84 Grammar: “To have” Expressing possession using the prepositions عند مع ل

The most common way of expressing possession–i.e., saying “I have” is by forming a sentence with one of the following three prepositions:

عند

مع

ل

Usually, the subject of this type of prepositional sentenc is indefinite (i.e., without an ال):

عندك بنت؟ (you have a sister?)

له أخت واحدة  (he has one sister)

معك فلوس؟  (you have money?)

i. عند  has a sense of “owning” or “possessing”

eg. عندنا أسرة كبيرة  (We have a big family)

ii. مع is used for “on one’s person”

معك سيجارة؟ (do you have a cigarette?)

ii. ل is often used for something which someone has recently received.

لها اجازة ثلاث أسابيع (she has got a three week vacation)