Adverbs – Particles
: There are a few adverbs, mostly by-forms of prepositions; they are indeclinable.
ba`-du بَعْدُ ‘yet’ (in negative sentences);
min- ba`-du مِنْ بَعْدُ’after, afterwards;’
qab-lu قَبْلُ- min qab-luمِنْ قَبْلُ ‘before, (time)’
taH-tu تَحْتُ- min taH-tuمِنْ تَحْتُ ‘below’.
faw-quفَوْقُ – min faw-quمِنْ فَوْقُ ‘above’.
Hay-thuحَيْثُ – min Hay-thu ‘whence’.
The infinitve takes the place of an adverb.
Some English adverbs are replaced by verbs while the English verb takes a subordinate place as imperfect or participle.
Always:
zaAla زَالَ- yazaAlu يَزَالُ ‘cease’.
or bariHaبَرِخَ – yabraHu يَبْرَحُ ‘ ;cease’.
Almost:
kaAdaكَادَ – yakaAdu يَكَادُ’be on the point of (never used alone)’.
Scarcely: kAd كَدْ- ykAdيَكَاد ‘with a negative’.
Again: `aAda عَادَ- ya`uwduيَعُودُ ‘return’; zaAda زَادَا- yaziyduيَزِيدُ ‘increase’.
At once, immediately: labitha لَبِثَ ‘remain’; nashiba نَشِبُ- yan-shibuيَنْشِبُ ‘stick to’ with a negative.
Soon, quickly: eaw-shaka أَوْشَكَ more usually the imperfect yuwshikaيُوشِكَ with ean-أنْ and the subjunctive; rarely the imperfect indicative.
Perhaps: The defective verb `asaY عَسى of which only the perfect exists. Commonly the third singular masculine alone is used.
There is also the particle la`alla which is constructed like eanna .
In the morning: eaS-baHa أصْبَحَ ‘ ;do, be in the morning, become morning’.
The verb may be followed by a noun or by a sentence with imperfect; often it loses all sense of time and means no more thankaAna كَانَor SaAraصَارَ ‘become’.
eam-saYأمْسى ‘do, be in the evening’ behaves just like eaSbH .
A verbal sentence follows such phrases as:
qalla maA قَلَّ مَا. – qalla ean- قَلّ أَنْ qaliylaNA maAقَلِيلاً مَا ‘ ;seldom’.
rubbamaA رُبَّمَا- kathiyraNA maAكَثِيراً مَا ‘often’.
TaAla maAطَالَ مَا ‘it has lasted long.