Moroccan Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Moroccan grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Moroccan and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Moroccan and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Moroccan.

Prepositions - Moroccan - Pronunciation
and و [we]
above فوق [fouq]
under تحت [taĥt]
before قبل [qbel]
after بعد [baƷd]
in front of قدام [qeddam]
behind مورا [moura]
far from بعيد علا [bƷeed Ʒla]
near حدا [ĥda]
in ف [f]
inside داخل [dakhel]
outside برا [berra]
with مع [mƷa]
without بلا [bla]
about علا [Ʒla]
between بين [been]
but ولكين [walakin]
for ل [l]
from من [men]
to ل [l]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Moroccan + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] كاناكول بلا موس [kanakul bla moos]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] كاتعيش حدا لكانيسة [katƷeesh ĥda lkanisa]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] هووا طويل من خوه [huwa tweel men khooh]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] هووا جا معا كلبو الصغير [huwa ja mƷa kelbu esegheer]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] واش مومكن تجي معايا؟ [wash mumken tji mƷaya?]

Negation in Moroccan

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Moroccan + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] فهمتك [fhemtek]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] مافهمتكش [mafhemteksh]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] هادي ماشي هييا لكاليما الصحيحة [hadi mashi hiya el kalima sahiha]
don't leave me [imperative negation] ماتخلينيش [matkhelineesh]
no problem [negation + noun] ماشي موشكيلة [mashi mushkila]

Negative Sentences - Moroccan + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] ماكانهدرش لفرونسي [makanehdersh lefronsi]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] مازارتش المانيا [mazaretsh almania]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] ماكايشوفناش [makayshufnaash]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] واش ماكاتقدرش هييا تلعب الشطرنج؟ [wash makateqdersh hiya telƷeb shetranj?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] ماغاديش نجيو معطلين [maghadeesh njiw mƷetleen]

Questions in Moroccan

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Moroccan - Pronunciation
how? كيفاش؟ [kifaash?]
what? شنو؟ [shno?]
who? شكون؟ [shkoon?]
why? علاش؟ [Ʒlaash?]
where? فين؟ [feen?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Moroccan + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] فين كاتعيش؟ [feen katƷeesh?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] واش كاتهدر هييا بشينوية؟ [wash katehder hiya bshinwia?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] شحال هادا؟ [shĥal hada?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] مومكن تساعدني؟ [mumken tsaƷedni?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] شنو سمييتك؟ [shno smiytek?]

Adverbs in Moroccan

It's time to learn the adverbs in Moroccan. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Moroccan - Pronunciation
now دابا [daba]
yesterday لبارح [lbareĥ]
today ليوم [lyum]
tonight هاد ليلة [had leela]
tomorrow غدا [ghedda]
soon قريب [qreeb]
quickly بزربا [bezerba]
slowly بشويا [beshwia]
together بجوج [bjooj]
very بزاف [bezaf]
almost تاقريبا [taqriban]
always ديما [dima]
usually عاداتا [Ʒadatan]
sometimes مرا مرا [merra merra]
rarely ناديران [nadiran]
never ابادان [abadan]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Moroccan + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] واش كاتفهمني دابا؟ [wash katefhemni daba?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] راني محتاج موساعادة دابا [rani meĥtaj musaƷada daba]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] هييا ذكية بزاف [hiya dakia bezaf]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] غادي نبغيك ديما [ghady nebgheek dima]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] واش مومكن نهدرو لالمانيا بجوج؟ [wash mumken nhedro lalmania bjuj?]

Pronouns in Moroccan

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Moroccan. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Moroccan - Pronunciation
I انا [ana ]
you نتا [nta]
he هووا [huwa]
she هييا [hiya]
we حنا [ĥna]
they هوما [huma]

Object Pronouns - Moroccan - Pronunciation
me ا [ -a]
you ك [ -k]
him ه [ -h]
her ها [ -ha]
us نا [ -na]
them هوم [ -hom]

Possessive Pronouns - Moroccan - Pronunciation
my ديالي [dyali]
your ديالك [dyalek]
his ديالو [dyalu]
her ديالها [dyalha]
our ديالنا [dyalna]
their ديالهوم [dyalhum]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Moroccan + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] انا صاحبك [ana saĥbek]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] كاتهدر بزربا [katehder bezerba]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] عندو تلاتا ديال لكلاب [Ʒandu tlata dyal leklaab]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] هيا كاتهدر لالمانيا [hiya katehder lalmania]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] ماغاديش نجيو معطلين [maghadeesh njiw mƷetleen]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] شراو لحليب ولخبز [shraw leĥleeb wel khubz]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Moroccan + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] مومكن تگولي سميتك؟ [mumken tgulli smiyetek?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] غادي نعطيك لفلوس [ghady neƷteek lefloos]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] كتباتلو رسالة [ketbatlu risala]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] زاروها لبارح [zaruha lbareĥ]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] واش مومكن هييا تساعدنا؟ [wash mumken hiya tsaƷedna?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] عتاهوم ماكلة [Ʒtahum makla]

Possessive Pronouns - Moroccan + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] سمييتي مايا [smiyti Maya]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] خوك كايعيش هنا [khuk kayƷeesh hna]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] ومها كاطييب لينا [umha kateyeb lina]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] هوايته هيا قرايا ديال لكتوبا [hiwayatu hiya qraya dyal lktuba]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] حلمنا هووا نزورو باريس [ĥulmna howa nzuru baris]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] دارهوم مابعيداش [darhom mabƷidash]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Moroccan - Pronunciation
this is my house هادي داري [hadi dari]
that restaurant is far هاداك ريستورو بعيد [hadak ristoro bƷeed]
these apples are delicious هاد تفاحات بنان [had tefaĥat bnan]
those stars are shiny هادوك النجوم كايلمعو [haduk njoom kaylemƷo]

I hope you learned a lot about the Moroccan grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!