Arabic says "my", "your", "his" and so on with short endings attached to the noun. The same endings also mark the object of a verb ("saw me") and follow prepositions ("with me").
Possessive endings
| Ending | Example | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | ـي -i | كتابي ktabi | my book |
| your (m or f) | ـك -ek | كتابك ktabek | your book |
| his | ـو -u | كتابو ktabu | his book |
| her | ـها -ha | كتابها ktabha | her book |
| our | ـنا -na | كتابنا ktabna | our book |
| your (pl) | ـكم -kum | كتابكم ktabkum | your book |
| their | ـهم -hum | كتابهم ktabhum | their book |
Darija usually has one "your" ending, -ek, for both a man and a woman. After a vowel, "my" is -ya (khaya, my brother) and "his" is -h (khah, his brother).
dyal: "of" for everything
In everyday speech, Darija very often uses dyal ("belonging to") instead of an ending, especially with longer or borrowed words. dyal never changes for gender or number:
- الكتاب دياليl-ktab dyalimy book
- الطوموبيل ديالكt-tomobil dyalekyour car
- الولاد ديالهمl-wlad dyalhumtheir children
The same endings as objects
After a verb, the endings mean "me, you, him…". "Me" is -ni.
- شافنيshafnihe saw me
- شافكshafekhe saw you
- شافهاshafhahe saw her
- شافهمshafhumhe saw them
After prepositions
- معاياm3ayawith me
- ليكlikfor you
- عليه3lihon him
- منهاmenhafrom her
"To have" is a preposition
Darija has no verb "to have". It uses 3nd ("at") plus an ending:
- عندي طوموبيل3ndi tomobilI have a car.
- عندك الوقت؟3ndek l-weqt?Do you have time?
- ما عندناش الفلوسma 3ndnash l-flusWe don't have money.