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srl's Maltese Grammar Page
Last update:
Thursday, November 7, 1996
NEW GRAMMAR PAGE HERE!!
Table of contents:
Definite Articles
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For many words, you use the definite article 'il' to denote
that the subject refers to a particular person or thing.
qamar = a moon
il-qamar = The moon
ktieb = a book
il-ktieb = The book
il- is called the Qamrin (Moony) article, because it is the article used with the word 'Qamar' (moon).
Words that start
with s, x, z, c, d, r, or n must use the Xemxin
(Sunny) articles. The second letter of these articles is always the same as the
letter which begins the word.
For example:
xemx = a sun
ix-xemx = the sun
xemx starts with an x, therefore ix- must be used. (This is why these are called the Xemxin.)
ras = a head
ir-ras = the head
ras starts with an r, therefore ir- must be used.
Here are all of the Xemxin:
ic-cawla = the jackdaw (Corvus monedula. A bird something like a crow)
id-dudu = the worm
in-nanna = the grandmother
ir-ragel = the man
is-serp = the snake
it-temp = the weather
ix-xemx = the sun
iz-ziju = the uncle
iz-zring = the frog (This Z has a dot on top of it)
All other letters are Qamrin (Moony).
When there is a vowel before the definite article, the "i" in the article is dropped.
For example:
It-tifel kiel it-tuffieha ( the boy ate the apple), but
It-tfal kielu t-tuffieh ( the children ate the apples)
(not: It-tfal kielu it-tuffieh.)
The "i" is also dropped when the article preceeds a word beginning with a vowel.
For example:
l-arlogg (the clock)
l-iljunfant (the elefant)
l-ohxon (the fat one)
Plurality
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ktieb - a book
kotba - books
Gender
[Top]
In Maltese, verbs (and adjectives?) must have the same gender of the sentence's
subject.
For instance, the word 'qieghed' means 'I stay/stand' for a male, but
the word 'qieghda' is used for a female. 'qed' means
the same thing for either.
Negation
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You can negate a word by putting ma (not) in front of it, and adding
an 'x' to the word. Example:
But:
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Verb Conjugation
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Tajtu lilek means "I gave it to you."
| tajtek | gave to you |
| tajtu | gave to him |
| tajtha | gave to her |
| tajtkom | gave to you (pl) |
| tajthom | gave to them |
| tak | He gave it to you |
| tajtthi | You gave it to me |
(If you don't have tables and this looks bad, please mail me and I will make a non-table version)
[Top]
Noun Declension
[Top]
| ras | head |
| rasi | my head |
| rasek | your head |
| qalb | heart |
| qalbi | my heart |
srl@monkey.sbay.org
I am very interested in hearing your comments, suggestions, or corrections!
Grazzi!
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