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23  The adverb of time and and the adverb of place

23.1 Introduction

Consider the sentence:

“Zayd went to the market one day.”

The term “one day” here is an adverb of time. It describes the verb “went” and tells us the time in which the action of going ocurred.

In this chapter, we will study two kinds of adverbs in Arabic: the adverb of time and the adverb of place. These two adverbs are treated together because they both describe the space (of time and place, respectedly) in which the action of a verb ocurrs. There are other kinds of adverbs as well, and we will study them in other chapters, if Allāh wills.

The adverb, in Arabic, is a noun that qualifies a verb. It is put in the propped-state. Let’s express the above sentence in Arabic:

  1. ذَهَبَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلسُّوقِ يَوْمًا.
    “Zayd went to the market one day.”

The noun يَوْم is functioning as an adverb of time. When used thus, as an adverb, we can translate it idiomatically as “one day” instead of “a day”.

23.2 Determining when a noun is an adverb of time or place

The term adverb in Arabic grammar technically does not refer to any specific class of nouns. Generally, nouns can be used for different functions, including as adverbs. For example, the noun يَوْم doesn’t necessarily need to be used as an adverb. It may be used, for example, as the subject of a sentence:

  1. ٱَلْيَوْمُ طَوِيلٌ.
    “The day is long.”

Even when it is in the propped-state, it is not necessarily an adverb. Here it is as a direct doee:

  1. أَنْتَظِرُ يَوْمًا سَهْلًا.
    “I wait for an easy day.”

The way that we can tell when a noun is an adevrb of time or place is if it satisfies the following conditions:

  1. The noun is in the propped-state.
  2. The noun is extra, such that the sentence is complete, albeit more vague, without it.
  3. The noun signifies the time or place in which the verb occurred.

In the sentence أَنْتَظِرُ يَوْمًا سَهْلًا, the noun يَوْم is not signify the time in which the verb أَنْتَظِرُ is ocurring. So it is not an adverb of time.

Having said that, there are nouns that are used exclusively or mostly as adverbs, like قَبْل “before”. So, loosely speaking, such nouns, themselves, may be referred to as adverbs.

23.3 The adverb or time

The adverb of time is more unrestricted than the adverb of place. So we will deal with it first. We have already seen an example of an adverb of time in the sentence:

  1. ذَهَبَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلسُّوقِ يَوْمًا.
    “Zayd went to the market one day.”

In the above example, the adverb of time يَوْم is singular and indefinite. But an adverb of time can occur in other formations as well. For example:

As a definite common noun:

  1. ذَهَبَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلسُّوقِ ٱلْيَوْمَ.
    “Zayd went to the market today.”
    (ٱلْيَوْم “the day” is also used to mean “today”.)

With a describer:

  1. قَتَلْتُهُ ٱلسَّنَةَ ٱلْمَاضِيَةَ. [Wright 2/110A]
    “I killed him last year.”

As a proper noun:

  1. صُمْتُ رَمَضَانَ. [Wright 2/110A]
    “I fasted (the month of) Ramaḍān.”

As an annexe noun to a base noun:

  1. جِئْتُ زَمَنَ ٱلشِّتَاءِ. [Wright 2/110A]
    “I came in the winter-time.”

As an annexe noun to a sentence:

  1. صَحَبْتُ صَدِيقِي يَوْمَ خَرَجْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
    “I accompanied my friend the day we left the city.”

As a dual or plural:

  1. تَأَمَّلْ شَهْرَيْنِ فِي ٱخْتِيَارِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذِ. [Wright 2/109D]
    “Reflect two months upon the choice of a teacher.”

  2. سَكَنَ فِي بَعْضِ ٱلْقُرَىٰ أَيَّامًا. [Wright 2/109D]
    “He stayed in one of the villages (a few) days.”

The adverb before its verb in sentence word order1:

  1. ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ [سورة المائدة 5:3]
    “This day I have perfected for you your religion”

23.4 The adverb of place

The adverb of place is more restricted than the adverb of time. Only some nouns are suitable to function as adverbs of place. Such nouns fall under some categories that we will discuss in the next few subsections:

23.4.1 Vague and unbounded nouns

Generally, only vague and unbounded nouns are permitted to be used as adverbs of place. A noun that denotes a specific place are not permitted. So, for example, we can’t use the noun بَيْت as an adverb of place to say جَلَسْتُ بَيْتًا. Instead we’ll have to use the preposition فِي and say جَلَسْتُ فِي بَيْتٍ.

Directional nouns are considered vague enough to be used as adverbs of place. Such nouns include:

  • أَمَام, قُدَّام “in front (of)”
  • خَلْفَ, وَرَاء “behind”
  • فَوْق “above”
  • تَحْت “under”, أَسْفَل “lower”, دُون “beneath”
  • يَمِين “right”
  • شِمَال, يَسَار “left”

Permitted also are general spatial nouns like:

  • وَسْط “in the middle (of)”
  • حَوْل “around”
  • عِنْد, لَدُنْ, لَدَىٰ “at, with, by”
  • مَع “with”
  • بَيْن “between”

Some of the nouns above we have introduced previously in section (ref) as pseudo-prepositions. But they are actually nouns, that when used as adverbs give meanings similar to prepositions.

Here is an example of the use of these nouns as adverbs of place:

  1. نَظَرَ يَمِينًا وَيَسَارًا (وَشِمَالًا) [Wright 2/111B]
    “He looked right and left.”

Most of these nouns can be, and often are, annexe nouns. When they are annexed to a definite noun then they too will be definite. But this in no way restricts their vagueness and thus ability to be used as adverbs of place.2 For example,

  1. بَايَعْنَا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ [صحيح البخاري :7208]
    “We gave the oath of allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ under the tree”

There are some nouns whose meaning is associated with the word “side”:

  • جَانِب, نَاحِيَة, وَجْه, جِهَة “side”
  • دَاخِل, جَوْف “inside”
  • خَارِج “outside”

With these nouns, it is more common to use prepositions like فِي, إلَىٰ, or مِنْ before them. For example,

  1. نِمْتُ فِي خَارِجِ ٱلدَّارِ [Wright 2/112A]
    “I slept outside the house.”

  2. زَيْدٌ فِي جَانِبِ عَمْرٍو.
    or
    زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ جَانِبِ عَمْرٍو. [شرح الرضي على الكافية 1/489]
    “Zayd is beside Ɛamr”

  3. زَيْدٌ مِنْ خَارِجِ ٱلدَّارِ. [شرح الرضي على الكافية 1/489]
    “Zayd is outside the house.”

But they may be used, less commonly, as adverbs of place as well. For example,

  1. أَتَشَوَّفُ دَاخِلًا وَخَارِجًا [مسند أحمد ط الرسالة :6520]
    “I (was) looking inside and outside.”

  2. فَهُوَ مُتَّكِئٌ عَلَيْهَا دَاخِلَ الْمَسْجِدِ [مسند أحمد ط الرسالة :15837]
    “And he (was) relying on [our arms] inside the mosque”

Some place nouns are vague in that they mean “place”, like مَكَان, مَوْضِع, and مَقَام. These nouns are permitted to be used as adverbs of place when indefinite. For example:

  1. فَتُصَلِّيَ فِي بَيْتِي مَكَانًا [سنن ابن ماجه :754]
    “that you may pray in my house (at) a place”

When definite then they may only be used as nouns of place when construed with a verb conveying the idea of stopping or remaining. For example,

  1. جَلَسْتُ مَكَانَ زَيْدٍ [Wright 2/111D]
    “I sat down in Zayd’s place.”

  2. امْكُثْ مَكَانَكَ [سنن أبي داود :940]
    “Stay (at) your place.”

The noun مَكَان is also used in an annexation to mean “in place of”. With this meaning, it may be used as an adverb of place unrestrictedly. For example,

  1. خُذْ هَـٰذَا مَكَانَ ذَ ٰلِكَ [النحو الوافي 2/261]
    “Take this in place of that.”

So too may the noun بَدَل “replacement” be used in this way.

  1. خُذْ هَـٰذَا بَدَلَ ذَ ٰلِكَ [النحو الوافي 2/261]
    “Take this in replacement of that.”

Excluded from this restriction of vagueness are nouns used with the verbs دَخَلَ “to enter”, سَكَنَ “to dwell”, and نَزَلَ “to alight”.3 So we can say دَخَلْتُ ٱلدَّارَ “I entered the house,” سَكَنْتُ ٱلْبَيْتَ “I dwelled (in) the house,” and نَزَلْتُ ٱلْبَلَدَ “I alighted (in) the country.” The propped-state nouns with these verbs may be considered either direct doees or adverbs of place. Excluded also, is the country name ٱلشَّأْم “Syria” with the verb ذَهَبَ “to go.” So we can say ذَهَبْتُ ٱلشَّأْمَ for “I went (to) Syria.”

23.4.2 Units of distance and space

Units of distance and space are permitted to be used as adverbs of place. For example:

  1. سَارُوا مِيلًا
    “They travelled a mile.”

  2. مَشَيْتُ فَرْسَخَيْنِ [Wright 2/111B]
    “I walked two parasangs.”
    (A فَرْسَخْ is a unit of distance approximately equal to three miles.)

  3. جَرَىٰ غَلْوَةً [Wright 2/111B]
    “He ran the distance of a bowshot.”

23.4.3 Nouns of place

In section (ref) we studied the noun of place, which is formed on the pattern مَفْعِل or مَفْعَل. The noun of place is permitted to be used as an adverb of place, but only when construed with the verb from which it is derived. For example,

  1. قَعَدْتُ مَقْعَدَ زَيْدٍ,
    جَلَسْتُ مَجْلِسَ زَيْدٍ [Wright 2/112A]
    I sat down in Zayd’s seat.

  2. رَأَى النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَهَبَ مَذْهَبًا مُوَاجِهًا لِلْقِبْلَةِ [مسند أحمد ط الرسالة :5741]
    “He saw the Prophet ﷺ going a path facing towards the qiblah.”

Also included in this category are the vague place nouns (like مَكَان, مَوْضِع, and مَقَام) annexed to the verb’s maṣdar. They may occur as adverbs of place instead of the verb’s actual noun of place. For example,

  1. قاتلت موضع القتال [شرح الرضي على الكافية 1/490]
    “I fought (in) the place of fighting.”

23.5 The deputy adverb of time and place

The adverb of time or place may be substituted by another noun. This other noun then becomes the adverb in the propped-state as the deputy of the original adverb. The meaning of the original (substituted) adverb is then implied. The substitute may be from the following categories:

23.5.1 A qualifier

When an adverb of time or place is qualified by another noun, then the adverb may be dropped and the qualifier may take its place.4

Such qualifiers include:

  • A describer:

    1. جلست شرقي الدار [معاني النحو 2/191]
      “I sat east of the house.”
      (for جلست مَكَانًا شرقي الدار)

    2. جَلَسْتُ عِنْدَهُ طَوِيلًا مِنَ ٱلدَّهْرِ [Wright 2/110B]
      “I sat with him (for) a long (time).” (for زَمَنًا طَوِيلًا)

  • A number:

    1. سَارُوا أَرْبَعَةَ أَمْيالٍ [Wright 2/111B]
      “They travelled four miles.”
      (Technically the number أَرْبَعَة is the adverb in the propped-state.)

  • A fraction or a whole:

    1. لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ [سورة المؤمنون 23:113]
      “We remained a day or part of a day”

  • A pointing noun:

    1. جئت هذا الوقت [معاني النحو 2/191]
      “I came (at) this time.”

    2. خرج محمد هذه الساعة [معاني النحو 2/191]
      “Muḥammad left (at) this hour.”

    3. سرت هذه المسافة [معاني النحو 2/191]
      “I travelled this distance.”

23.5.2 A maṣdar

A maṣdar may substitute an adverb of time or place if:

  • the meaning “at the time of” or “the amount of time of” is implied for adverb of time;
  • and the meaning “at the place of” “the amount of space of” is implied for the adverb of place.

Examples:

  1. جَاءَ طُلُوعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ [Wright 2/110C]
    “He came (at the time of) the rising of the sun.”
    (for جَاءَ وَقْتَ طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمْسِ)

  2. جِئْتُ صَلَاةَ ٱلْعَصْرِ [معاني النحو 2/191]
    “I came (at the time of) the ɛaṣr prayer.”
    (for جِئْتُ وَقْتَ صَلَاةِ ٱلْعَصْرِ.)

  3. ٱنْتَظَرْتُهُ حَلْبَ نَاقَةٍ [معاني النحو 2/191]
    “I waited for him (the amount of time of) the milking of a she-camel.”
    (for ٱنْتَظَرْتُهُ مِقْدَارَ حَلْبِ نَاقَةٍ

  4. جَلَسْتُ قُرْبَ زَيْدٍ [شرح ابن عقيل على الألفية 2/200]
    “I sat near Zayd.”
    (literally: “I sat (at the place of) the nearness of Zayd.”)

This substitution by a maṣdar is more common for the adverb of time than for the adverb of place.5

23.6 Using prepositions instead of adverbs of time and place

Often we can replace a noun used as an adverb of time or place by a preposition followed by the same noun. This preposition is usually فِي. For example, instead of saying: خَرَجْتُ يَوْمًا مَاطِرًا “I left (on) a rainy day,” we can say:

  1. خَرَجْتُ فِي يَوْمٍ مَاطِرٍ
    “I left (on) a rainy day.”
    (literally “in a rainy day”.)

The noun يَوْم is technically no longer an adverb since it is not in the propped-state. The preposition فِي signifies that the verb occurs in the time or place denoted by the adverb. So, in the example above, my act of leaving ocurred in a time which is denoted by “a rainy day”. In cases like the example above, the choice of whether to use an adverb or preposition is a matter of style, and is up to the speaker.

Note, however, that this substitution with فِي is not always literally correct.6 For example, we can’t say \(\times\) طار الطائر في فوق الشجرة for “The bird flew above the tree.” Instead we have to say طار الطائر فوق الشجرة. Nevertheless, the idea of فِي is still correct in that the bird flew in the space which is above the tree.

And sometimes, if we substitute a noun used as an adverb with فِي followed by the noun, then the sentence may be grammatically correct, but with a different meaning from the original. Consider the following examples:

  1. فَعَلْتُ هَـٰذَا سَبْعَةَ أَيَّامٍ [معاني النحو 2/179]
    “I did this (for) seven days.”

  2. فَعَلْتُ هَـٰذَا فِي سَبْعَةِ أَيَّامٍ [معاني النحو 2/179]
    “I did this (in) seven days.”

Example (43) indicates that I did an action repeatedly during seven days. Whereas example (44) indicates that I did the action once, and it took seven days to complete the action.

Similarly, consider these two examples:

  1. أَدْرُسُ ٱللَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ [معاني النحو 2/181]
    “I study night and day.”

  2. أَدْرُسُ فِي ٱللَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ [معاني النحو 2/181]
    “I study in the night and day.”

Example (45) is about the amount of time that I study. This is the answer to “How much do you study?” Whereas example (46) is about the period of time during which I study. This is the answer to “When do you study?”

23.6.1 Using other prepositions besides فِي

While فِي is the most general preposition for substituting an adverb, other prepositions are also used. This often depends on the adverb itself. For example, instead of saying أَخْرُجُ غَدًا for “I will leave tomorrow,” we can say:

  1. أَخْرُجُ بِالْغَدِ
    “I will leave tomorrow”

And instead of saying نَظَرَ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا for “He looked right and left,” we can say:

  1. نَظَرَ عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ
    “He looked right and left.”

One common preposition used before a class of adverbs is مِنْ. We will discuss it separately in the next section below.

23.7 Using مِنْ before some adverbs

There are some nouns that are used as adverbs, but are also used with the preposition مِنْ to give the same adverbial meaning. Some of these nouns are عِنْد, لَدُن “by, with”, قَبْل “before”, بَعْد “after”, فَوْق “above”, تَحْت “under”,7 etc.

Often times, مِنْ signifies its literal meaning “from”, as usual. For example:

  1. مَكَثْتُ عِنْدَكَ سَاعَةً ثُمَّ خَرَجُتُ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِي [النحو الوافي 2/262]
    “I stayed at your [place] an hour, then I left from your place to my house.”

Other times, the significance of this مِنْ is less obvious. Consider the following examples:

  1. قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرآنَ بَعْدَ صَلَاةَ ٱلْعَصْرِ
    “I read the Qurʾān after the ɛaṣr prayer.”

  2. قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرآنَ مِنْ بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ ٱلْعَصْرِ
    “I read the Qurʾān (during a time which starts) from after the ɛaṣr prayer.”

Example (51) specifies the beginning of the time period that is indicated by the adverb. Technically, this is not necessarily when the action of the verb began. But this usage of مِنْ could be used to signify that the action started very close to the beginning of the time period. That is, it could indicate that I started to read the Qurʾān right after the ɛaṣr prayer.8

Often, when the meaning of مِنْ is subtle, it is not translated as “from”. For example:

  1. لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِنْ بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْـًٔا [سورة الحج 22:5]
    “so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing”

  2. لِكَيْ لَا يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْمٍ شَيْـًٔا [سورة النحل 16:70]
    “so that he will not know, after [having had] knowledge, a thing”

Sometimes it may be left untranslated.

23.8 قَبْل and its sisters

There are a class of nouns, which are usually adverbs of time and place, that are sometimes flexible, and sometimes rigid. These nouns are:

  • قَبْل “before”
  • بَعْد “after”
  • دُون “beneath”,
  • أَسْفَل “lower”
  • فَوْق “above”
  • تَحْت “under”
  • أَمَام, قُدَّام “in front”
  • خَلْف, وَرَاء “behind”
  • عَلُ, عَلْو, “on top”
  • أَوَّل “first”

Also usually included with these are9:

  • يَمِين “right”
  • شِمَال “left”
  • آخِر “last”

Collectively, we will call them قَبْل and its sisters.

We have already seen some of these being used used as adverbs of time or place. The cases for determining when they are flexible and when rigid are as follows:

  1. When used as annexe nouns with a mentioned base noun: When used as annexe nouns then قَبْل and its sisters are flexible. For example,

    1. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ أَمَامَ ٱلْجَيْشِ
      “The commander stood in front of the army”

    As we’ve previously discussed, instead of using these nouns as adverbs, it is common to also precede them with a preposition, like مِنْ. For example:

    1. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ مِنْ أَمَامِ ٱلْجَيْشِ
      “The commander stood in front of the army”

    In this case, whether قَبْل or one of its sisters is an adverb in the propped-state, or following a preposition in the lowered-state, then it is flexible. This is indicated in the examples above by the fat·ḥah on its ending when in the propped-state, and the kasrah when in the lowered-state.

  2. When used as annexe nouns but the base noun is not mentioned: Rarely, for stylistic reasons, the base noun in sentences like the example above is dropped. But the presence of the base noun is intended by the speaker. In such cases, the annexe noun will be flexible and without tanwīn. For example:

      1. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ أَمَامَ
      2. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ مِنْ أَمَامِ
        “The commander stood in front [of the army]”

  3. More commonly, the base noun is deleted, both in expression and in intention, but the adverb is still understood to be bounded implicitly. In this case, قَبْل and its sisters will be rigid. Their ending will have a ḍammah regardless of whether they are in the propped-state (as an adverb) or in the lowered-state (following مِنْ). For example:

      1. قَدِمَ ٱلْجَيْشُ وَقَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ أَمَامُ
      2. قَدِمَ ٱلْجَيْشُ وَقَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ مِنْ أَمَامُ
        “The army arrived, and the commander stood in front (of the army)”

    This usage is quite common. Much more so than case b. where the base noun is dropped only stylistically.

  4. Lastly, قَبْل and its sisters may occur as indefinite nouns without an implicit or explicit base noun. They then have an absolute and unbounded meaning. In this case, they are flexible. For example,

      1. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ أَمَامًا
      2. قَامَ ٱلْأَمِيرُ مِنْ أَمَامٍ
        “The commander stood in front”

    In the example above, we can see that أَمًام is a flexible noun due to its tanwīn.

The difference in meaning between some of these cases is quite subtle. In practice, cases a. and c. are more common. And case b. is rare.

Here are some more examples:

  1. يُخْرِجُ غِلْمَانَهُ إِلَى الْحَجِّ فَلَا يُحْرِمُونَ مِنْ ذِي الْحُلَيْفَةِ، يُحْرِمُونَ مِنْ أَمَامِ ذَلِكَ [مصنف ابن أبي شيبة :14178]
    “He would take his (slave) boys out for the Ḥajj. But they would not enter iḥrām from D͡hu l-Ḥulayfah; they would enter iḥrām from before that [location].”

The words أَوَّل and أَسْفَل also have some rules that are specific to them and we will treat them separately in section (ref).

23.9 The use of an adverb without an obvious verb

The adverb of time and place is associated with the verb in a sentence. It indicates the time or place in which the action of the verb occurs. However, there are some sentences with adverbs that do not have an obvious verb

Sometimes, this is in partial sentences, like in the response to the question “When did you arrive?” one may answer:

  1. يَومَ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ [النحو الوافي 2/246]
    “The day of Friday.”
    يَوْم is used as an adverb and the verb “I arrived” is implied.

Othertimes, it may be a complete sentence. For example:

  1. ٱلْأَزْهَارُ أَمَامَنَا [النحو الوافي 2/247]
    “The flowers (are) in front of us.”

  2. مَاءٌ بَارِدٌ عِنْدَ يَوْمٍ حَارٍّ نِعْمَةٌ
    “Some cold water (being) on a hot day, is a blessing.”

In such sentences, the missing verb is “is” or its verbal noun “being”. This verb is unexpressed in Arabic.

23.10 Multiple adverbs of place with a single verb

23.10.1 Multiple adverbs with conjunctions

It is possible for multiple adverbs to be used with a single verb. This is regularly done with using particles like وَ and فَ. For example:

  1. ٱلْتَمَسْتُهُ لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا
    “I searched for it night and day”

  2. لَقِيتُهُ صَبَاحًا فَمَسَاءً [معاني النحو 2/202 (referencing الرضي)]
    “I met him evening after morning.”
    (i.e., every morning and evening.)

  3. لَقِيتُهُ يَوْمًا فَيَوْمًا
    “I met him day after day.”

23.10.2 Multiple adverbs without conjunctions

If particles like وَ and فَ are not used then multiple adverbs may be used for one verb in one of the following cases10:

  1. When one is an adverb of time and the other an adverb of place. For example:

    1. ٱجْلِسْ عِنْدِي سَاعَةً
      “Sit with me an hour.” (عِنْد is an adverb of place and سَاعَة is a adverb of time.)

  2. When both are adverbs of the same kind:

    1. When the second adverb is a replacement for the first. For example:

      1. أُقَابِلُكَ يَومَ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ ظُهْرًا [النحو الوافي 2/255]
        “I will meet you Friday afternoon.”
        (ظُهْر is a replacement for يَوْم and specifies when on Friday.)

    2. When the adverb is a comparative noun (see chapter (ref)). For example:

      1. ٱلْمَرِيضُ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ أَمْسِ [النحو الوافي 2/256]
        “The patient today is better than he (was) yesterday.”

23.10.3 Compound adverbs

Instead of using particles like وَ and فَ between adverbs, compound adverbs may be formed. There are two ways to form a compound adverb:11

  1. Both adverbs end with a fat·ḥah without tanwīn. For example,

    1. لَقِيتُهُ يَوْمَ يَوْمَ
      “I met him day after day.”

  2. The adverbs form an annexation. For example,

    1. تَزُورُنَا صَبَاحَ مَسَاءٍ [النحو الوافي 2/271]
      “You visit us morning and night.”

Both options can be used more or less interchangeably. Unless there is a compound adverb with a set meaning. For example:

  1. دَرَجَةُ حَرَارَةِ ٱلْجَوِّ بَيْنَ بَيْنَ
    “The degree of the temperature of the air is intermediate.”

23.11 Some commonly used adverbs of time and place

23.11.1 هُنَا and هُنَاكَ

23.11.2 أَسْفَل

أَسْفَل is actually a comparative noun, meaning “lower”. And even when it is used as an adverb of place, it is with this comparative meaning.12

Most of the directional nouns, like أَمَام, خَلْفَ, وَرَاء, فَوْق, and تَحْت are used as annexe nouns. For example, فَوْقَ ٱلْأَرْضِ means “above the Earth.”

We have learned that comparative nouns are used with the the preposition مِنْ to express their “-er” meaning. For example أَكْبَرُ مِنْ ٱلْبَيْتِ “bigger than the house.” They may also be used as annexe nouns to express their “-est” meaning. For example, أَكْبَرُ بَيْتٍ, أَكْبَرُ ٱلْبُيُوتِ “biggest house.”

أَسْفَل too may be used in both these formations. We will discuss them below:

23.11.2.1 أَسْفَل used before مِنْ

Usually أَسْفَل is used with مِنْ to express the adverb of place “lower (than)” Here are some examples of أَسْفَل, as an adverb of place:

  1. وَٱلرَّكْبُ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ 13 [سورة الأنفال 8:42]
    “and the caravan was lower [in position] than you”

  2. زَيْدٌ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكَ [كتاب سيبويه 3/289]
    “Zayd is lower than you.”

  3. وَضَعَ رَاحَتَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ أَصَابِعَهُ أَسْفَلَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ [سنن النسائي :1036]
    “He put his palms on his knees and put his fingers lower than that.”

  4. نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ يَقُومَ الْإِمَامُ فَوْقَ شَيْءٍ وَالنَّاسُ خَلْفَهُ يَعْنِي أَسْفَلَ مِنْهُ [مشكاة المصابيح :1692]
    “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ forbade that the imām should stand on anything when the people are behind him, meaning lower than him.”

Note, in the examples above, that أَسْفَل does not have tanwīn. This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.

Now, in the case of قَبْل and its sisters we saw that their rigidity and flexibility is determined by whether or not they are annexe nouns and if they have base nouns in an annexation.

But أَسْفَل, when used with before مِنْ as an adverb of place, is not an annexe noun. So its rigidity and flexibility is determined by whether or not it is compared to a noun (with مِنْ):

If the adverb of place أَسْفَل is followed by مِنْ and a compared noun, then it is flexible. By the way, there may be another مِنْ before أَسْفَل as well, as we learned in section (ref). Here is an example,

  1. إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ [سورة الأحزاب 33:10]
    “[Remember] when they came at you from above you and from below you”

And if the adverb of place أَسْفَل is not followed by مِنْ and a compared noun, but the adverb is still understood to be bounded implicitly, then it will be rigid ending with a ḍammah. For example:

  1. وَقَالَ بِأَصَابِعِهِ وَرَفَعَهَا إِلَى فَوْقُ وَطَأْطَأَ إِلَى أَسْفَلُ [صحيح البخاري :621]
    “and he gestured with his fingers and raised them up upward and lowered [them] downward.”

  2. والطَّفْرُ وَثْبٌ مِنْ أسْفَلُ الى فَوْقُ [فقه اللغة للثعالبي 137]
    “and aṭṭafr is a leap from down to up.”

23.11.2.2 أَسْفَل as an annexe noun

Most of the time, we will want to say that something is below or lower than another thing. In this case, we will use أَسْفَل مِنْ as we have described above.

However, sometimes, we may want to say that something is at the lowest place. In this case, we can use أَسْفَل as an annexe noun to be an adverb of place.14

For example,

  1. نَعْلُكَ أَسْفَلُ رِجْلِكَ [النحو الوافي 1/484]
    “Your sandal is (at) the lowest [part] of your foot.”
    (Note the partitive meaning of أَسْفَل annexed to a singular base noun.)

23.11.2.3 Non-adverbial use of أَسْفَل

By the way, أَسْفَل need not always be an adverb of place. It may be used like other common nouns. In the following example, it is the doer of a verb and also an annexe noun.

  1. لَمْ تَبْتَلَّ أَسْفَلُ نِعَالِهِمْ [سنن أبي داود :1059]
    “The lower [part] of their sandals did not get wet.”

23.11.3 أَوَّل

أَوَّل is used as an adverb of time, meaning “first”

Much of what we have said about أَسْفَل applies also to the noun أَوَّل.

However there is some difference from أَسْفَل:

  1. The meaning of “first” is inherently superlative. In English we dont say that something is more first than another thing. We can try to capture this meaning by translating it as “prior to”.
  2. أَوَّل, despite being on the pattern أَفْعَل, is irregular in that it can take tanwīn when used in an absolute and unbounded sense.

23.11.3.1 أَوَّل used before مِنْ

أَوَّل is a semi-flexible noun when used with مِنْ:

  1. لاَ تَسْأَلْهُ عَنْ شَىْءٍ أَوَّلَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الشَّفَاعَةِ [صحيح البخاري :7510]
    “Don’t ask him about anything prior to the ḥadīt͡h of intercession”

  2. لاَ تَبْتَدِئَانِ بِشَىْءٍ أَوَّلَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ، تَطُوفَانِ بِهِ [صحيح البخاري :1641]
    “They2f would not begin with anything prior to the House, performing the ṭawāf around it.”

When مِنْ is not used but أَوَّل is implicitly bounded then it is rigid with a ḍammah on its ending:

  1. أَىُّ الْقُرْآنِ أُنْزِلَ أَوَّلُ [صحيح البخاري :4924]
    “Which [part] of the Qurʾān was revealed first (of all the sūrahs)?”

  2. أَىُّ مَسْجِدٍ وُضِعَ أَوَّلُ [سنن ابن ماجه :753]
    “Which mosque was established first (of all the mosques)?”

When أَوَّل, is used in an absolute and unbounded sense, then it takes tanwīn despite being on the pattern أَفْعَل:

  1. يَبْتَدِرُونَهَا أَيُّهُمْ يَكْتُبُهَا أَوَّلًا [سنن النسائي :1062]
    “They (were) rushing (to see) which of them would write it first”

  2. وَأَمَّا الدَّارُ الَّتِي دَخَلْتَ أَوَّلًا فَدَارُ عَامَّةِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ [مسند أحمد ط الرسالة :20165]
    “And as for the house that you entered first, it was for the common people of the Muslims.”

  3. أَيُّهُمَا جَاءَ أَوَّلًا عَمِلَ عَمَلَهُ [مشكاة المصابيح :1700]
    “Which of them came first [that] did his deed?”

23.11.3.2 أَوَّل as an annexe noun

Like أَسْفَل, when أَوَّل can be used as an annexe noun as well, even when it is an adverb of time. For example

  1. كَانَ يَنَامُ أَوَّلَ اللَّيْلِ [صحيح مسلم :739]
    “He used to sleep the first [part] of the night”

The usage of أَوَّل as an annexe noun when it is an adverb of time is probably not as uncommon as it is for أَسْفَل.

23.11.3.3 Non-adverbial use of أَوَّل

Just like أَسْفَل, أَوَّل need not be used adverbially. Here it is as the comment of a sentence and an annexe noun:

  1. وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِینَ [سورة الأنعام 6:163]
    “and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.”

Even when used non-adverbially, أَوَّل may take tanwīn. For example, here it is the subject of إنَّ in the propped-state:

  1. إِنَّ لِلصَّلَاةِ أَوَّلًا وَآخِرًا [جامع الترمذي :151]
    “Indeed the prayer has a first [time] and a last [time]”

23.11.4 بَعْد

  • used for time and place
  • meaning “yet”

23.11.5 ذَات

  1. النحو الوافي 2/245↩︎

  2. شرح الرضي على الكافية 1/488↩︎

  3. النحو الوافي 2/253↩︎

  4. معاني النحو 2/191↩︎

  5. شرح ابن عقيل على الألفية 2/200↩︎

  6. معاني النحو 2/179↩︎

  7. معاني النحو 2/193↩︎

  8. معاني النحو 2/193–201, and من الفرق بين بعد ومن بعد في اللفظ القرآني لعلي هاني↩︎

  9. See النحو الوافي 3/142, footnote 1 for references to the difference of opinion regarding them↩︎

  10. النحو الوافي 2/255↩︎

  11. النحو الوافي 2/271, معاني النحو 2/202–204↩︎

  12. شرح شيخ زاده على قواعد الإعراب 79↩︎

  13. البحر المحيط لأبي حيان for سورة الأنفال 8:42 (وقَرَأ زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ: أسْفَلُ)↩︎

  14. See تفسير ابن عاشور for سورة التين 95:5 (ثُمَّ رَدَدْناهُ أسْفَلَ سافِلِينَ) for one interpretation of أسْفَلَ as a ظرف↩︎