Word
اذا بدك تسوقي بسكليتة بالشارع، البسي خوذة.
Meaning
If you want to ride a bicycle in the street, wear a helmet.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about اذا بدك تسوقي بسكليتة بالشارع، البسي خوذة.
Why are تسوقي and البسي in the feminine form?
Because this sentence is addressed to one female.
In Levantine, verbs often change depending on whether you are speaking to a man or a woman.
- بدك تسوقي = you (feminine) want to ride/drive
- البسي = wear! said to a woman
If you were speaking to a man, you would usually say:
- اذا بدك تسوق بسكليتة بالشارع، البس خوذة.
So the -ي ending in تسوقي and البسي shows that the listener is female.
What does بدك mean exactly?
بدك means you want in Levantine.
It is made of:
- بد = want / need
- -ك = you
So:
- بدي = I want
- بدك = you want
- بده = he wants
- بدها = she wants
In this sentence, اذا بدك تسوقي... literally means if you want to ride..., but in natural English it can also feel like if you're going to ride...
Why is there اذا at the beginning?