See also: ان, آن, إن, اَِنْ, -ان, and ان-

Arabic

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Etymology 1.1

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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). Note also the noun هَن (han, thing; self, synonym of نَفْس (nafs)), often mentioned in grammars as one of “the six nouns” also known as “five nouns“, which became obsolete due to often referring to genitalia.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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أَنْ (ʔan)

  1. introduces a verb clause in place of the definite verbal noun
    Synonym: مَا ()
    1. to, that; introduces a subjunctive verb (often corresponding to the English infinitive)
      سَيَنْتَخِبُ ٱلشَّعْبُ رَئِيسًا جَدِيدًا بَعْدَ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ ٱلدُّسْتُور.
      sayantaḵibu š-šaʕbu raʔīsan jadīdan baʕda ʔan yuktaba d-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 eats.”)
    2. that; introduces a past-tense verb
      سَبَقَ أَنْ قُلْتُ لَكَ ذٰلِكَ
      sabaqa ʔan qultu laka ḏālika
      I already told you so.
      (literally, “it has passed that I told you so.”)
      اِنْتَخَبَ ٱلشَّعْبُ رَئِيسًا جَدِيدًا بَعْدَ أَنْ كُتِبَ ٱلدُّسْتُور.
      intaḵaba š-šaʕbu raʔīsan jadīdan baʕda ʔan kutiba d-dustūr.
      The people elected a new president after the constitution was written.
      (literally, “...after [that] the constitution was written”)
  2. (literary) introduces reported speech
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 7:44:
      وَنَادَىٰٓ أَصْحَابُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ أَصْحَابَ ٱلنَّارِ أَن قَدۡ وَجَدۡنَا مَا وَعَدَنَا رَبُّنَا حَقًّۭا فَهَلۡ وَجَدتُّم مَّا وَعَدَ رَبُّكُمۡ حَقًّۭا ۖ قَالُوا۟ نَعَمۡ ۚ فَأَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌۢ بَيۡنَهُمۡ أَن لَّعۡنَةُ ٱللهِ عَلَى ٱلظَّالِمِينَ
      wanādā ʔaṣḥābu l-jannati ʔaṣḥāba n-nāri ʔan qad wajadnā mā waʕadanā rabbunā ḥaqqan fahal wajadttum ʔan laʕnatu l-lahi ʕala ẓ-Ẓālimīna
      And the Companions of the Garden shall cry out to the Companions of the Fire [literally "that"] "We have found true what our Lord promised us. So did ye find true what your Lord promised you?" They shall say, "Yes", then an announcer shall announce between them [literally "that"] "God's curse is on the evildoers!"
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 7:117:
      وَأَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنۡ أَلۡقِ عَصَاكَ ۖ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلۡقَفُ مَا يَأۡفِكُونَ
      wa-ʔawḥaynā ʔilā mūsā ʔan ʔalqi ʕaṣāka faʔdhā hiya talqafu mā ya-ʔfikūna
      Then We inspired Moses, “Throw down your staff,” and—behold!—it devoured the objects of their illusion!
  3. Form of أَنَّ (ʔanna)
    أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللّٰهُ.
    ʔašhadu ʔan lā ʔilāha ʔillā llāhu.
    I bear witness that there is no god except Allah.
    عَلِمْتُ أَنْ سَيُسَافِرُ زُهَيْرٌ
    ʕalimtu ʔan sayusāfiru zuhayrun
    I knew that Zuhayr would travel
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 10:10:
      وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ
      wa-ʔāḵiru daʕwāhum ʔani l-ḥamdu li-llahi rabbi l-ʕālamīna
      And the last of their call will be [that] "Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds!"
  4. lest
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 7:172:
      وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ
      And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."
Usage notes
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  • 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
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Etymology 1.2

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Adverbial accusative of the noun underlying the former conjunction.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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أَنَّ (ʔanna)

  1. 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
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  • 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 except Allah.
Inflection
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Inflected forms
base form أَنَّ (ʔanna)
Personal-pronoun including forms
singular dual plural
m f m f
1st person أَنِّي / أَنَّنِي (ʔannī / ʔannanī) أَنَّنَا / أَنَّا (ʔannanā / ʔannā)
2nd person أَنَّكَ (ʔannaka) أَنَّكِ (ʔannaki) أَنَّكُمَا (ʔannakumā) أَنَّكُمْ (ʔannakum) أَنَّكُنَّ (ʔannakunna)
3rd person أَنَّهُ (ʔannahu) أَنَّهَا (ʔannahā) أَنَّهُمَا (ʔannahumā) أَنَّهُمْ (ʔannahum) أَنَّهُنَّ (ʔannahunna)
Alternative forms
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Derived terms
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See also
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Etymology 2.1

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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. Compare هَنَاة (hanāh, misfortune, accident).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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أَنَّ (ʔanna) I (non-past يَئِنُّ (yaʔinnu), verbal noun أَنّ (ʔann) or أَنِين (ʔanīn) or تَأْنَان (taʔnān))

  1. to moan, to groan, to complain [with مِن (min) ‘of something’ or أَنَّ (ʔanna, + clause) ‘that ...’]
    • كُلَّمَا أَنَّ بِالْعِرَاقِ جَرِيحٌ / لَمَسَ الشَّرْقُ جَنْبَهُ فِي عُمَانِهِ
      kullamā ʔanna bi-l-ʕirāqi jarīḥun / lamasa š-šarqu janbahu fī ʕumānihi
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Conjugation
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Conjugation of أَنَّ (I, geminate, a ~ i, impersonal passive, verbal nouns أَنّ, أَنِين, تَأْنَان)
verbal noun
الْمَصْدَر
أَنّ, أَنِين, تَأْنَان
ʔann, ʔanīn, taʔnān
active participle
اِسْم الْفَاعِل
آنّ
ʔānn
passive participle
اِسْم الْمَفْعُول
مَأْنُون
maʔnūn
active voice
الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
singular
الْمُفْرَد
dual
الْمُثَنَّى
plural
الْجَمْع
1st person
الْمُتَكَلِّم
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
1st person
الْمُتَكَلِّم
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative
الْمَاضِي
m أَنَنْتُ
ʔanantu
أَنَنْتَ
ʔananta
أَنَّ
ʔanna
أَنَنْتُمَا
ʔanantumā
أَنَّا
ʔannā
أَنَنَّا
ʔanannā
أَنَنْتُمْ
ʔanantum
أَنُّوا
ʔannū
f أَنَنْتِ
ʔananti
أَنَّتْ
ʔannat
أَنَّتَا
ʔannatā
أَنَنْتُنَّ
ʔanantunna
أَنَنَّ
ʔananna
non-past (imperfect) indicative
الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع
m أَئِنُّ
ʔaʔinnu
تَئِنُّ
taʔinnu
يَئِنُّ
yaʔinnu
تَئِنَّانِ
taʔinnāni
يَئِنَّانِ
yaʔinnāni
نَئِنُّ
naʔinnu
تَئِنُّونَ
taʔinnūna
يَئِنُّونَ
yaʔinnūna
f تَئِنِّينَ
taʔinnīna
تَئِنُّ
taʔinnu
تَئِنَّانِ
taʔinnāni
تَأْنِنَّ
taʔninna
يَأْنِنَّ
yaʔninna
subjunctive
الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب
m أَئِنَّ
ʔaʔinna
تَئِنَّ
taʔinna
يَئِنَّ
yaʔinna
تَئِنَّا
taʔinnā
يَئِنَّا
yaʔinnā
نَئِنَّ
naʔinna
تَئِنُّوا
taʔinnū
يَئِنُّوا
yaʔinnū
f تَئِنِّي
taʔinnī
تَئِنَّ
taʔinna
تَئِنَّا
taʔinnā
تَأْنِنَّ
taʔninna
يَأْنِنَّ
yaʔninna
jussive
الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم
m أَئِنَّ, أَئِنِّ, آنِنْ
ʔaʔinna, ʔaʔinni, ʔānin
تَئِنَّ, تَئِنِّ, تَأْنِنْ
taʔinna, taʔinni, taʔnin
يَئِنَّ, يَئِنِّ, يَأْنِنْ
yaʔinna, yaʔinni, yaʔnin
تَئِنَّا
taʔinnā
يَئِنَّا
yaʔinnā
نَئِنَّ, نَئِنِّ, نَأْنِنْ
naʔinna, naʔinni, naʔnin
تَئِنُّوا
taʔinnū
يَئِنُّوا
yaʔinnū
f تَئِنِّي
taʔinnī
تَئِنَّ, تَئِنِّ, تَأْنِنْ
taʔinna, taʔinni, taʔnin
تَئِنَّا
taʔinnā
تَأْنِنَّ
taʔninna
يَأْنِنَّ
yaʔninna
imperative
الْأَمْر
m إِنَّ, إِنِّ, اِئْنِنْ
ʔinna, ʔinni, iʔnin
إِنَّا
ʔinnā
إِنُّوا
ʔinnū
f إِنِّي
ʔinnī
اِئْنِنَّ
iʔninna
passive voice
الْفِعْل الْمَجْهُول
singular
الْمُفْرَد
dual
الْمُثَنَّى
plural
الْجَمْع
1st person
الْمُتَكَلِّم
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
1st person
الْمُتَكَلِّم
2nd person
الْمُخَاطَب
3rd person
الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative
الْمَاضِي
m أُنَّ
ʔunna
f
non-past (imperfect) indicative
الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع
m يُؤَنُّ
yuʔannu
f
subjunctive
الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب
m يُؤَنَّ
yuʔanna
f
jussive
الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم
m يُؤَنَّ, يُؤَنِّ, يُؤْنَنْ
yuʔanna, yuʔanni, yuʔnan
f

Etymology 2.2

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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أَنّ (ʔannm

  1. verbal noun of أَنَّ (ʔanna) (form I)
Declension
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Declension of noun أَنّ (ʔann)
singular basic singular triptote
indefinite definite construct
informal أَنّ
ʔann
الْأَنّ
al-ʔann
أَنّ
ʔann
nominative أَنٌّ
ʔannun
الْأَنُّ
al-ʔannu
أَنُّ
ʔannu
accusative أَنًّا
ʔannan
الْأَنَّ
al-ʔanna
أَنَّ
ʔanna
genitive أَنٍّ
ʔannin
الْأَنِّ
al-ʔanni
أَنِّ
ʔanni

References

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  • 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