Arabic and English Sentence Patterns: A Comparative Guide

21 | P a g e Search Functions. If you are using this guide via computer, the search function (Ctrl + F on PC, Command + F on MAC) will enable you to locate structural specifics (e.g., “will have been”) and view their Arabic equivalents. Underlining. In order to highlight verb usage, underlining is limited to verbs (including primary and modal auxiliaries) and some participles. In the example sentences, negative adverbs are underlined in contractions such as didn’t and hadn’t to preserve the continuity of the word. In the list of structural elements, however, their NEG representation is not underlined. Particles also are underlined only when affixed to verbs, such as ﻷِﺷْﺮَبَ , ﺳَﺄﻋْﻤَﻞُ , ﻓَﺤَﺰِنَ . When separate, such as ﺳﻮف , ﻟﻦ , ﻻ , ﻟﻢ , ﻗﺪ , ﻣﺎ , particles are not underlined in either the example sentences or the structural elements list. Overlap. In order to avoid multiple structural labels, elements are identified by the form or function most relevant to comparison. In the sentence “The student will study at nine o’clock this evening,” at nine o’clock is labeled PREP due to the preposition at despite the phrase’s adverbial function, while this evening is labeled ADV. Similarly, particles such as ﻟﻦ , ﻻ , ﻣﺎ are labeled NEG rather than PTL to highlight their role of negation.