أن
Arabic
Etymology 1
Uncertain, but probably identical to هَمّ (hamm, “concern”) from the root ه م م (h-m-m), with sound changes typical to Arabic, as e.g. in إن (ʔin).
Pronunciation
Conjunction
أَنْ • (ʔan)
- Introduces a verb clause in place of the definite verbal noun.
- Synonym: مَا (mā)
- to, that; introduces a subjunctive verb (often corresponding to the English infinitive)
- سَيَنْتَخِبُ الشَّعْبُ رَئِيسًا جَدِيدًا بَعْدَ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ الدُّسْتُور.
- sayantaḵibu š-šaʕbu raʔīsan jadīdan baʕda ʔan yuktaba ad-dustūr.
- The people will elect a new president after the constitution is written.
- (literally, “...after [that] the constitution be written”)
- أُرِيدُ أَنْ آكُلَ.
- ʔurīdu ʔan ʔākula.
- I want to eat.
- (literally, “I want that I eat.”)
- أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ.
- ʔurīdu ʔan yaʔkula.
- I want him to eat.
- (literally, “I want that he eat.”)
- that; introduces a past-tense verb
- سَبَقَ أَنْ قُلْتُ لَكَ ذَٰلِكَ
- sabaqa ʔan qultu laka ḏālika
- I already told you so.
- (literally, “it has passed that I told you so.”)
- اِنْتَخَبَ الشَّعْبُ رَئِيسًا جَدِيدًا بَعْدَ أَنْ كُتِبَ الدُّسْتُور.
- intaḵaba š-šaʕbu raʔīsan jadīdan baʕda ʔan kutiba ad-dustūr.
- The people elected a new president after the constitution was written.
- (literally, “...after [that] the constitution was written”)
- (literary) introduces a reported imperative verb in the same manner as above
-
- وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ
- waʔawḥaynā ʔilā mūsā ʔan ʔalqi ʕaṣāka
- And we intimated to Moses, “throw your staff!”
- (literally, “and we intimated to Moses that throw your staff”)
-
- Form of أَنَّ (ʔanna)
- أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ.
- ʔašhadu ʔan lā ʔilāha ʔillā llāhu.
- I bear witness that there is no god but God.
- عَلِمْتُ أنْ سَيُسَافِرُ زُهَيْرٌ
- I knew that Zuhayr would travel
-
- وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ
- waʔāḵiru daʕwāhum ʔani l-ḥamdu lillahi rabbi l-ʕālamīna
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
- In sense 1.2, if أَنْ (ʔan) and the clause it introduces pertain to a verb, then they are syntactically its subject. However, this clause is never allowed to precede the verb: Arabic does not accept the phrasing *أَنْ قُلْتُ لَكَ ذٰلِكَ سَبَقَ (*ʔan qultu laka ḏālika sabaqa, literally “that I told you so has passed”).
- If the verb phrase inside the clause is relatively short, this can serve to distinguish an أَنْ-phrase from the equivalent verbal noun. A sentence like سَبَقَ أَنْ تَعَامَلْنَا (sabaqa ʔan taʕāmalnā, “we have already done business together”) is perfectly fine being reworded to تَعَامُلُنَا سَبَقَ (taʕāmulunā sabaqa) instead of سَبَقَ تَعَامُلُنَا (sabaqa taʕāmulunā), but *أَنْ تَعَامَلْنَا سَبَقَ (*ʔan taʕāmalnā sabaqa) is ungrammatical.
- Notice that sense 1 is twice shown introducing the complement of prepositions like قَبْلَ (qabla, “before”) and بَعْدَ (baʕda, “after”); this also includes phrasal ones like بِمُجَرَّدِ (bi-mujarradi, “as soon as”, بِـ (bi-, “with”) + مُجَرَّد (mujarrad, “merely”)). If this preposition is in a past context, then the verb inside the clause can in fact be either past or nonpast: the overall meaning will be past-tense either way. Compare the example above that translates to "the people elected...", which shows the use of a past-tense verb with بَعْدَ أَن (baʕda ʔan), to the following:
- مَرِضَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسَافِرَ
- mariḍa qabla ʔan yusāfira
- He fell sick before he traveled.
- (literally, “he fell sick before [that] he travel”)
Derived terms
- أَلَّا (ʔallā)
- لِأَنْ (liʔan)
- لِئَلَّا (liʔallā)
- أَن التَّفْسِيرِيَّة (ʔan at-tafsīriyya)
Etymology 2
Adverbial accusative of the noun underlying the former conjunction.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
أَنَّ • (ʔanna)
- that (introduces an equational clause or a verb phrase)
- هَلْ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّنِي أَطْوَلُ مِنْكَ؟
- hal taʕlamu ʔannanī ʔaṭwalu minka?
- Do you know that I'm taller than you?
- أَعْرِفُ أَنَّ ٱبْنَكَ سَرَقَ سَيَّارَتِي.
- ʔaʕrifu ʔanna bnaka saraqa sayyāratī.
- I know that your son stole my car.
Usage notes
- If pertaining to a verb, أَنَّ (ʔanna) and the clause it introduces are syntactically its object. This distinguishes أَنَّ (ʔanna) from أَنْ (ʔan), especially in the case outlined in the usage note above.
- أَنَّ (ʔanna) must be followed immediately by the subject of the clause it introduces, in the accusative case. An attached object pronoun can satisfy this condition.
- The sole exception is in the relevant sense of أَنْ (ʔan) above. In that case, such a subject can appear and cause the أَنَّ (ʔanna) pronunciation to resurface, but it is only optional. Compare the following alternative phrasing: أَشْهَدُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
- ʔašhadu ʔannahu lā ʔilāha ʔillā l-lahu
- I bear witness that there is no god but God.
- The sole exception is in the relevant sense of أَنْ (ʔan) above. In that case, such a subject can appear and cause the أَنَّ (ʔanna) pronunciation to resurface, but it is only optional. Compare the following alternative phrasing:
Inflection
Inflected forms | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Base form | أَنَّ (ʔanna) | ||||
Personal-pronoun- including forms |
Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
Masculine | Feminine | Common | Masculine | Feminine | |
First person | أَنَّنِي (ʔannanī) | أَنَّنَا (ʔannanā) | |||
Second person | أَنَّكَ (ʔannaka) | أَنَّكِ (ʔannaki) | أَنَّكُمَا (ʔannakumā) | أَنَّكُمْ (ʔannakum) | أَنَّكُنَّ (ʔannakunna) |
Third person | أَنَّهُ (ʔannahu) | أَنَّهَا (ʔannahā) | أَنَّهُمَا (ʔannahumā) | أَنَّهُمْ (ʔannahum) | أَنَّهُنَّ (ʔannahunna) |
Alternative forms
- إِنَّ (ʔinna) (after certain verbs)
Derived terms
- لِأَنَّ (liʔanna)
See also
- (ʾinna and her sisters) إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا (ʔinna waʔaḵawātuhā); إِنَّ (ʔinna), أَنَّ (ʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), كَأَنَّ (kaʔanna), لِأَنَّ (liʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), لَعَلَّ (laʕalla), لَيْتَ (layta), (Category: Sisters of ʾinna)
Etymology 3
From the root ء ن ن (ʔ-n-n), probably also related to the root ه م م (h-m-m) connected to the idea of worry, affect.
Pronunciation
Verb
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Conjugation
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Noun
أَنّ • (ʔann) m
- verbal noun of أَنَّ (ʔanna) (form I)
Declension
Declension of noun أَنّ (ʔann)
References
- Tropper, Josef (2003) “Sekundäres wortanlautendes Alif im Arabischen”, in Kogan, Leonid, editor, Studia Semitica (Orientalia: Papers of the Oriental Institute; III), Moscow, →ISBN, pages 207–209
Categories:
- Arabic terms with unknown etymologies
- Arabic terms belonging to the root ه م م
- Arabic 1-syllable words
- Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Arabic lemmas
- Arabic conjunctions
- Arabic terms with usage examples
- Arabic literary terms
- Arabic terms with quotations
- Arabic adverbial accusatives
- Arabic 2-syllable words
- Sisters of ʾinna
- Arabic terms belonging to the root ء ن ن
- Arabic nouns
- Arabic masculine nouns
- Arabic verbal nouns
- Arabic nouns with basic triptote singular
- Arabic subjunctive particles