The Circumstantial object (Adverbs of Time and Place)

- ‫ول فِ ِيه‬
ُ ُ‫ال َْم ْفع‬

Declinable adverbs – ‫الم ْع َربة‬

ُ ‫الظُّروف‬

 The Arabic adverbs are divided into two types according to its
declension or indeclension as follows:

 -          The declinable adverbs, which can be changed according to its position

in the sentence.

-          The indeclinable adverbs, which have one vowel-ending and do not

change whatever its position in the sentence is.

 In this part we only study the declinable adverbs. The declinable

adverbs have only two cases of declension as follows:

1-             The accusative case (this is the main case of the declinable adverb)

2-            The genitive case (after the preposition ( ‫فِي‬ /fī)

 The adverb of time (‫الزمان‬ ‫)ظرف‬: When we study the adverb of

time we notice that it can only be declinable in the accusative
case, whether it is limited as ( ً‫سنَة‬
َ  - ً‫ساعة‬
َ  – ‫ ) َي ْو ًما‬or vague as ( – ‫َد ْه ًرا‬
‫ َز َمنًا‬ - ‫) َوقْتًا‬.

English meaning Example

ِ ‫ت َع ِن ال َك‬
‫الم َد ْه ًرا‬ َ ‫َس َك‬
He stopped taking for a period
 /sakata ξan al kalāmi dahran/

ُ ‫ِع ْش‬
ً‫ت فِي لَْن َد َن َز َمنًا طَ ِويال‬
I lived in London for a long time

/ξishtu fī landan zamanan ŧawīlan/

ً‫ت َم َع َز ْو َجتِي َوقتًا َج ِميال‬

ُ ‫ض ْي‬
َ َ‫ق‬
I spent with my wife a beautiful time

/qađaytu maξa zawĵati waqtan ŧawīlan/

ِ ً‫ت إال ساعة‬

‫واح َد ًة‬ ُ ‫مانِ ْم‬
َ
I only slept one hour

/mā nimtu illā sāξatan wāħidatan/

 The adverb of place (‫المكان‬ ‫)ظرف‬: When we study the declension

of the adverb of place we notice that there are two cases as
follows

 The accusative case: This case occurs when the adverb of place
َ ‫ ِش‬ - ‫ين‬
is vague (unlimited) as (‫مال‬ ِ َ ‫تَ ْح‬ – ‫)فَ و َق‬. These adverbs
َ ‫يَم‬ – ‫ت‬
has to be specified by an annexed noun as in the following
examples:


 

 the following examples:

English meaning Examples

ِ ‫َمام الب ْي‬

‫ت‬ َ َ ‫السيَّارةُ أ‬
َّ ‫َو َق َفت‬
The car stopped in front of the house

/waqafat as sayyāratu amāma al bayti/

ِ ‫ْف‬
‫الكاميرا‬ َ ‫ج َخل‬
ُ ‫الم ْخ ِر‬
ُ ‫س‬ َ َ‫َجل‬
The director sat behind the camera

/ĵalasa al mukhriĵu khlafa al camera/

 When the adverb is derived from the stem of the verb, it also

has to be in the accusative case

Verb ‫س‬
َ َ‫َجل‬ ‫س‬
َ ‫َد َر‬ ‫ب‬
َ َ‫َكت‬ ‫َس َج َد‬ ‫طَبَ َخ‬ ‫طار‬
َ

‫س‬ ِ ‫َم ْس ِج َد‬

Adverb َ ‫َم ْجل‬ ‫َم ْد َر َسة‬ ‫ب‬
َ َ‫َمكْت‬ ‫َمطْبَ َخ‬ ‫طار‬
َ ‫َم‬

Meaning Sitting School Desk or office Mosque Kitchen Airport

  There is one condition under which these adverbs are in the

accusative case: that they have to be mentioned with the verb

of the same stem as follows:

Explanation English meaning Example

‫س العُلَماء‬ ِ‫ت مجل‬

َ ْ َ ُ ‫َجلَ ْس‬
. in the place where the scientists sit I sat in the place of scientists

/ĵalastu maĵlisa al ξulamā’i/

‫اج‬
ِ ‫الح َّج‬
ُ ‫ت َم ْس َعى‬
ُ ‫َس َع ْي‬
. in the place where the pilgrims run I run the track of pilgrims

/saξaytu masξā al ħuĵĵāĵi/

ِ ‫ذَهبت م ْذهب الع َق‬

‫الء‬
i.e. in the place where ُ َ َ َ ُ َْ
I (went) did as rationales

the rational people go /dhahabtu madhhaba al ξuqalā’i/

 The genitive case: this occurs when the adverb is limited (not
vague) as (‫ش َّقة‬
َ  - ‫ َق ْريَة‬ – ‫ت‬
َ ‫ ) َب ْي‬and not derived from the same stem of
the verb, it has to be preceded with the preposition ( ‫فِي‬ /fī/)
which causes the genitive case as in the following examples :
  The genitive case: this occurs when the adverb is limited (not

vague /) which causes the genitive case as in the following

examples:

English meaning Example

‫ت فِي َش َّق ٍة‬

ُ ‫َس َك ْن‬
I lived in a flat

/sakantu fī shaqqatin/

‫البلَ ِد‬ ِ ُ ‫أَقَم‬

َ ‫ت في‬ ْ
I stayed at the village

/aqamtu fī al baladi/

‫الم ْس ِج ِد‬
َ ‫ي‬ ِ‫ت‬
‫ف‬ ُ ‫صلَّْي‬
َ
I prayed in the Mosque

/ŝallaytu fī al masĵidi/

ُّ ‫ياء ِم َن‬ ِ
ِ ‫الس‬
‫وق‬ ُ ْ‫ا ْشتِ َري‬
َ ‫ت األَ ْش‬
I brought the things from the market

/ishtaraytu al ashyā’a min as sūqi/

I prefer the life of the village

‫الحياةَ ِفي الْ َق ْريَِة‬ ُ ‫أُفَض‬
َ ‫ِّل‬
 /ufađđilu al ħayāta fī al qaryati/

 You may notice that the adverbs of the above mentioned

examples are in the genitive case, because they are not vague

(unlimited) rather each of them refers to a limited place as

and none of them is derived from the same stem of the

preceding verb.

Adverb of Place in Arabic Grammar ‫ظرف المكان‬

‫ ظرف المكان‬is a special category of nouns in Arabic used in a sentence to
denote place. It is a special type of noun in Arabic, but it can be understood as
an adverbial of place, as it gives the place in which a certain action takes
place. It is the word that answers the question: “where did the action take
place”? Consider the following examples:

.‫الشجرة‬ ‫تحت‬ ‫جلست‬

I sat under the tree.

.‫الفراش‬ ‫فوق‬ ‫أنام‬

I sleep on the bed.
 .‫الجامعة‬ ‫ناحية‬  ‫أسير‬

I walk towards the university.

‫ ظرف المكان‬is usually accusative (‫)منصوب‬.

Some examples of ‫ ظرف المكان‬are as follows:

Words used as adverb in Arabic

‫=( َف ْوق‬ fawq) over / above
‫=( َتحْ ت‬ taht) under
‫=( َقريب‬ qareeb) near
‫=( َبعِيد‬ baàeed) far
‫=( عٍند‬ àenda) at
‫=( داخل‬ dakhel) in / inside / into
‫ارج‬ ِ ‫=( َخ‬ kharej) out of / outside / off
‫=( َبين‬ bayna) between
‫=( َو َسط‬ wasat) middle
‫=( خِالل‬ khelal) through
‫=( َح ْول‬ hawla) around
‫=( أسفل‬ asfal) down
‫=( أعلى‬ aàla) up
‫=( أَ ْد َنى‬ adna) or ‫=( دون‬ doona) below
‫=( َعبْر‬ àabr) across
‫=( أَ َمام‬ amam) or ‫=( قُ ّدام‬ quddam) in front of / opposite
‫=( َخلف‬ khalfa) or ‫=( َوراء‬ wara'a) behind
‫=( ُم َق ِابل‬ muqabel) against / opposite
‫=( م َُعاكِس‬ muàakes) opposite
‫=( َيمِين‬ yameen) right
‫=( َي َسار‬ yasar) left
‫=( َش َمال‬ shamal) north
‫=( َج ُنوب‬ janoob) south
‫=( َشرْ ق‬ sharq) east
‫=( َغ ٍرب‬ garb) west
‫=( أَ َّنى‬ anna) whereever
‫=( حيث‬ haythu) where "the one that is used as a relative pronoun, not as
a question"

‫ تجا َه‬ = towards

‫ = أما َم‬in front of

‫خلف‬
َ = behind

‫قرب‬
َ = near

‫ = حو َل‬around
َ
‫شرق‬ = east

‫غرب‬
َ = west

‫جنوب‬
َ  = south

‫ = شما َل‬north
َ = above
‫فوق‬

َ
‫تحت‬ = under

‫يمين‬
َ = right

‫يسار‬
َ = left

‫جانب‬
َ = beside

‫بين‬
َ = between
‫ = ناحي َة‬towards
َ
‫وسط‬ = in the middle of

‫ = خال َل‬through
 
What is Adverb?
An adverb is a word that changes or qualifies the meaning of a verb. An
adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers
questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much". This post will
discuss adverbs of place in Arabic grammar, how to use them and the
word that comes after them.

What is Adverb of place?

It is an adverb that describes where the action of a verb is carried out. In
Arabic, it called ‫=( ظرف المكان‬ tharfu al-makan). ‫=( ظرف المكان‬ tharfu al-
makan) typically answer questions such as "where?".

Adverbs modify verbs. They give extra information about the manner, time, frequency of
performing a certain action. Typically, adverbs in Arabic end in ( ‫)تنوين الفتح‬, e.g. ً‫كثيرا‬ ، ً‫جدا‬
ً ‫دائما‬ ، ً‫قليال‬ ،  etc.

.‫أدرس كثيراً قبل االمتحان‬

“I study a lot before exams.”

.‫ال نأكل كثيراً في اإلفطار‬

“We do not eat a lot at breakfast.”

.ً‫تحبين الشيكوالتة جدا‬

“You like chocolate a lot.”
There are words that serve mainly as adverbs, e.g.

Very ً‫جدا‬

Always ً ‫دائما‬

Usually ‫عادة‬

Never ً‫أبدا‬
 Sometimes ً ‫أحيانا‬

Adverbs can be derived from adjectives by adding ( ‫)تنوين الفتح‬, e.g. ً‫كثيرا‬is derived
from ‫“كثير‬much”, ً‫قليال‬is derived from ‫“قليل‬little”, ً ‫سريعا‬is derived from ‫“سريع‬fast”, etc.

.‫أمشي سريعا ً ألنني متأخرة‬

“I walk fast because I am late.”

.‫أدرس كثيراً وأنام قليالً بسبب االمتحانات‬

“I study a lot and sleep a little because of the exams.”

Adverbs can be derived from nouns, especially those denoting time, e.g. ً‫ليال‬is derived
from ‫“ليل‬night”, ً ‫“يوميا‬daily” is derived from ‫“يوم‬day”, ً ‫“أسبوعيا‬weekly” is derived
from ‫“أسبوع‬week”, etc.

.ً‫الخفاش ينام نهاراً ويصحو ليال‬

“A bat sleeps in the day and wakes at night.”

.ً‫تصدر المجلة أسبوعيا‬

“The magazine appears weekly.”
Adverbs Of Time
Yesterday in Arabic / Aams / ‫أَ ْمس‬
Today in Arabic / Aleeawm / ‫ا ْل َي ْوم‬
Tomorrow in Arabic / Ghada / ‫َغدا‬
Now in Arabic / Alaan / ‫اآْل َن‬
Then in Arabic / Thom / ‫ُثم‬
Later in Arabic / Feeemaa ba’d / ‫فِ ْي َما َب ْعد‬
Tonight in Arabic / Hatheh allaeelah / ‫َهذِه ا ْللَّ ْيلَة‬
Right now / Feee alwaqt alhaaleee / ‫فِي ا ْل َو ْقت ا ْل َحالِي‬
Last night in Arabic / Laeelah aams / ‫َل ْيلَة أَ ْمس‬
This morning in Arabic / Hathaa alsabaah / ‫ص َباح‬ َّ ‫ه ََذا ا ْل‬
Next week in Arabic / Alaosbow’ almoqbel / ‫اأْل ُ ْس ُب ْوع ا ْل ُم ْق ِبل‬
Already in Arabic / Saabeqaa / ‫اب َقا‬ ِ ‫س‬
َ
Recently in Arabic / Mo’akhara / ‫ُم َؤ َّخرا‬
Lately in Arabic / Mo’akhara / ‫ ُم َؤ َّخرا‬  
Soon in Arabic / Qareeeba / ‫َق ِر ْيبا‬
Immediately in Arabic / Fawraa / ‫َف ْو َرا‬
Still in Arabic / Laa eeazaal / ‫اَل َي َزال‬
Yet in Arabic / Ba’d / ‫َب ْعد‬
Ago in Arabic / Month / ‫ُم ْنذ‬

Adverbs Of Place
Here in Arabic / Honaa / ‫ُه َنا‬
There in Arabic / honaak / ‫ُه َناك‬
Over there in Arabic / Honaak / ‫ُه َناك‬
Everywhere in Arabic / Feee kol makaan / ‫فِي ُكل َم َكان‬
Anywhere in Arabic / Feee aaee makaan / ‫فِي أَي َم َكان‬
Nowhere in Arabic / Laa makaan / ‫اَل َم َكان‬
Home in Arabic / Monazal / ‫ُم َن َّزل‬
Away in Arabic / ba’eeeda / ‫َب ِع ْيدا‬
Out in Arabic / Khaarej / ‫ارج‬ ِ ‫َخ‬

Adverbs Of Manner
Very in Arabic / Jadaa / ‫َجدَّ ا‬
Quite in Arabic / Tamaamaa / ‫َت َما َما‬
Pretty in Arabic / Jameeel / ‫َج ِم ْيل‬
Really in Arabic / Haqa / ‫َح ّقا‬
Fast in Arabic / Sareee’ / ‫س ِر ْيع‬
َ
Well in Arabic / Jaeeed / ‫َج ِّيد‬
Hard in Arabic / Althaabet / ‫ابت‬ ِ ‫ال َّث‬
Quickly in Arabic / Besor’ah / ‫س ْر َعة‬ ُ ‫ِب‬
Slowly in Arabic / Bebot’ / ‫ِب ُب ْطء‬
Carefully in Arabic / Be’enaaeeah / ‫ِب ِع َنا َية‬
Hardly in Arabic / Bealkaad / ‫ِبا ْل َكاد‬
Barely in Arabic / Bealkaad / ‫ِبا ْل َكاد‬
Mostly in Arabic / Feee alghaaleb / ‫فِي ا ْل َغالِب‬
Almost in Arabic / Taqreeban / ‫َت ْق َر ْي َبا‬
Absolutely in Arabic / Eetlaqaa / ‫إِ ْطال َقا‬
Together in Arabic / Ma’aa / ‫َم َعا‬
Alone in Arabic / Wahdahaa / ‫َو ْحدَ هَا‬

Adverbs of frequency   
Always in Arabic / Daa’emaa / ‫دَ ا ِئ َما‬
Frequently in Arabic / Katheeera / ‫َك ِثيْرا‬
Usually in Arabic / ‘aadah / ‫َعادَة‬
Sometimes in Arabic / Aaheeaana / ‫أَحْ َيانا‬
Occasionally in Arabic / Aaheeaana / ‫أَحْ َيانا‬
Seldom in Arabic / Naaderaa maa / ‫َناد َِرا َما‬
Rarely in Arabic / Naadera / ‫َنادِرا‬