# Lebanese Arabic: What are you studying again?



## Softmint

Hi,

I would like to reply to an email but in Lebanese arabic and I don't know how to write my sentence.

I'd like to write:

I'm fine and you? (_mne7 w ante?_)
What are you studying again? ___________________?


thanks


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## Kinan

I am not Lebanese but i think it's something like :
شو عم تدرسي مرة تينية؟
sho am tedrese mra tenee


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## Softmint

Hi thanks for the reply.

Im replying to a girl, so *tadrosi* is correct? or should I write *tadrosin*?


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## lukebeadgcf

Softmint said:


> Hi thanks for the reply.
> 
> Im replying to a girl, so *tadrosi* is correct? or should I write *tadrosin*?



Kinan actually conjugated the verb for feminine already. The een ending is only in MSA/Classical Arabic.


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## Kinan

Like Luke said, it's MSA..if you want it in Lebanese dialect then tedrese is correct.


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## Softmint

ok thanks a lot


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## bripod

What's the 3m for? I probably talk like a 3 year old but I would say "شو (ايش) بتدرسي تانيه؟

What would be the difference? Is mine incorrect?


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## outo_otus

lukebeadgcf said:


> Kinan actually conjugated the verb for feminine already. The een ending is only in MSA/Classical Arabic.





The Gulf dialects and Iraqi still use -een and -uun.


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## clevermizo

bripod said:


> What's the 3m for? I probably talk like a 3 year old but I would say "شو (ايش) بتدرسي تانيه؟
> 
> What would be the difference? Is mine incorrect?



I would also say شو بتدرسي but I don't know if there's much distinction between that and شو عم تدرسي in this particular context or if one is preferred. Kind of like how in English there isn't much difference between "What do you study, again?" and "What are you studying, again?" in this particular context, although the latter seems a little more common colloquially.


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## Kinan

I am not sure which one Lebenaese use, عم or ب , but I think they use both.


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## Ustaath

lukebeadgcf said:


> Kinan actually conjugated the verb for feminine already. The een ending is only in MSA/Classical Arabic.


Actually, in more conservative gulf dialects, the 'een' still exists


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## lukebeadgcf

Ustaath said:


> Actually, in more conservative gulf dialects, the 'een' still exists



Thanks, good to know!


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## Ustaath

Kinan said:


> I am not sure which one Lebanese use, عم or ب , but I think they use both.


Though both are used, 3am would be probably better for this question - 
in English it is difficult to explain as both would be translated as :" what are you studying"
the 'b' would be , right now today, what are you studying
the '3am' would imply, "what are you studying, these days?" (Though really you would  preferably say in English " what are you majoring in.")
Having said that, it's a rule-of-thumb, as both forms are technically correct and can be interchanged; what I propose is the likelihood of when which of the two would be said.
I hope I didn't confuse you too much


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## bripod

Ustaath said:


> Though both are used, 3am would be probably better for this question -
> in English it is difficult to explain as both would be translated as :" what are you studying"
> the 'b' would be , right now today, what are you studying
> the '3am' would imply, "what are you studying, these days?" (Though really you would  preferably say in English " what are you majoring in.")
> Having said that, it's a rule-of-thumb, as both forms are technically correct and can be interchanged; what I propose is the likelihood of when which of the two would be said.
> I hope I didn't confuse you too much



That's really helpful, but I learned that the ب  prefix indicates that it's an ongoing verb like "these days" whereas no prefix indicates "currently" or "right now." I never learned عم but most of my learning came from a Palestinian professor and a semester abroad in Egypt, so it could be an egyptian thing, but I thought they were nearly the same in that respect.


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## Ustaath

the difference is subtle -  You would be 100% legible saying either -


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## Kinan

Yes,عم is used only in Syria and Lebanon as far as I know.


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## Softmint

bripod said:


> That's really helpful, but I learned that the ب  prefix indicates that it's an ongoing verb like "these days" whereas no prefix indicates "currently" or "right now." I never learned عم but most of my learning came from a Palestinian professor and a semester abroad in Egypt, so it could be an egyptian thing, but I thought they were nearly the same in that respect.



Ohh thank you! You taught me something 
So the ب  prefix can apply to any verb?
If I say: 

badros, it means I'm studying these days (like the whole year)

and if I say: adros (i'm studying right now - so I can't talk, for example)

?


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## clevermizo

bripod said:


> That's really helpful, but I learned that the ب   prefix indicates that it's an ongoing verb like "these days" whereas no  prefix indicates "currently" or "right now." I never learned عم but most  of my learning came from a Palestinian professor and a semester abroad  in Egypt, so it could be an egyptian thing, but I thought they were  nearly the same in that respect.




Not exactly. The b- prefix is not identically used in Egypt as compared to the Levant, though there is some overlap. There are more situations where it can be dropped in Egyptian dialects but where it is obligatory in Levantine dialects. The b- prefix in Egypt can imply the progressive aspect, but it does not in the Levant (which regularly uses 3am to imply the progressive aspect).



Softmint said:


> Ohh thank you! You taught me something
> So the ب  prefix can apply to any verb?
> If I say:
> 
> badros, it means I'm studying these days (like the whole year)
> 
> and if I say: adros (i'm studying right now - so I can't talk, for example)
> 
> ?



No, the b- prefix is necessary for the present tense indicative conjugation of verbs in Levantine dialects. You can't just say "Adros" by itself. You can however, say "3am adros" or "3am badros" to mean "I am studying" with some flexibility and/or depending on region.

The b- prefix has been discussed many times on the forum here. Please search through old discussions to find more information on it. 

Simply put, "badros" (in Lebanese pronunciation, this is "Bidros" not "badros") means "I study" in the most basic sense (i.e., "Estudio"). That's all. It implies a habitual present tense the same way that the English does. You can ask, "Shu btidros?" which means "What do you study?" to which the response could be "Badros/bidros 3arabi" "I study Arabic."

If you want to say "I am studying" or "I have been studying" X these days, you would say "3am badros/adros/bidros/idros X hal-2ayyām" where hal-2ayyām means "these days." If you want to say "I am studying right now" you would say "3am badros/adros/bidros/idros halla2".


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