ABSTRACT
When َناك was first introduced, its function was to transform equational sentences from the present to the past tense (see Chapter 10). َناك has another function in Modern Standard Arabic. In the following discussion, َناك is followed by an indicative verb in the present tense to express (1) a state in
the past, (2) a past habitual action, (3) a past continuous event, or (4) the
past perfect (also referred to as the pluperfect). We shall discuss each of these
functions below:
There are certain verbs in Arabic that denote a quality or a condition but not
an action. In English they are known as stative verbs. Such verbs include, for
example, verbs of knowing and understanding, as in َمِهَف “to understand,”
َفَرَع “to know,” or verbs of liking or loving, as in َّبَحَأ “to like, to love,” َبِغَر “to desire, to want,” َدارَأ “to want, to wish,” etc. When َناك is followed by one of these verbs in the present tense, its use indicates a state or a condition
in the past. This combination is equivalent to the English “used to.” Examine
the following examples:
Action verbs in the past tense express the occurrence of an event or action
in the past. When َناك is followed by the present tense of action verbs such as
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a habit. Examine the following:
َناك followed by a present tense verb can also convey the notion of an action that was progressing in the past. This notion is usually conveyed when another
event or action intersects, as in the following examples.
