Adverbs

: 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.