أن

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

Arabic

Etymology 1.1

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

• IPA^(key): /ʔan/

Conjunction

أَنْ • (ʔan)

1. introduces a verb clause in place of the definite verbal noun

   Synonym: مَا (mā)

   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

• 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)
• أَلَّن (ʔallan)
• أَلَّو (ʔallaw)
• أَن التَّفْسِيرِيَّة (ʔan at-tafsīriyya)
• لِأَنْ (liʔan)
• لِئَلَّا (liʔallā)
• لِئَلَّن (liʔallan)

Etymology 1.2

Adverbial accusative of the noun underlying the former conjunction.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔan.na/

Conjunction

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

• 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

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

• إِنَّ (ʔinna) (after certain verbs)

Derived terms

• أَنَّمَا (ʔannamā)
• لِأَنَّ (liʔanna)

See also

• (ʔinna and her sisters) إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا (ʔinna wa-ʔaḵawātuhā); إِنَّ (ʔinna), أَنَّ (ʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), كَأَنَّ (kaʔanna), لِأَنَّ (liʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), لَعَلَّ (laʕalla), لَيْتَ (layta), ^{(Category: Sisters of ʾinna)}

Etymology 2.1

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

• IPA^(key): /ʔan.na/

Verb

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

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔann/

Noun

أَنّ • (ʔann) m

1. verbal noun of أَنَّ (ʔanna) (form I)

Declension

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

• 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