Lesson 47
Ẓarf al-Zamān and Ẓarf al-Makān Adverbials
ظرف الزمان والمكان
Time adverbials (ظَرْف الزَّمَان) and place adverbials (ظَرْف الْمَكَان) take the accusative case to indicate when or where an action occurs. They are among the most common accusative structures in Arabic.
Common Adverbials
ArabicTypeMeaning
هُنَاPlacehere
هُنَاكَPlacethere
غَداًTimetomorrow
الْيَوْمَTimetoday
صَبَاحاًTimein the morning
مَسَاءًTimein the evening
دَائِماًTimealways
أَحْياناًTimesometimes
Adverbs of Place (Iḍāfa-Based)
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
أَمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِamāma l-masjidin front of the mosque
وَرَاءَ الْبَيْتِwarāʾa l-baytbehind the house
فَوْقَ الطَّاوِلَةِfawqa ṭ-ṭāwilaon top of the table
تَحْتَ الْكُرْسِيِّtaḥta l-kursiyyunder the chair
بَيْنَ الشَّجَرَتَيْنِbayna sh-shajarataynibetween the two trees
يَجْلِسُ الطَّالِبُ هُنَا سَأَذْهَبُ غَداً إِلَى الْمَسْجِد
Yajlisu ṭ-ṭālibu hunā Saʾadhhabu ghadan ilā l-masjid
The student sits here. I will go tomorrow to the mosque.
الْكِتَابُ فَوْقَ الْمَكْتَبِ يُصَلِّي دَائِماً فِي الْمَسْجِدِ صَبَاحاً
Al-kitābu fawqa l-maktabi Yuṣallī dāʾiman fī l-masjidi ṣabāḥan
The book is on top of the desk. He always prays in the mosque in the morning.
- Adverbials take the accusative: غَداً (tanwīn fatḥ), الْيَوْمَ (fatḥa).
- هُنَا and هُنَاكَ are مَبْنِيّ they never change their form.
- Ẓarf can be an iḍāfa: أَمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِ (in front of the mosque) the second noun is genitive.
- Some adverbials are permanently in the accusative because they were once objects of verbs: يَوْمَئِذٍ (on that day), حِينَئِذٍ (at that time).
- كُلَّ يَوْمٍ (every day) is an adverbial iḍāfa in the accusative كُلَّ takes fatḥa as the first noun of the construction.