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قواعد الدارجة
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How Algerian Derja is put together

Possession, negation, the present tense. The small machinery of the language.

Not vocabulary but the pieces that hold vocabulary together, and there are fewer of them than you would fear. Derja has no case endings, a much simpler verb system than Modern Standard Arabic, and negation you can learn in an afternoon.

The two to learn first: نتاع, which makes anything possessive, as in الكتاب نتاعي, my book, and the ما...ش wrap that negates a verb. With those two you can already say most of what a beginner needs to say.

10 words to start with

نروح
nro7
I go

Present tense with the n prefix. The n is the I.

نجي
nji
I come
ناكل
nakol
I eat
نشرب
nshrob
I am drinking
نسكن
nskoun
I live, I stay
تروح
trouh
You go

Present tense with the t prefix. The t is the you.

تجي
tji
You come
تاكل
takol
You eat
تشرب
tshrob
You are drinking
تسكن
tskoun
You live, you stay

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