The Imperfect in the Accusative
In short
The imperfect takes the accusative after an, lan, kay, or idhan, or after an implied an following the lām of purpose, ḥattā, the lām of denial, the fāʾ of consequence, or the wāw of accompaniment. Its signs are fatḥa, shown or implied, and dropping the nūn in the five verbs.
The imperfect is the only declinable verb in Arabic, and its default state is nominative. A particle of the accusative changes that. Some govern the verb directly, and some cannot govern at all, because they are prepositions, so the tradition posits an implied particle between them and the verb. Understanding why that implied particle exists explains a rule that otherwise looks invented.
In this lesson8 parts
Learn: a departure from the default
The imperfect is nominative unless something changes it. A particle of the accusative preceding it produces naṣb, so the case is caused, never inherent.
By the end of this lesson
- Name the particles that govern the accusative directly.
- Explain why li- and ḥattā cannot govern, and what does instead.
- Give the two accusative markers and when each applies.
- Separate look-alike particles that behave completely differently.
Always identify the particle first. The ending alone cannot tell you the case, because the accusative and the jussive share a marker in the five verbs.
لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنْفِقُوا
lan tanālū l-birra ḥattā tunfiqū
You will never attain righteousness until you spend.
Show the i‘rāb
لن حرف نفي ونصب واستقبال، تنالوا فعل مضارع منصوب بلن وعلامة نصبه حذف النون لأنه من الأفعال الخمسة، وواو الجماعة في محل رفع فاعل، البرَّ مفعول به منصوب، حتى حرف غاية وجر، تنفقوا فعل مضارع منصوب بأن مضمرة بعد حتى وعلامة نصبه حذف النون.
Two accusatives, two different governors. lan governs directly. ḥattā cannot, because it is a preposition and prepositions never precede verbs, so an implied an governs instead. The wording records the difference precisely.
See: the particles that govern directly
an, lan and kay reach the verb themselves.
- an: infinitival and governing, making a clause equivalent to a verbal noun.
- lan: negating the future and governing.
- kay: infinitival and governing, giving a reason.
أُرِيدُ أَنْ تَنْجَحَ
urīdu an tanjaḥa
I want you to succeed.
Show the i‘rāb
أريدُ فعل مضارع مرفوع، والفاعل ضمير مستتر وجوبًا تقديره أنا، أنْ حرف مصدري ونصب، تنجحَ فعل مضارع منصوب بأن وعلامة نصبه الفتحة الظاهرة، والمصدر المؤول في محل نصب مفعول به.
The clause an tanjaḥa stands in for najāḥaka, 'your success', and that noun is the object of urīdu. Notice how English restructures completely: 'I want you to succeed' has no equivalent of an at all.
The two markers
Fatḥa, visible on a sound verb and on one ending in wāw or yāʾ, estimated on one ending in alif; and dropping the nūn in the five verbs.
لَنْ يَسْعَىٰ إِلَّا مُجْتَهِدٌ
lan yasʿā illā mujtahidun
None will strive except a diligent one.
Show the i‘rāb
لن حرف نفي ونصب، يسعى فعل مضارع منصوب بلن وعلامة نصبه الفتحة المقدرة على الألف منع من ظهورها التعذر، إلا أداة حصر، مجتهدٌ فاعل مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمة الظاهرة.
Nothing visible marks the accusative, because a final alif carries no vowel. Note also the emptied exception: no whole precedes illā, so mujtahidun takes the case of its own role, doer.
Look-alike particles
Most errors in this chapter come from particles that look similar and govern differently.
- lan against lā: lan governs and negates the future; lā does neither.
- an against anna: one takes a verb, the other a noun.
- The lām of purpose against the lām of denial: both take an implied an, but the second follows a negated kāna and denies rather than explains.
- Forgetting the substitute marker. In the five verbs the accusative shows as a dropped nūn, not a fatḥa.
Sources
The particles, the implied an and the conditions on idhan follow these texts.
- Ibn Hishām al-Anṣārī, مغني اللبيب and أوضح المسالك: the particles and the positions of the implied an.
- Ibn ʿAqīl, شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك: the lām of denial and the conditions on idhan.
Quranic evidence
A rule is clearest in a text you already know by heart. Each ayah below contains the very construction this lesson teaches, and every one has a full word-by-word i'rab on this site. Read the ayah first and try to find the construction yourself, then open its i'rab to check.
- وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
- وَلَن يَتَمَنَّوْهُ أَبَدًۢا بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
- لَمْ يَكُنِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ مُنفَكِّينَ حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَةُ
- حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ…
- قَالَ ٱلْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَسَٰحِرٌ عَلِيمٌۭ
- وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ وَلِتَسْتَبِينَ سَبِيلُ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Common questions
Short answers to questions that come up in this chapter.
What is the difference between lan and lā in negating the imperfect?
lan negates the future and governs the accusative: lan yaktuba, he will never write. lā negates the present without governing: lā yaktubu, he does not write, where the verb stays nominative. Confusing them changes both the case and the time.
Does ḥattā always put the verb in the accusative?
It does when the sense is future purpose or limit, and then the governor is an implied an rather than ḥattā itself. If the act is already complete, the verb after ḥattā is nominative because the meaning is result rather than purpose.
What is the difference between an with sukūn and anna doubled?
an is an infinitival particle governing a verb in the accusative: urīdu an tanjaḥa. anna is one of the sisters of inna, governing a noun in the accusative and leaving its predicate nominative: ʿalimtu anna Zaydan nājiḥun. One takes a verb, the other a noun.
Is idhan among the particles of the accusative?
Yes, on conditions: it must begin the sentence, the verb after it must refer to the future, and nothing may separate them except an oath. If a condition fails the verb is nominative.
What is the lām of denial and how does it differ from the lām of purpose?
The lām of denial follows a negated form of kāna and stresses that the act will not occur: mā kāna Llāhu li-yuʿadhdhibahum. The lām of purpose gives a reason: jiʾtu li-adrusa. Both are followed by an implied an, and both take the accusative.
Why is the nūn dropped when the five verbs take the accusative?
Because the five verbs mark their cases with the presence or absence of the nūn rather than with vowels. Present means nominative, dropped means accusative or jussive. The particle tells you which of the two you have.