النَّصْبThe accusative
al-naṣb
The accusative marks the object (mafʿūl bihi), the absolute object (maṣdar), adverbs of time and place, the state (ḥāl), the specification (tamyīz), the excepted word, and the noun after inna. Its main sign is the fatḥa. AI
The words behind the terms
نَصْبaccusative (verbs: subjunctive)naṣb
Root ن ص ب · setting up, erecting
Traditionally linked to the fatḥa, said with the mouth set open. The accusative words are 'set up' by the action: its object, its time and place, its manner.
In the texts (181 occurrences; 24 distinct shown)
- ٱلصِّرَٰطَفِعَالصرطQuran 1:6:2
- ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَمُسْتَفْعِلقومQuran 1:6:3 · active participle · Form X
- صِرَٰطَفِعَالصرطQuran 1:7:1
- سُبْحَانَهُفُعْلانسبحFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1 · intensive adjective (faʿlān)
- أَعْيَانَهَاأَفْعالعينFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- عَيْنَهُفَعْلعينFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
18 more
- الأَمْرَفَعْلأمرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- رُؤْيَةَفُعْلَةرأيFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- نَفْسَهُفَعْلنفسFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- آخَرَفعَلأخرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶1
- العَالَمَفاعَلعلمFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- كُلَّهُكللFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- وُجُودَفُعُولوجدFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- رُوحَفُعلروحFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- بُدَّبددFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- رُوحًافُعلروحFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- عَبرَفَعْلعبرFaṣṣ Ādam ¶2
- جَلَاءَFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- عَيْنَفَعْلعينFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- وَرُوحَفُعلروحFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- الأَهْلِيَّةَفَعْلِيّأهلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3 · relative adjective (nisba)
- قَوَابِلَفَواعِلقبلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3
- وَأَسْفَلَهُأَفْعَلسفلFaṣṣ Ādam ¶3 · elative / colour adjective
- وَخَلِيفَةًفَعِيلَةخلفFaṣṣ Ādam ¶4
Reference
What Ibn Ājurrūm saysChapter on the Accusative Nouns
بَابُ مَنْصُوبَاتِ الأَسْمَاءِ
المَنْصُوبَاتُ خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ، وَهِيَ: المَفْعُولُ بِهِ، وَالمَصْدَرُ، وَظَرْفُ الزَّمَانِ، وَظَرْفُ المَكَانِ، وَالحَالُ، وَالتَّمْيِيزُ، وَالمُسْتَثْنَى، وَاسْمُ لَا، وَالمُنَادَى، وَالمَفْعُولُ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ، وَالمَفْعُولُ مَعَهُ، وَخَبَرُ كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتِهَا، وَاسْمُ إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتِهَا.
The accusative (manṣūbāt) nouns are fifteen: the direct object (mafʿūl bih), the absolute object (maṣdar), the adverb of time (ẓarf al-zamān), the adverb of place (ẓarf al-makān), the circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl), the specifier (tamyīz), the excepted noun (mustathnā), the noun of 'lā' (ism lā), the vocative (munādā), the object of purpose (mafʿūl li-ajlihi), the object of accompaniment (mafʿūl maʿahu), the predicate of 'kāna' and its sisters (khabar kāna wa-akhawātihā), and the noun of 'inna' and its sisters (ism inna wa-akhawātihā).
وَالتَّابِعُ لِلْمَنْصُوبِ، وَهُوَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْيَاءَ: النَّعْتُ، وَالعَطْفُ، وَالتَّوْكِيدُ، وَالبَدَلُ.
And that which follows the accusative noun (al-tābiʿ lil-manṣūb) is four things: the descriptive adjective (naʿt), the conjunct (ʿaṭf), the corroborative (tawkīd), and the substitute (badal).
Vowelling and English: AIWhole chapter and text →
In the classics5 books · why the rule holds · disputed · definitions
- The ĀjurrūmiyyaIbn ĀjurrūmChapter on Knowing the Signs of Declension (iʿrāb)Chapter on the Accusative NounsChapter of the Direct Object (maf'ūl bihi)The Chapter of the Verbal Noun (maṣdar)Chapter on the Adverb of Time (ẓarf al-zamān) and the Adverb of Place (ẓarf al-makān)The Chapter of the Circumstantial Qualifier (ḥāl)The Chapter of Specification (tamyīz)
- Qaṭr al-nadāIbn HishāmSection: The kinds of inflection (iʿrāb) are fourChapter: The object (mafʿūl) is in the accusative (manṣūb), and there are five kindsSection: The one calling for help says: "yā la-llāhi li-l-muslimīn" (O God, to the Muslims' aid!)Chapter on the Circumstantial Qualifier (ḥāl)
- The AlfiyyaIbn MālikThe Declinable and the Indeclinable (vv. 15–51)The Absolute Object (al-mafʿūl al-muṭlaq) (vv. 286–297)The Object of Cause (al-mafʿūl lahu) (vv. 298–302)The Object In Which (al-mafʿūl fīhi), also called the Ẓarf (Adverb of Time or Place) (vv. 303–310)The Object of Accompaniment (al-mafʿūl maʿahu) (vv. 311–315)Exception (vv. 316–331)The Circumstantial Qualifier (al-ḥāl) (vv. 332–355)The Specifying Accusative (tamyīz) (vv. 356–363)with Ibn ʿAqīl's commentary under each verse
- Shudhūr al-dhahabIbn HishāmInflection: its definition and what it affectsAccusative cases: the fifteen, beginning with the direct object
- Mughnī al-labībIbn Hishāmلنكيإذنأن المفتوحة الهمزة الساكنة النون
Why?al-Zajjājī, al-ĪḍāḥWhy “setting up”: whoever pronounces the fatḥa opens the mouth, and the lower jaw stands apart from the upper as if set up.
والمتكلم بالكلمة المنصوبة يفتح فاه، فيبين حنكه الأسفل من الأعلى، فيبين للناظر إليه كأنه قد نصبه
One who speaks a word in the naṣb opens his mouth, so that his lower jaw parts from the upper, and it seems to whoever watches him as if he had set it up. al-Īḍāḥ, lines 994–996 (vol. 1, p. 93) ↗
English: AI translation AI The summary lines are ours.
al-Zajjājī (d. 337/949), al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿilal al-naḥw, ed. Māzin al-Mubārak (Beirut: Dār al-Nafāʾis, 5th ed., 1406/1986). Digital text: 0337IbnIshaqZajjaji.IdahCilalNahw.Sham19Y0143170-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
- DisputedIbn al-Anbārī, al-Inṣāf
What makes the object accusative (ḍaraba Zaydun ʿAmran)?Kufa: the verb and the doer together · Basra: the verb alone · he sides with Basra
Question 11: مسألة القول في عامل النصب في المفعول
ذهب الكوفيون إلى أن العامل في المفعول النصب الفعل والفاعل جميعا نحو ضرب زيد عمرا
KufaThe Kufans held that what puts the object in the accusative is the verb and the doer together, as in ḍaraba Zaydun ʿAmran. al-Inṣāf, lines 1036–1037 (vol. 1, p. 78) ↗
وذهب البصريون إلى أن الفعل وحده عمل في الفاعل والمفعول جميعا
BasraThe Basrans held that the verb alone governs both the doer and the object. al-Inṣāf, line 1043 (vol. 1, p. 79) ↗
VerdictHe gives the Basran proofs, then answers the Kufans’ arguments one by one; that is how he sides with Basra:
وأما الجواب عن كلمات الكوفيين
As for the answer to the Kufans' arguments… al-Inṣāf, line 1080 (vol. 1, p. 80) ↗
English: AI translation AI The summary lines are ours.
Ibn al-Anbārī (d. 577/1181), al-Inṣāf fī masāʾil al-khilāf bayna al-naḥwiyyīn al-Baṣriyyīn wa-l-Kūfiyyīn, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr; year not recorded by OpenITI). Digital text: 0577AbuBarakatAnbari.InsafFiMasail.JK001424-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt · 5 definitions
المفعول به: هو ما وقع عليه فعل الفاعل بغير واسطة حرف الجر أو بها، أي بواسطة حرف الجر، ويسمى أيضا: ظرفا لغوا، إذا كان عامله مذكورا، أو مستقرا، إذا كان مع الاستقرار أو الحصول مقدرا.
The direct object [al-mafʿūl bihi]: that on which the action of the agent falls, without the mediation of a preposition [ḥarf al-jarr] or with it, that is, with the mediation of a preposition. It is also called an idle adverbial [ẓarf laghw] when its governing agent is mentioned, or a stable one [mustaqarr] when [a word meaning] settling [al-istiqrār] or occurring [al-ḥuṣūl] is assumed with it. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4549المفعول المطلق: هو اسم ما صدر عن فاعل فعل مذكور بمعناه، أي بمعنى الفعل، احترز بقوله ما صدر عن فاعل فعل عما لا يصدر عنه، كزيد، وعمرو، وغيرهما، وبقوله: مذكور، عن نحو: أعجبني قيامك، فإن قيامك ليس مما فعله فاعل فعل مذكور، وبقوله: بمعناه، عن: كرهت قيامي، فإن قيامي، وإن كان صادرا عن فاعل فعل مذكور إلا أنه ليس بمعناه.
The absolute object [al-mafʿūl al-muṭlaq]: the name of what issues from the agent of a mentioned verb, having its meaning, that is, the meaning of the verb. By his saying 'what issues from the agent of a verb' he guards against what does not issue from it, such as Zayd, ʿAmr, and others; by his saying 'mentioned', against the like of aʿjabanī qiyāmuka 'your standing pleased me', for qiyāmuka is not something done by the agent of a mentioned verb; and by his saying 'having its meaning', against karihtu qiyāmī 'I disliked my standing', for qiyāmī, although it issues from the agent of a mentioned verb, does not have its meaning. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4544المفعول فيه: ما فعل فيه فعل مذكور لفظا أو تقديرا.
The adverbial object [al-mafʿūl fīhi]: that in which a verb, mentioned overtly or by assumption, is done. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4552المفعول له: هو علة الإقدام على الفعل، نحو: ضربته تأديبا له.
The object of reason [al-mafʿūl lahu]: the cause for undertaking the action, as ḍarabtuhu taʾdīban lahu 'I struck him to discipline him'. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4553المفعول معه: هو المذكر بعد الواو لمصاحبة معمول فعل، لفظا، نحو: استوى الماء والخشبة، أو معنى، نحو: ما شأنك وزيدا.
The object of accompaniment [al-mafʿūl maʿahu]: that which is mentioned after the wāw to express accompaniment with something governed by a verb [maʿmūl fiʿl], either overtly, as istawā al-māʾu wa-l-khashabata 'the water rose level with the plank', or in meaning, as mā shaʾnuka wa-zaydan 'what is your business with Zayd?'. AI
OpenITI · Taʿrīfāt, line 4555
Arabic texts from OpenITI (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); English titles and translations are AI. All the classics →