ħalla + imperfect
Letting Someone Do Something
A conjugated ħalla form can carry an object pronoun followed by an imperfect action verb.
How It Works
Ħalla means “let” or “allow,” as well as “leave.” In a permission reading, an attached object pronoun identifies the person allowed to act, and the following imperfect identifies that participant as the actor. In the classroom context, L-għalliem ħalliehom jaqraw fil-klassi. means “The teacher let them read in class.” The object pronoun and plural action form both refer to the permitted readers.
Marija ħallietu jidħol. identifies a female permitter and a male entrant; Pawlu ħallieha toħroġ kmieni. identifies a male permitter and a female person leaving. The action verb has its own agreement. Attached pronouns can change the preceding stem, so learn the complete forms illustrated here. Permission differs from compulsion and does not itself establish that the participant wanted to act. Whether the action occurred also depends on context.
Compare the ordinary leaving meaning in ħalla l-ktieb fil-kamra, “he left the book in the room.” The book is the object left there, rather than somebody given permission.
Examples (3)
- L-għalliem ħalliehom jaqraw fil-klassi.
The teacher let them read in class.
The attached plural object pronoun and plural jaqraw identify the permitted readers; the teacher grants permission.
- Marija ħallietu jidħol.
Marija let him come in.
Ħalliet identifies Marija; the attached masculine object pronoun and jidħol identify the entrant.
- Pawlu ħallieha toħroġ kmieni.
Pawlu let her leave early.
The attached feminine object pronoun and context identify the female actor of toħroġ; Pawlu grants permission.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Introduce permission through the accepted attached-object construction: one participant allows another to act. Contrast that reading with leaving a book somewhere, without extending the lesson to an unsupported named-person complement template.
- A Pronoun Attached to a Verb
The host-sensitive object lesson helps read ħalliehom, ħallietu and ħallieha as complete forms identifying permitted actors separately from permitter agreement.
Level 3 - An Uncompleted or Repeated Event
The action forms jaqraw, jidħol and toħroġ agree with the permitted actors identified by those object pronouns.
Level 2
Related Patterns
Practice ħalla + imperfect in Bubblegum
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