ABSTRACT
Arabic adverbials comprise a closed class of words. Although some of them may appear similar to English prepositions, Arabic adverbials comprise a class that is distinct from prepositions. A key difference is that adverbials receive case and prepositions do not. Adverbials provide information about time and location. Adverbials also play a major role in expressing various meanings of to have, such as ownership, availability, disease, time, have in the mind, have an inclination, have an aptitude, have a skill, have difficulty, have problems, and others. An adverbial often occurs as a first term of an 'idafa. In such cases, the term that immediately follows, the second term of the 'idafa is either a noun or a pronoun suffix. A verb never immediately follows an adverbial. The subordinating conjunctions can immediately follow an adverbial, instead of a noun or pronoun. These coordinating conjunctions permit a subordinate verb clause to follow an adverbial.
