There are two ways to say "X's Y" in Levantine: put the two nouns side by side, or use taba3 ("belonging to").
Two nouns side by side (iḍāfa)
Put the thing owned first, then the owner. The first noun never takes il-.
- بيت أحمدbeit a7madAhmed's house
- باب البيتbaab il-beitthe door of the house
- مفتاح السيارةmuftaa7 is-sayyaarathe car key
If the first noun is feminine, its ending becomes -it:
- سيارة أبويsayyaarit abuuymy father's car
taba3: "belonging to"
taba3 goes after a noun with il-. Many speakers use the same form for everything; others make it agree with the thing owned:
| Form | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | تبع taba3 | الكتاب تبعي il-ktaab taba3i (my book) |
| feminine | تبعت taba3it | السيارة تبعتي is-sayyaara taba3ti (my car) |
| plural | تبعول taba3ul | الكتب تبعولي il-kutub taba3uli (my books) |
taba3 takes the possessive endings: taba3ak (your), taba3a (her), and so on.
When to use which
- Family and fixed relationships use the side-by-side form: ukht 3ali (Ali's sister).
- taba3 is common with borrowed words and longer phrases: il-mobaayl taba3i (my mobile).
- "Whose is this?" is la-miin haada? And "it's mine" is ili / taba3i.
- لمين هالشنطة؟la-miin hash-shante?Whose bag is this?
- هي إليhiyye iliIt's mine.