Egyptian object pronouns attach directly to a command: شوفه “see him/look at it,” هاتها “bring it,” ابعتلي “send me.” With two pronouns, agreement, and negation, several pieces can occupy one written word: ماتبعتهاليش “don’t send it to me.”
English writes object pronouns separately, so spacing and order are the central challenge. Build the Egyptian verb from the inside out: command stem, addressee agreement, direct object, recipient, then—if negative—outer ما...ش.
A practical one-object inventory
| Object | Suffix | Command with شوف | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | -ني | شوفني shūfni | look at me |
| you (m.) | -ك | شوفك shūfak | see you |
| him/it (m.) | -ه | شوفه shūfo | look at him/it |
| her/it (f.) | -ها | شوفها shūfha | look at her/it |
| us | -نا | شوفنا shūfna | look at us |
| them | -هم | شوفهم shūfhum | look at them |
شوفه كده وقوللي رأيك.
shūfo kida wi-ʾulli raʾyak.
Take a look at it and tell me what you think.
هاتها معاك لما تيجي.
hātha maʿāk lamma tīgi.
Bring it with you when you come.
كلمهم قبل الاجتماع.
kallimhum ʾabl il-igtimāʿ.
Call them before the meeting.
Suffix vowels adjust to the phonological host, so do not expect one English pronoun to have one unchanging sound. The grammatical identity and attachment are stable even when connected speech supplies or reduces a vowel.
Rule 1: addressee agreement comes before the object
The feminine -ي or plural -وا marks who receives the command; the following suffix marks who or what is affected.
شوفيه بكرة وكلميني بعد المقابلة.
shūfīh bokra wi-kallimīni baʿd il-moʾabla.
See him tomorrow and call me after the interview. (to a woman)
شوفوها بكرة وكلمونا بعد المقابلة.
shūfūha bokra wi-kallimūna baʿd il-moʾabla.
See her tomorrow and call us after the interview. (to a group)
In شوفوها, plural addressee -وا precedes feminine object -ها. Reversing those pieces would confuse the roles.
Rule 2: direct object precedes the recipient
A common two-clitic order is verb + thing/person transferred + recipient. هاتهولي packages “bring it to me”; ابعتهملي packages “send them to me.”
هاتهولي قبل ما تخرج.
hāthūli ʾabl ma tikhrog.
Bring it to me before you go out.
ابعتهملي على الواتساب.
ibʿathumli ʿala l-wātsāb.
Send them to me on WhatsApp.
ابعتهالنا لما تخلص.
ibʿathālna lamma tikhlaṣ.
Send it to us when you finish.
These sequences are conventional clitic complexes; exact support vowels vary with the pronouns and speech rate. The consonants and grammatical order must remain identifiable. More complex two-object systems are covered on Two-Object Clitics.
Rule 3: preserve the verb’s complement frame
Not every English object becomes a direct verb suffix. رد على means “reply to,” so the pronoun attaches to على, not to رد.
رد عليه النهاردة وماتستناش لبكرة.
rodd ʿalēh in-nahārda wi-ma-tistannāsh li-bokra.
Reply to him today; don’t wait until tomorrow.
اسألي عنها الأول وبعدين قرري.
isʾali ʿanha l-ʾawwil wi-baʿdēn ʾarriri.
Ask about her first, then decide. (to a woman)
The attached form is still written with its host: عليه، عنها. English word order cannot tell you whether the Egyptian host is a verb or preposition; learn the complement with the verb.
Rule 4: negative -ش comes last
In a negative command, ما...ش surrounds the second-person bare imperfect plus every attached object and recipient clitic.
ابعتها دلوقتي.
ibʿatha dilwaʾti.
Send it now.
ماتبعتهاش قبل ما أراجعها.
ma-tibʿathāsh ʾabl ma ʾarāgiʿha.
Don’t send it before I review it.
ماتبعتهاليش على الإيميل القديم.
ma-tibʿathālīsh ʿala l-ʾīmēl il-ʾadīm.
Don’t send it to me at the old email address.
This positive-to-negative set makes the order visible: تبعت + ها + لي + ش. Final -ش never comes between the verb and its object.
A time-context minimal pair
ابعتهالي دلوقتي.
ibʿathāli dilwaʾti.
Send it to me now.
حتبعتهالي بكرة.
ḥa-tibʿathāli bokra.
You’ll send it to me tomorrow.
The first is an imperative. The second uses future حـ plus a second-person imperfect. The object complex remains attached in both, while the stem and mood/time framing change.
Formal MSA has related suffixes but different vowel and mood patterns (formal/MSA). Do not add formal endings to an Egyptian clitic chain. Regional and social speech may vary in support vowels (regional/social) without changing the basic host-and-order analysis.
A two-turn Cairo dialogue
أعمل إيه بالصور دي؟
ʾaʿmil ēh bi-ṣ-ṣowar di?
What should I do with these photos?
اختار أحسن اتنين وابعتهملي.
ikhtār ʾaḥsan itnēn wi-bʿathumli.
Choose the best two and send them to me.
Common Mistakes
Writing the object as a separate word
❌ ابعت ها دلوقتي.
Incorrect—the direct-object pronoun attaches to the command.
✅ ابعتها دلوقتي.
ibʿatha dilwaʾti.
Send it now.
Reversing direct object and recipient
❌ ابعتليها دلوقتي.
Incorrect for ‘send it to me’ in the baseline order—the direct object precedes the recipient.
✅ ابعتهالي دلوقتي.
ibʿathāli dilwaʾti.
Send it to me now.
Putting -ش before the object
❌ ماتبعتشها.
Incorrect—the negative suffix follows the verb and all object clitics.
✅ ماتبعتهاش.
ma-tibʿathāsh.
Don’t send it.
Losing addressee agreement
❌ شوفيهم يا جماعة.
Incorrect for a group—the command needs plural -وا, not feminine -ي.
✅ شوفوهم يا جماعة.
shūfūhum ya gamāʿa.
Look at them, everyone.
Putting b- on a command with a clitic
❌ بتبعتها دلوقتي.
Incorrect as a direct command—this is an imperfect statement or question.
✅ ابعتها دلوقتي.
ibʿatha dilwaʾti.
Send it now.
Key Takeaways
- Object pronouns attach directly to commands.
- Feminine/plural addressee agreement precedes the object clitic.
- In a two-clitic transfer sequence, direct object normally precedes recipient.
- Preserve prepositional complement frames such as رد عليه.
- In negative commands, -ش comes after the entire verb-and-clitic complex.
Now practice Arabic
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Basic Positive CommandsA1 — Form everyday Cairene commands for masculine, feminine, and plural addressees, with natural clitics and complements.
- Imperative Gender and Number FormsA2 — Choose masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural command endings across regular and high-frequency Egyptian verbs.
- Direct-Object Suffixes on VerbsB1 — Attach Egyptian direct-object pronouns to past, imperfect, and negative verb hosts while preserving gender, clitic order, and discourse reference.
- Two Objects and Clitic OrderingB2 — Build Egyptian verb complexes with a direct-object theme and a recipient, including negative and contrastive forms.
- Clitics inside ما...شA2 — Build Egyptian negative words in the order ما + host + object and recipient clitics + ش, including the stem adjustments that attachment triggers.
- Weak Verbs with Object CliticsC1 — Attach Egyptian object pronouns to hollow and final-weak verbs without losing the correct stem or negation order.