Possessive Determiners in Moroccan Arabic
Possessive determiners:
They are expressed by the word dyâl ديال, to which we add the endings previously mentioned:
| English | Darija in Transcription | Darija in the Arabic Script |
| Mine | Dyâlî | دْيالي |
| Yours (s.) | Dyâlk | دْيالك |
| His | Dyâlô | دْيالو |
| Hers | Dyâlhâ | دْيالها |
| Ours | Dyâlna | دْيالنا |
| Yours (p.) | Dyâlkom | دْيالكم |
| Theirs | Dyâlhom | دْيالهم |
It’s more common actually to say instead of ktâbi كتابي (my book), lktâb dyâlî لكتاب ديالي (the book of mine):
| English | Darija in Transcription | Darija in the Arabic Script |
| My book | Lktâb dyâlî | لكتاب ديالي |
| Your book (s.) | Lktâb dyâlk | لكتاب دْيالك |
| His book | Lktâb dyâlô | لكتاب دْيالو |
| Her book | Lktâb dyâlhâ | لكتاب دْيالها |
| Our book | Lktâb dyâlnâ | لكتاب دْيالنا |
| Your book (p.) | Lktâb dyâlkom | لكتاب دْيالكم |
| Their book | Lktâb dyâlhom | لكتاب دْيالهم |
Also, the possessive determiner (dyâl ديال) is used for asking questions about possession.
Example:
– Whose book is this? = Dyâl mn hâd lktâb? ديال من هاد لكتاب؟
– It’s Fatima’s. = Dyâl Fatima. ديال فاطمة
PS:
In some regions, dyâl ديال is replaced by: (tâ3 تاع), (ntâ3 نتاع or (mtâ3 متاع), depending on the accent of the speakers.
When do we use plain possessive endings, and when do we use dyâl?
Mainly, dyâl is used to express the possession of things. You rather say lktâb dyâlî (my book) than ktâbî. Possesive endings are used with family members for example, you rather say khtî (my sister), than l2okht dyâlî.
But the use of any of the two ways is correct either way.
Exercise:
Express possession of these things, for all pronouns:
– Dâr دار = house.
– 7wayj حوايج = clothes.
– Bît بيت = room.
– Khâla خالة = aunt (mother’s sister)
– 3mma عمة = aunt (father’s sister)
– Kâs كاس = glass.
– Bnt بنت = daughter
– Dftar دفتر = Copy book
– Qamîja قميجة = Shirt.
– Tbla طبلة = Table.
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