Arabic and English Sentence Patterns: A Comparative Guide

64 | P a g e 43 This hodgepodge of form, function, and meaning provides the clearest chart format. A function (such as subject or direct object ) labelled as a part of speech (such as noun ) would be as ambiguous as a part of speech (such as verb ) labelled as a function (such as predicate ). Term usage is consistent throughout the guide. 44 That is, they present only those facets which apply to their usage in the charts. For example, predicate in English is broadly defined in binary relationship to the sentence subject. In the charts, however, the predicate is only certain sentence elements that generally follow the linking verb. 45 In English and Arabic, past-tense verbs do not show mood variations; they are consistently indicative. Thus, mood information is not included with the V pst designation in the charts. See also p. 16. 46 See note 36. In this example, the helping vowel ِ◌ replaces the ْ◌ of the jussive on ﯾَﺪْرُسْ to facilitate transition to the following word. The ِ◌ is used because, unlike the ُ◌ and َ◌ , it is not a mood marker. 47 https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4273240 48 https://goo.gl/VUjwV0 49 https://goo.gl/5TpumG 50 The separate aspectual designation in the charts is artificial. As noted in the text, Arabic employs what is best described as a combined tense/aspect system and thus does not separate the two as distinctly as does English. The Arabic categories are separated in the charts only to provide a more direct cross-reference to English. There are a number of Arabic terms for aspect such as . ﻧﻘﻄﺔ اﻟﺘﺮﻛﯿﺰ ، وﺟﮫ ﻧﺎﺣﯿﺔ is used here to indicate viewpoint/aspect . 51 The participle form of “study” is not semantically appropriate for this chart since, in general, only participles of motion carry progressive meaning; others are usually considered nominal. The pattern verb in this structure would mean “The student was a studier,” the participle bearing agentive nominal meaning. See McCarus, Grammar 115-16. 52 https://goo.gl/pSoHHX 53 https://goo.gl/bB9zfa 54 https://goo.gl/4YAH3y