Hi everyone!
In the last few posts we’ve looked at various forms of the verb. Today we’re going to look briefly at the direct object pronouns. These are almost identical to the forms used with nouns, with the exception of the first person singular.
Verb forms
A pronoun attached to a verb marks its direct object, and the same concerns apply (including lengthening and deletion). Note the two sets of forms, one following vowels, one following consonants:
| After consonant | After vowel |
| شافني shaaf-ni he saw me |
شافوني shaafuu-ni they saw me |
| شافك shaaf-ak he saw you (m.) |
شافوك shaafuu-k they saw you (m.) |
| شافك shaaf-ek he saw you (f.) |
شافوكي shaafuu-ki they saw you (f.) |
| شافو shaaf-o he saw him |
شافوه shaafuu they saw him |
| شافها shaaf-(h)a he saw her |
شافوها shaafuu-(h)a they saw her |
| شافنا shaaf-na he saw us |
شافونا shaafuu-na they saw us |
| شافكن shaaf-kon he saw you (p.) |
شافوكن shaafuu-kon they saw you (p.) |
| شافهن shaaf-hon he saw them |
شافوهن shaafuu-hon they saw them |
Note again that when the verb itself ends in a vowel, as in the case of shaafu ‘they saw’, the pronoun spelt ـه is pronounced as a stress shift and lengthening and is not otherwise distinguished from the form without a pronoun.
Beyond the basic forms, there isn’t much to say about these pronouns. But it is worth noting that unlike in fuS7a, where the ـني form is more or less confined to verbs, this set of pronouns is used on all sorts of other miscellaneous words in Syrian:
كلني عرق
kill-ni 3ara2
I’m covered in sweat [= all of me is sweat]
لساتني هون
lissaat-ni hoon
I’m still here
Note that where a verb has two pronoun objects, only one can appear as a suffixed pronoun on the verb. The other is shunted off onto a carrier, يا yaa (corresponding to the fuS7a إيا). The order of the two pronouns generally corresponds to the English order:
عطينتي ياها
3aTeet-ni yaa-ha
you’ve given me it