Qad” in Arabic Usage: A Linguistic Study on the Concept of Aspect

Abstract

This research sheds light on the uses of the particle “qad” in Arabic, explores its various meanings, and examines its relationship to the linguistic concept of Aspect. It is a purely linguistic study in which the researcher investigates the usages of “qad” in the Arabic language to determine the roles it plays in expressing aspectual meanings. The study addresses the question of whether the particle “qad” inherently carries temporal and aspectual values. Some linguists have argued that “qad” contains indicators that signify both time and aspect. Based on this assumption, they have introduced several terms to describe its syntactic aspects, such as near past aspect and anticipated past aspect, for example. However, associating “qad” with specific aspectual meanings in a strictly distributive manner is found to be inaccurate, as evidenced by classical texts and the natural usages of the language.

The aim of this study is to analyze the aspectual meanings of “qad” constructions in light of their Arabic usages, to clarify the role of aspect in shaping their meanings, and to propose revised terminologies for some temporal aspects based on new linguistic findings that differ from those commonly adopted in contemporary linguistic studies.