An affirmative Lebanese command can carry its object inside the same written and spoken word: خبرني “tell me,” خدها “take it/her,” جيبلكن “bring you all.” A verb-selected preposition may instead carry the pronoun: رد عليه “answer him,” احكي معها “talk with her.” The important question is therefore not simply “which pronoun?” but also “which host does this verb require?”
This page uses the everyday urban Lebanese/Beirut system (informal and neutral spoken). The suffix becomes part of the command's sound shape. It can reveal a linking vowel or a special weak stem, so English speakers should learn the complete chunk rather than pause before a translated object pronoun.
One command, several object endings
The Form II command خبر khabber “tell / inform” provides a clear focused paradigm. Arabic spelling joins every direct-object suffix to the verb.
| Object | Command | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | خبرني | khabberne | tell me |
| him / masculine it | خبره | khabbero | tell him |
| her / feminine it | خبرها | khabbera | tell her |
| us | خبرنا | khabberna | tell us |
| you, plural | خبركن | khabberkon | tell you all |
| them | خبرهن | khabberon | tell them |
The third-person written ه may not surface as an audible h in the Beirut baseline: خبره is khabbero, not a careful MSA-like akhbirhu. Plural -kon/-on is the Lebanese production model taught here; suffix vowels vary across Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanese communities (regional).
خبرني إذا رح تتأخر.
khabberne iza raḥ ttʾakhkhar.
Tell me if you're going to be late. (informal; addressed to one man)
خبروها إنو الاجتماع تأجل.
khabberūha inno l-izhtimēʿ tʾazhzhal.
Tell her that the meeting was postponed. (informal; command to a group)
Person marking for the addressee remains on the imperative: masculine خبر, feminine خبري, plural خبروا. The object follows that complete command. Thus خبروها contains plural addressee -u plus feminine object -ha; neither ending is optional.
Direct objects, recipients, and prepositional objects
Lebanese verbs do not all package their complements alike. A direct object joins the verb, a recipient often uses attached لـ, and a verb-selected preposition keeps its own suffix.
خدها معك عالبيت.
khodha maʿak ʿal-bēt.
Take it home with you. (informal; feminine direct object)
جيبلي قهوة بلا سكر.
zhīble ʾahwe bla sukkar.
Bring me a coffee without sugar. (informal; appropriate with a close acquaintance)
رد عليها قبل آخر النهار.
rodd ʿalēya ʾabl ākhir en-nahār.
Reply to her before the end of the day. (informal; verb-selected على)
In خدها, ـها is the thing taken. In جيبلي, ـلي is the recipient “to/for me.” In رد عليها, the verb selects على, so “her” attaches to that preposition, not to رد. English uses a direct object in “answer her,” which makes ردها a tempting but wrong transfer for this meaning.
Linking vowels belong to the whole word
Suffix attachment can create consonant clusters that Lebanese resolves with a short linking vowel. The spelling stays joined, and the vowel is represented in the fully pointed pronunciation rather than by inserting a new long-vowel letter.
اكتبلي العنوان عالورقة.
ktoble l-ʿonwēn ʿal-waraʾa.
Write the address down for me on the paper. (informal; recipient clitic)
ابعته لنا قبل الظهر.
ibʿato lna ʾabl eẓ-ẓohor.
Send it to us before noon. (informal; direct object plus an analytical recipient)
The second example deliberately uses ابعته لنا, written as two grammatical hosts: masculine ـه joins the verb, while لنا expresses the recipient. This transparent option avoids manufacturing an overloaded suffix chain. Short-vowel timing can vary slightly with speech rate, but the consonants and grammatical roles remain stable; epenthetic vowels explains the sound process in depth.
Weak and geminate stems do not become regular
Adding a suffix does not restore an imagined dictionary stem. The weak verb أخد / بياخد has imperative خد; the hollow verb جاب / بيجيب has جيب. The geminate verb حطّ / بيحطّ keeps its doubled ṭ.
جيبها لعندي بعد الشغل.
zhībha la-ʿinde baʿd esh-shoghol.
Bring it to my place after work. (informal; feminine object on a hollow imperative)
حطها هون، مش حد الباب.
ḥoṭṭa hōn, mish ḥadd el-bēb.
Put it here, not by the door. (informal; feminine object on a geminate imperative)
There is no productive MSA command ending to add here. Forms such as MSA اكتبوا are relevant in formal Arabic (formal), but Beirut commands use Lebanese stems, suffixes, stress, and vowel reduction. Memorize the perfect, b-imperfect, and imperative principal parts of an irregular verb together.
Two pronominal objects need two hosts
When both recipient and theme are pronouns, productive Beirut usage commonly puts the recipient on the verb and the theme on يا-. Do not simply stack two ordinary suffixes.
عطيني ياه دقيقة وبرجعلك ياه.
ʿaṭīne yēh dʾīʾa w-brazhzheʿlak yēh.
Give it to me for a minute and I'll give it back to you. (informal; masculine theme on ياه)
فرجيها ياها عالتلفون.
farzhīha yēha ʿat-telefōn.
Show it to her on the phone. (informal; feminine recipient on the verb and feminine theme on ياها)
The gender of ياه / ياها follows the theme, not the recipient. Full-noun and analytical alternatives are equally grammatical: فرجيها الصورة “show her the picture,” or فرجي الصورة إلها “show the picture to her.” See two-object ordering for the full system.
Positive and negative commands use different verb forms
An affirmative command uses an imperative. A prohibition uses ما + second-person bare imperfect; any object or recipient clitic attaches to that bare form.
جيبلي الملف هلق.
zhīble l-malaf hallaʾ.
Bring me the file now. (affirmative command to one man)
ما تجيبلي الملف هلق.
ma tzhīble l-malaf hallaʾ.
Don't bring me the file now. (negative command to one man)
حطها بالبراد.
ḥoṭṭa bil-barrēd.
Put it in the fridge. (affirmative geminate imperative)
ما تحطها بالبراد.
ma tḥoṭṭa bil-barrēd.
Don't put it in the fridge. (negative command with bare imperfect)
The negative forms do not take b-: ما تجيبلي, not ما بتجيبلي, for a direct prohibition. The clitic itself remains in the same semantic role.
A short office exchange
ابعتلي النسخة الجديدة هلق، لو سمحت.
ibʿatle n-noskha l-zhdīde hallaʾ, law samaḥt.
Maya: Send me the new version now, please. (imperative plus recipient)
ما فيني ابعتلك ياها هلق؛ عم براجعها.
ma fīne ibʿatlak yēha hallaʾ; ʿam brēzhiʿa.
Rami: I can't send it to you now; I'm reviewing it. (ability plus bare verb, then progressive)
طيب، خلصها وابعتلي ياها قبل الساعة تلاتة.
ṭayyeb, khalliṣa w-ibʿatle yēha ʾabl es-sēʿa tlēte.
Maya: Okay, finish it and send it to me before three. (two sequenced imperatives with the same feminine theme)
The reply contrasts modal فيني + bare imperfect with عم + b-imperfect for an action in progress. Neither construction is an imperative, even though English may translate the first verb with an infinitive.
Common Mistakes
Detaching a bound object
❌ خبر ني لما توصل.
Incorrect — the object suffix ـني joins the command.
✅ خبرني لما توصل.
khabberne lamma tūṣal.
Tell me when you arrive. (informal)
Copying English direct-object syntax
❌ ردها اليوم.
Incorrect for ‘reply to her’ — رد selects على.
✅ رد عليها اليوم.
rodd ʿalēya l-yōm.
Reply to her today. (informal)
Stacking two ordinary pronoun suffixes
❌ فرجيهاها عالتلفون.
Incorrect — the recipient and theme need separate hosts.
✅ فرجيها ياها عالتلفون.
farzhīha yēha ʿat-telefōn.
Show it to her on the phone. (informal)
Using b- in a prohibition
❌ ما بتبعته هلق.
Incorrect for a direct ‘don't send it now’ command — this b-imperfect reads as a statement or question in context.
✅ ما تبعته هلق.
ma tibʿato hallaʾ.
Don't send it now. (prohibition to one man)
Regularizing a weak command
❌ أخدها معك.
Incorrect in the Beirut imperative system taught here — the positive command of أخد is خد.
✅ خدها معك.
khodha maʿak.
Take it with you. (informal)
Key Takeaways
Object and recipient suffixes join their Lebanese host in writing and pronunciation. Direct objects attach to the verb; recipients may use لـ; verb-selected prepositions such as على and مع keep the pronoun on the preposition. Weak and geminate commands retain their real Lebanese stems. With two pronominal objects, use يا- or an analytical phrase rather than piling suffixes together. Finally, keep affirmative imperatives distinct from ما + bare imperfect prohibitions.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Forming Positive ImperativesA1 — Build masculine, feminine, and plural urban Lebanese commands from verified bare-imperfect stems, including initial vowels and irregular weak verbs.
- Direct-Object Suffixes on VerbsB1 — Attach Beirut direct-object pronouns to perfect and imperfect verbs, including weak, geminate, and vowel-final hosts and topical doubling.
- Pronoun Suffixes after PrepositionsB1 — Use Beirut suffixed forms of مع، من، على، في، لـ, and بـ, including their irregular stems and verb-selected meanings.
- Two Objects and Clitic OrderingB2 — Package a theme and recipient in urban Lebanese with full noun phrases, one verb-bound clitic, or a recipient clitic followed by the independent object carrier ya-.
- Epenthetic Vowels in Consonant ClustersB1 — Learn when Beirut speakers insert a brief helping vowel into a difficult consonant cluster—and when they do not.
- The Bare Imperfect after Modals and ParticlesA2 — Use fully agreeing imperfect verbs without b- after Lebanese modal, future, and command environments.