fi / f' / fil-

In

Level 1

F'kamra: in a room. Fi skola: in a school. Fil-kamra: in the room.

How It Works

Before a noun without an article, fi loses its vowel before a vowel or a single initial consonant: f'Malta and f'kamra. The apostrophe joins directly to the following word. Before the initial cluster in skola, retain fi skola, “in a school.”

With the definite article, the forms combine: fil-kamra, “in the room.” Assimilation gives fid-dar. Before a vowel, including the supporting vowel in l-iskola, the contraction is fl-. Compare fi skola, “in a school,” with fl-iskola, “in the school.” Gender and number do not select these shapes.

Determine whether the complement contains an article before choosing its written form. The apostrophe in f'kamra records elision; the hyphen in fil-kamra belongs to the incorporated article. Supporting vowels are part of ordinary orthography in forms such as fl-iskola, rather than optional pronunciation annotations.

Examples (3)

  1. Naħdem fi skola żgħira.

    I work in a small school.

    Fi retains its vowel before skola's initial cluster.

  2. Il-kelb rieqed fid-dar.

    The dog is asleep in the house.

    Fid- incorporates the article assimilated to d.

  3. Il-fajl jinsab fl-uffiċċju.

    The file is in the office.

    Fl- incorporates the article before a vowel-initial noun.

How It Connects

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fi / f' / fil-Level 1In

Learn This First

Distinguish articleless fi skola and f'kamra from definite fl-iskola and fil-kamra. Select spelling from the complement's opening sounds and article status, rather than its gender or number.

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Patterns that build on this one.