hommech همش
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“hommech” (همش) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning they are not.
Meanings
- they are not
Usage
Hommech is the negative form of the pronoun homma (they). In derja, a sentence without a verb is negated by surrounding the pronoun with ma… ch: ma hommech, often written as one word mahommech. It means "they are not". Just add an adjective, a place or a participle: ma hommech fi dar, ma hommech mrédh. Followed by bech and a verb, the form expresses a negated future: ma hommech bech yji (they are not going to come). The same process gives manich, mahouch, mahich for the other persons.
Example
ما همش في الدار توّا
ma hommech fi dar tawa
“They are not at home right now.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hommech” but also “homech” and “humech”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.