Here's a list of the pronouns with examples of their use:

Meen 'allak? Who told you?
Weyn beytak? Where is your house?
Eymtan el-3asha? When is the dinner? (some people pronounce it aymata, which is a little more classy because closer to the Arabic original aymatan).
Keef kén? How was it?
Lé ma jeet? Why didn't you come? (is also said lésh, which is more idiomatic. As for leysh, it is rustic and would sound really odd coming from a foreigner)
Shoo baddo? What does he want? (shoo is very typical and very used; a rustic equivalent is esh, which can be used without taking itself seriously, or even more provincially, eysh)
Addé betreed? How much do you want (for this)? (also addésh, more idiomatic)
Kem wáhad jeye? How many are coming?
Ayya wáhad jeye? Which one is coming? (Also simply ay. Note the different meaning of the word wáhad="one" in the last two sentences)

B. The interrogative sentence

Yes-or-no questions are regular sentences ending in a question mark. Otherwise interrogation is obtained by simply using an interrogative pronoun at the beginning of the sentence and a question mark at the end. The word order is flexible and can remain Lebanese's usual verb - subject - object or become English's subject verb object. There is a slight nuance in meaning between the two (the latter emphasizing the subject) that need not concern the student:
Ejit Lana (Lana has come). Ejit Lana? Lana ejit?
Akhad Rami l-ktéb (Rami took the book). Akhad Rami l-ktéb? Rami akhad l-ktéb?

In some situations the object of the interrogative pronoun is stated before the pronoun itself. This is a sort of announcement/emphasis on what you are enquiring about, as if you were saying "That girl with the blue jacket, who is she?" (compare with "Who is that girl with the blue jacket?"):
El-Mat7af weyn bi-sir? The Museum, where would it be? (literally "where does it become?")
Heyda shoo? This is what? (connotation: "and what do you call this [mess, disgrace, etc]?")

C. Short forms

Weyn (where) and keef (how) can take a suffix that is none other than a modified personal pronoun.

Weyno (weynuwwe is the same but more emphatic): Where him=where is he/it?
Weyna (weynyye is the same but more emphatic): Where is she/it?
Weynon: Where are they?
Weynak: Where are you? (male)
Weynik: Where are you (female)
Weynkon: Where are you? (plural)
We don't use the above forms for "Where am I" or "Where are we". We'd say something like Weyn ana/ne7na ("Where me/us?") or "Weyn sirna?" ("Where did we end up?").

With keef, this abbreviated form is an inquiry after someone's health.
Keefo: How is he?
Keefa: How is she?
Keefon: How are they?
Keefak? How are you? (male)
Keefik: How are you (female)
Keefkon: How are you? (plural)
Again, this isn't used for I*. The form with "we" exists though (Keefna?), but it doesn't refer to us – it refers to the person we are talking to. You know how nurses ask their patients "How are we today?" It's the same deal.
Since keef+suffix refers to health, it is not supposed to be used with inanimate things. However, tongue-in-cheek, we sometimes inquire after something's "health", in which case the keef+suffix is always followed by what we're talking about: Keefa London? ("How is London doing?")

Of the other interrogative pronouns, only shoo can ever be followed by a personal pronoun (unless your'e asking "Lé ana?" "Why me?"), but for pronunciation reasons it doesn't benefit from such a shortcut. It is simply followed by the appropriate pronoun.
Shoo hye: What is it?
Shoo henne: What are they?
Etc.

* Except in a very specific case: Keefne ma3ak? "How am I with you?" This is a bantering sentence meaning "So how am I in your book?" and as much a stretch of the language as to say "I am confuddled".

Chapter 12: Exclamation and Interjection

Tutorials and articles © Joumana Medlej