ู ููููู |
How do you build the superlative in Egyptian Arabic?
That is tricky! In Egyptian Arabic, you have three options.
waa7id and wa7da
You often just use a helping construction with the word waahid (ูุงุญูุฏ) or wahda (ูุงุญูุฏุฉ) which are placed after the comparative!
the (fem. ) best one | ุฃูุญูุณูู ูุงุญูุฏุฉ | a7san wahda |
This (fem.) is the nicest one I have. | ุฏูู ุฃูุฌูู ูู ูุงุญูุฏุฉ ุนูููุฏูู | da agmal wa7da 3andy. |
This (masc.) is the cheapest one. | ุฏูู ุฃูุฑูุฎูุต ูุงุญูุฏ | da ar5aS waa7id. |
Standard solution: genitive construction
This is the standard solution that is also used in Modern Standard Arabic. Use the comparative form and add the noun. It is nothing but a ุฅูุถุงูุฉ-construction.
This is the biggest book. | ุฏูู ุฃูููุจูุฑ ููุชุงุจ | da akbar kitaab |
Complex solution: comparative plus pronoun
Here, you have to listen closely. Otherwise, you may misunderstand it. Instead of a ุฅูุถุงูุฉ, you use a different word order and add a possessive pronoun to the comparative form. Usually, this is the plural pronoun hum (ููู ). Sounds complicated? Let’s see.
This is the biggest book. | ุงูููุชุงุจ ุฏู ุฃูููุจูุฑูู | elkitaab da akbarhum. |
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Are there any rules about the possessive pronoun in 2.3? Can you use a different one? Or does it mean something like biggest among them?