Arabic · Unit 5 · Dialogue Reader

Unit 5 Dialogues

Three dialogues and two short readings, line by line: two men outside a restaurant, a meal service on a plane, a husband who arrives hungry at the wrong moment — then the same people written about instead of speaking. Read each line aloud before 🔊, reveal the meaning only when you need it.

Reproduced from the class textbook, Unit 5 pp.1–3, 5–6 (photos in your library) · translations match Lesson 5 · one contradiction in the book's own pages is flagged in §5

1. قاسِم وسالِم — how many meals?

• قاسمأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ يا سالِمُ؟🔊
  meaning

  Where are you going, Salim? Unit 4's تَذْهَبُ, and يا + a name ending in -u.

• سالمإِلى المَطْعَمِ.🔊
  meaning

  To the restaurant. مَطْعَم is built from the same root as طَعام food — a “place of eating”.

• قاسمكَمْ وَجْبَةً تَأْكُلُ في اليَوْمِ؟🔊
  meaning

  How many meals do you eat in a day? كَمْ + one thing, ending in ـًا — Unit 3's shape, here وَجْبَةً.

• سالمآكُلُ ثَلاثَ وَجَباتٍ: الفَطورَ، والغَداءَ، والعَشاءَ.🔊
  meaning

  I eat three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. آ at the front is “I” — أَ + أ merged into one long vowel. ثَلاثَ وَجَباتٍ is Unit 3's counting shape (ثَلاثُ غُرَفٍ) in the object slot.

• قاسمهَذا كَثيرٌ جِدّاً. أَنا آكُلُ وَجْبَةً واحِدَةً.🔊
  meaning

  That's a great deal. I eat one meal. جِدّاً “very” always comes after the adjective. واحِدَةً follows its noun like any describing word.

• سالمهَذا قَليلٌ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  That's very little. The reply built to match, word for word.

• قاسمماذا تَأْكُلُ في الغَداءِ؟🔊
  meaning

  What do you eat at lunch? في for a meal — not a place, not a part of the day. New this unit.

• سالمآكُلُ الأَرُزَّ والخُبْزَ. وماذا تَأْكُلُ أَنْتَ؟🔊
  meaning

  I eat rice and bread. And what do you eat? Everything eaten ends in -a: الأَرُزَّ، الخُبْزَ.

• قاسمآكُلُ السَّمَكَ والسَّلَطَةَ والفاكِهَةَ.🔊
  meaning

  I eat fish, salad and fruit.

• سالمما وَزْنُكَ؟🔊
  meaning

  What do you weigh? وَزْن weight + Unit 2's ـكَ “your”.

• قاسم٦٠ كيلاً. وما وَزْنُكَ أَنْتَ؟🔊
  meaning

  60 kilos. And what do you weigh? Read aloud as سِتّونَ كيلاً — the digits are printed, the word is said. After 11–99 the thing counted is one of it, ending in ـًا. See the numbers chapter.

• سالم١٠٠ كيلٍ.🔊
  meaning

  100 kilos. Read aloud as مِائَةُ كيلٍ — and hear the difference: after 100 the ending is -in, not -an.

• قاسمأَنْتَ سَمينٌ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  You are very fat. The book means it as plain description; it would not be a kind thing to say to a stranger.

• سالموأَنْتَ نَحيفٌ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  And you are very thin. Keep the arithmetic: سالِم eats three meals and weighs 100; قاسِم eats one and weighs 60. Page 6 disagrees — see §5.

2. المُضيفَة والمُسافِرَة — the meal service

Two women, so every verb here carries Unit 4's feminine ـينَ ending, and “please” is مِنْ فَضْلِكِ with ـكِ.

• المضيفةماذا تَطْلُبينَ مِنَ الطَّعامِ؟🔊
  meaning

  What will you have to eat? Literally “what do you order from the food?”. مِنْ takes an -a before الـ: مِنَ الطَّعامِ.

• المسافرةبَعْضَ السَّمَكِ والأَرُزِّ مِنْ فَضْلِكِ.🔊
  meaning

  Some fish and rice, please. Unit 3's بَعْضَ الأَثاثِ, now standing on its own as the whole answer. What follows بَعْضَ ends in -i.

• المضيفةوماذا تَطْلُبينَ مِنَ الشَّرابِ؟🔊
  meaning

  And what will you have to drink?

• المسافرةماءً مِنْ فَضْلِكِ.🔊
  meaning

  Water, please. ماءً — the thing asked for takes the ـً ending even with no verb in sight.

• المضيفةوماذا تُفَضِّلينَ مِنَ الفاكِهَةِ؟🔊
  meaning

  And which fruit would you prefer?

• المسافرةالتَّمْرَ أَوِ العِنَبَ.🔊
  meaning

  Dates or grapes. Unit 4's أَوْ picks up a kasra — أَوِ — when the next word starts with الـ, so the two don't collide.

• المضيفةهَلْ تَشْرَبينَ الشّايَ؟🔊
  meaning

  Do you drink tea?

• المسافرةلا، أُفَضِّلُ القَهْوَةَ.🔊
  meaning

  No, I prefer coffee. أُفَضِّلُ — same letters as أَفْضَل “better”, a different word entirely.

• المضيفةالقَهْوَةَ بِالحَليبِ؟🔊
  meaning

  Coffee with milk? Unit 4's بِـ meant “by” (بِالحافِلَةِ by bus). Here it is “with” — see the prepositions chapter.

• المسافرةنَعَمْ، القَهْوَةَ بِالحَليبِ.🔊
  meaning

  Yes, coffee with milk.

• المضيفةهَلْ تُريدينَ شَيْئاً آخَرَ؟🔊
  meaning

  Would you like anything else? Unit 3's شَيْئاً آخَرَ, now asked of a woman. آخَرَ ends in a plain -a where you would expect -an — one of three such words in this unit.

• المسافرةلا، وشُكْراً.🔊
  meaning

  No, thank you.

• المضيفةعَفْواً.🔊
  meaning

  You're welcome. The standing reply to شُكْراً.

3. الزَّوْج والزَّوْجَة — the guests

• الزوجالسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم.🔊
  meaning

  Peace be upon you.

• الزوجةوعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلامُ.🔊
  meaning

  And upon you be peace.

• الزوجأَنا جَوْعانُ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  I'm very hungry. جَوْعانُ ends in -u with no -un: words on this فَعْلان pattern never take tanwīn.

• الزوجةالغَداءُ عَلى المائِدَةِ.🔊
  meaning

  Lunch is on the table. The first free use of عَلى in the course — until now it lived only inside السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم.

• الزوجما هَذا؟! سَمَكٌ ولَحْمٌ ودَجاجٌ وأَرُزٌّ وسَلَطَةٌ وفاكِهَةٌ! هَذا كَثيرٌ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  What's all this?! Fish and meat and chicken and rice and salad and fruit! That's a great deal. Six nouns, each ending -un, no verb — a complete Arabic sentence. Say it as one breathless list.

• الزوجةلا تَأْكُلْ... لا تَأْكُلْ. اِجْلِسْ.🔊
  meaning

  Don't eat… don't eat. Sit down. Unit 4's لا + verb was “I don't sleep”. This لا is an order: the verb's ending is cut to nothing — تَأْكُلُ becomes تَأْكُلْ. And اِجْلِسْ is a bare command, like Unit 3's اُدْخُلْ.

• الزوجلِماذا؟ أَنا جَوْعانُ.🔊
  meaning

  Why? I'm hungry. لِـ “for” + ماذا “what” = “for what?” — why.

• الزوجةلَدَيْنا ضُيوفٌ.🔊
  meaning

  We have guests. Unit 3's لَدَيْنا شَقَّةٌ جَميلَة, same shape.

• الزوجلَدَيْنا ضُيوفٌ! مَنْ؟!🔊
  meaning

  We have guests! Who?!

• الزوجةوالِدي وَوالِدَتي وأَخي.🔊
  meaning

  My father and my mother and my brother. Unit 2's ـي “my” on three family words.

• الزوجأَيْنَ الضُّيوفُ؟🔊
  meaning

  Where are the guests?

• الزوجةفي غُرْفَةِ الجُلوسِ.🔊
  meaning

  In the living room. Unit 3's غُرْفَةُ الجُلوسِ, both words ending in -i after في.

4. The pair-work model (p.5)

The book's instruction: تَبادَلِ الحِوارَ مَعَ زَميلِكَ، كَما في المِثالِ — swap this exchange with your classmate, following the example. ط١ / ط٢ are student 1 and student 2.

• ط١أَيْنَ الغَداءُ؟🔊
  meaning

  Where is lunch? The page prints a full stop here rather than a question mark — a typesetting slip; drill 3 on p.4 asks the same question properly.

• ط٢الغَداءُ عَلى المائِدَةِ.🔊
  meaning

  Lunch is on the table.

• ط١أَنا جَوْعانُ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  I'm very hungry.

• ط٢لَدَيْنا ضُيوفٌ.🔊
  meaning

  We have guests.

• ط١مَنْ؟🔊
  meaning

  Who?

• ط٢والِدي وَوالِدَتي وجَدّي.🔊
  meaning

  My father and my mother and my grandfather. The model swaps أَخي for جَدّي — that is the substitution you are meant to keep making.

5. Two short readings (p.6)

The same material written about people instead of spoken by them. Every verb moves to the يَـ / تَـ he-and-she form. Read a sentence at a time.

زَيْنَب

• ١زَيْنَبُ سَمينَةٌ جِدّاً.🔊
  meaning

  Zaynab is very fat. زَيْنَبُ ends in -u with no tanwīn — like جَوْعانُ, a word that never takes one.

• ٢تَأْكُلُ ثَلاثَ وَجَباتٍ في اليَوْمِ.🔊
  meaning

  She eats three meals a day. Here تَأْكُلُ is she eats — the same word that meant “you eat” on page 1. Only the subject tells you which.

• ٣زَيْنَبُ تَأْكُلُ في الفَطورِ السَّمَكَ، وتَشْرَبُ القَهْوَةَ.🔊
  meaning

  At breakfast Zaynab eats fish and drinks coffee.

• ٤وتَأْكُلُ في الغَداءِ اللَّحْمَ وتَشْرَبُ الشّايَ.🔊
  meaning

  At lunch she eats meat and drinks tea.

• ٥وتَأْكُلُ في العَشاءِ الدَّجاجَ، وتَشْرَبُ الحَليبَ.🔊
  meaning

  At dinner she eats chicken and drinks milk.

• ٦وَزْنُ زَيْنَبَ ١٠٠ كيلٍ.🔊
  meaning

  Zaynab weighs 100 kilos. The slot after وَزْنُ wants -i, but زَيْنَبَ gives -a. Third time this unit that a word refuses the ending you expect.

The book's six questions on this passage: هَلْ زَيْنَبُ نَحيفَةٌ؟ · كَمْ وَجْبَةً تَأْكُلُ في اليَوْمِ؟ · ماذا تَأْكُلُ وَتَشْرَبُ في الفَطورِ؟ · … في الغَداءِ؟ · … في العَشاءِ؟ · ما وَزْنُ زَيْنَبَ؟ 🔊 Answer them aloud in full sentences.

قاسِم وسالِم

• ١قاسِمٌ يَأْكُلُ ثَلاثَ وَجَباتٍ في اليَوْمِ: الفَطورَ والغَداءَ والعَشاءَ.🔊
  meaning

  Qasim eats three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. يَأْكُلُ — “he eats”. The same five verbs run through drill 2 on p.4.

• ٢سالِمٌ يَأْكُلُ وَجْبَةً واحِدَةً في اليَوْمِ: الغَداءَ.🔊
  meaning

  Salim eats one meal a day: lunch.

• ٣قاسِمٌ يَأْكُلُ في الغَداءِ: اللَّحْمَ، والدَّجاجَ، والسَّمَكَ، والأَرُزَّ، والخُبْزَ.🔊
  meaning

  At lunch Qasim eats meat, chicken, fish, rice and bread.

• ٤وسالِمٌ يَأْكُلُ في الغَداءِ: السَّمَكَ والسَّلَطَةَ والفاكِهَةَ.🔊
  meaning

  And at lunch Salim eats fish, salad and fruit.

• ٥قاسِمٌ يَشْرَبُ الماءَ، وسالِمٌ يَشْرَبُ الشّايَ.🔊
  meaning

  Qasim drinks water, and Salim drinks tea.

The book's six questions: كَمْ وَجْبَةً يَأْكُلُ قاسِمٌ؟ · كَمْ وَجْبَةً يَأْكُلُ سالِمٌ؟ · ماذا يَأْكُلُ قاسِمٌ في الغَداءِ؟ · ماذا يَأْكُلُ سالِمٌ في الغَداءِ؟ · ماذا يَشْرَبُ قاسِمٌ؟ · ماذا يَشْرَبُ سالِمٌ؟ 🔊

Done speaking? Test yourself in Lesson 5, drill the Unit 5 flashcards, or see what عَلى, بِـ “with” and مِنَ الـ are doing in the prepositions chapter. Anything unclear? Bring it to your teacher — in class.