Plain present-tense verbs (verbs without بـ or هـ / حـ) can be used like infinitive verbs in English.
In the sentences below the verbs are plain because they are subordinate to another word which will be shown in purple. The plain present-tense verb is shown in green.
Example 1
أنا عايز أتكلم معاكي |
| I want to talk to you |
Example 2
هو بيحب يدلع نفسه |
| He likes to spoil himself. |
Example 3
على فكرة هي لازم تقعد عندنا اليومين دول |
| By the way, she needs to stay with us during this time. |
Example 4
دودي حبيبي جاب لي الفيلا دي عشان نتجوز فيها |
| My wonderful Dudi got me this villa in order for us to get married in it. |
Plain present-tense verbs can also be used as the main verbs in a sentence. When the main verb is a plain present-tense verb, it carries with it a "modal slant", to steal a phrase from Holes (2004).
Brustad (2000) explains that this slant occurs with plain present-tense verbs because they can be used to 'express polite questions, possibility, and desirability, similar to English modals 'would,' 'should,' 'could,' and might.' These plain verbs are also used to describe potential events. Likely for this reason, they express "a degree of politeness in social interaction" (Brustad, 2000).
Example 1
أجيب لك حاجة تشربها |
| Can I get you something to drink? (آدم وجميلة) |
Example 2
اهلا يا محمد تشرب حاجة |
| Hiya Mohommad! Would you like something to drink? |
Example 3
فلوس الناس دي ترجع فورا |
| These people's money needs to return to them immediately! (جواز بقرار جمهوري) |
Example 4
يعني نقرأ الفاتحة؟ ولا تحب تاخد رأي شادية الاول |
| So should we recite the Fatiha, or would you like to get Shadia's opinion first? (بين السرايات) |
Example 5
أنا أنسى أي حاجة في الدنيا إلا العمارة اللي أنا لعبت فيها |
| I could forget anything in this world except for the building that I used to play in! (عسل اسود) |
Example 6
ما انت اللي منشف دماغك يا ابن مراتي عندك حتة ارض تجيب لك دهب لو بعتها |
| Hey stepson, you're the one who is being stubborn. You have a piece of land that would make you rich (bring you gold) if you sold it. (صباحو كبد) |
References
Brustad, Kristen. 2000 The Syntax of Spoken Arabic: A Comparative Study of Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, and Kuwaiti Dialects.Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Holes, Clive. 2004 Modern Arabic: Structures, Functions, and Varieties. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press.