Mashrabaمشربة

كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا، إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَاKāna, inna and their sisters

kāna wa-akhawātuhā, inna wa-akhawātuhā

Kāna ('was') and its sisters (ṣāra, laysa, mā zāla, aṣbaḥa …) make the predicate accusative: kāna l-ḥaqqu … awjada. Inna ('truly') and its sisters (anna, ka-anna, lākinna, layta, laʿalla) make the topic accusative: fa-inna ruʾyata l-shayʾi … . Both families are frequent in Faṣṣ Ādam.

The words behind the terms

Reference

What Ibn Ājurrūm saysThe Chapter on the Governors that Enter upon the Inchoative and the Predicate

بَابُ الْعَوَامِلِ الدَّاخِلَةِ عَلَى الْمُبْتَدَإِ وَالْخَبَرِ

وَهِيَ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْيَاءَ: كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا، وَإِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا، وَظَنَنْتُ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا.

They are three things: kāna and its sisters (akhawāt), inna and its sisters, and ẓanantu and its sisters.

فَأَمَّا كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا، فَإِنَّهَا تَرْفَعُ الِاسْمَ، وَتَنْصِبُ الْخَبَرَ، وَهِيَ: كَانَ، وَأَمْسَى، وَأَصْبَحَ، وَأَضْحَى، وَظَلَّ، وَبَاتَ، وَصَارَ، وَلَيْسَ، وَمَا زَالَ، وَمَا انْفَكَّ، وَمَا فَتِئَ، وَمَا بَرِحَ، وَمَا دَامَ، وَمَا تَصَرَّفَ مِنْهَا نَحْوَ: كَانَ، وَيَكُونُ، وَكُنْ، وَأَصْبَحَ، وَيُصْبِحُ، وَأَصْبِحْ، تَقُولُ: «كَانَ زَيْدٌ قَائِمًا، وَلَيْسَ عَمْرٌو شَاخِصًا» وَمَا أَشْبَهَ ذَلِكَ.

As for kāna and its sisters, they put the noun in the nominative (rafʿ) and the predicate in the accusative (naṣb). They are: kāna, amsā, aṣbaḥa, aḍḥā, ẓalla, bāta, ṣāra, laysa, mā zāla, mā infakka, mā fatiʾa, mā baraḥa, mā dāma, and whatever is inflected from them, such as: kāna, yakūnu, kun (its past, present, and imperative forms), and aṣbaḥa, yuṣbiḥu, aṣbiḥ. You say: "Zayd was standing (kāna Zaydun qāʾiman)" and "ʿAmr is not conspicuous (laysa ʿAmrun shākhiṣan)," and the like.

وَأَمَّا إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا فَإِنَّهَا تَنْصِبُ الِاسْمَ وَتَرْفَعُ الْخَبَرَ، وَهِيَ: إِنَّ، وَأَنَّ، وَلَكِنَّ، وَكَأَنَّ، وَلَيْتَ، وَلَعَلَّ، تَقُولُ: إِنَّ زَيْدًا قَائِمٌ، وَلَيْتَ عَمْرًا شَاخِصٌ، وَمَا أَشْبَهَ ذَلِكَ، وَمَعْنَى إِنَّ وَأَنَّ لِلتَّوْكِيدِ، وَلَكِنَّ لِلِاسْتِدْرَاكِ، وَكَأَنَّ لِلتَّشْبِيهِ، وَلَيْتَ لِلتَّمَنِّي، وَلَعَلَّ لِلتَّرَجِّي وَالتَّوَقُّعِ.

As for inna and its sisters, they put the noun in the accusative (naṣb) and the predicate in the nominative (rafʿ). They are: inna, anna, lākinna, kaʾanna, layta, and laʿalla. You say: "Zayd is indeed standing (inna Zaydan qāʾimun)" and "Would that ʿAmr were conspicuous (layta ʿAmran shākhiṣun)," and the like. The meaning of inna and anna is emphasis (tawkīd); of lākinna, correction (istidrāk); of kaʾanna, likening (tashbīh); of layta, wishing (tamannī); and of laʿalla, hoping and expecting (tarajjī and tawaqquʿ).

وَأَمَّا ظَنَنْتُ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا فَإِنَّهَا تَنْصِبُ الْمُبْتَدَأَ وَالْخَبَرَ عَلَى أَنَّهُمَا مَفْعُولَانِ لَهَا، وَهِيَ: ظَنَنْتُ، وَحَسِبْتُ، وَخِلْتُ، وَزَعَمْتُ، وَرَأَيْتُ، وَعَلِمْتُ، وَوَجَدْتُ، وَاتَّخَذْتُ، وَجَعَلْتُ، وَسَمِعْتُ؛ تَقُولُ: ظَنَنْتُ زَيْدًا قَائِمًا، وَرَأَيْتُ عَمْرًا شَاخِصًا، وَمَا أَشْبَهَ ذَلِكَ.

As for ẓanantu and its sisters, they put both the inchoative (mubtadaʾ) and the predicate (khabar) in the accusative (naṣb), on the grounds that the two of them are objects (mafʿūlān) of the verb. They are: ẓanantu (I thought), ḥasibtu (I supposed), khiltu (I imagined), zaʿamtu (I claimed), raʾaytu (I saw), ʿalimtu (I knew), wajadtu (I found), ittakhadhtu (I took), jaʿaltu (I made/reckoned), and samiʿtu (I heard). You say: "I thought Zayd was standing (ẓanantu Zaydan qāʾiman)" and "I saw ʿAmr conspicuous (raʾaytu ʿAmran shākhiṣan)," and the like.

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