Properties of the Arabic language
4.4 Clausal complements and complementation strategies in Arabicstrategies in Arabic
4.4.1 Finite complements
Pan Complement Clause
ThePan complement clause is a complement clause headed by Pan ‘that’ and it is similar to the English that because it introduces a finite clause with an overt or covert subject and the regular word order VSO. However, as we will see at the end of this section,?an has also similarities to the English infinitive complementizerto in that it constrains the tense of the verb to be the canonical present. The verb of the CP carries all standard inflection and agreement markers available in Arabic such as number, gender, and tense andPanmarks the verb of the embedded clause with accusative case. This marking is overt when the prefixal position of the verb is not already occupied by other markers with higher precedence as is the case for number and gender markers. The subject, however, receives its regular marking (nominative) from the verbal head of the CP.
(48) naway-tu Pan Pa-d
¯˙hab-a Pilaa s-sinimaa.
entended-PERF-I that I-go-ACC to DEF-cinema
‘I intended to go to the cinema.’
In a Panclausal complement, the verb has to be adjacent to the complementizer and anything that comes in between leads to ungrammaticality (49).
(49) * yuriidu l-laacib-u Pan haad
¯˙aa l-cam-i yafuuz-a.
want DEF-player-NOM to/that this DEF-year-GEN win-ACC
‘The player wants to win this year.’
In the same context, the subject of the complement clauses headed by Pan is not allowed to be adjacent to the complementizer (50).
(50) * yakrahu l-muˇsajjic-u Pan lacib-u-hu hates DEF-supporter-NOMthat player-NOM-his l-mufad
˙d
˙al-u yanohazim-a.
DEF-preferred-NOM INCH-defeat-ACC
‘The supporter hates it when his preferred player is defeated.’
The verb of a complement clause headed by?ancan be coreferent with the subject of the matrix verb in terms of a common anaphoric morpheme (appended on both verbs). In the first case, no explicit lexical subject has to appear in the
clausal complement and the agreement markers of the subordinate verb have to correspond in number and gender to the subject of the matrix verb. Otherwise the two subjects are interpreted as not beeing coreferent.
In addition,Panallows only the nominal form of the subject, but not a pronominal form. That is, if the subject has to be pronominal, then only the null-PRO version is allowed. The occurrence of a personal pronoun in the subject position merely has the function of emphasizing the subject. Its occurrence in a position adjacent to the complementizer is ungrammatical (51).
(51) a. Pa-tamannaa Pan yanojah
˙-a zayd-un fii l-Pimtih
˙aan-i.
I-wish that passes-ACC Zayd-NOM inDEF-exam-GEN
‘I wish that Zayd passes the exam.’
b. Pa-tamannaa Pan yanojah
˙-a fii l-Pimtih
˙aan-i.
I-wish that passes-ACC in DEF-exam-GEN
‘I wish that he passes the exam.’
c. * Pa-tamannaa Pan huwa yanojah
˙-a fii l-Pimtih
˙aan-i.
I-wish that he passes-ACC in DEF-exam-GEN
‘I wish that he passes the exam.’
Pan, as is typical for a complementizer, plays no role in defining the grammatical relation assigned to the clausal complement it heads. As we mentioned in section 4.4, syntactic and semantic properties of the matrix verb are responsible for this task. However, the fact that different types of complementizers appear exclusively with some classes of verbs but not with others, lets us assume that they do not only signal the subordinate status of the following embedded clause (Awad, 1995, 2), but also semantic features of the matrix verbs such as deontic modality, veridicality and some aspectual properties and/or the basic semantic relation between predicate and complement (Noonan, 1985, 90–91). For instance, the complementizer Pan is acknowledged to mark a subjunctive complement (Al-Seghayar,1997), which expresses deontic modalities such as obligation, permission and prohibition as well as modal categories like unreality and possibility (Awad, 1995, 13). Classes of verbs that selectPan as the head of the complement clause could generally be qualified as a class of manipulative or emotive verbs such as Pamara ‘order’, ?ah
˙abba ‘love’, ?araada ‘want’, in contrast to cognitive and
communicative verbs like carafa ‘know’,ˇsakka ‘doubt’,Paamana ‘believe’, which select a different type of complementizer.
(52) Pamara l-qaaPid-u Pan yataraajac-a l-junuud-u.
ordered DEF-chief-NOMthat retreat-ACC DEF-soldiers-NOM
‘The chief ordered that the soldiers retreat.’
(53) * carafa l-qaaPid-u Pan yataraajac-a l-junuud-u.
knows DEF-chief-NOMthat reatreat-ACC DEF-soldiers-NOM
‘The chief knows that the soldiers are retreating.’
(54) carafa l-qaaPid-u Panna l-junuud-a taraajac-uu.
knows DEF-chief-NOM that DEF-soldiers-NOMreatreated-PL
‘The chief knows that the soldiers retreated.’
(53) is ungrammatical because the verb Parafa ‘know’ requires the declarative complementizer Panna and not the subjunctive of Pan.
The subjunctive verb of a complement clause headed by Pan is inflected only for number and gender but not for tense. This fact brings this type of clause closer to infinitival complement clauses such as the English infinitive clause headed by to. Therefore, the ungrammaticality of (55) is due to the presence of the future marker sa on the verb.
(55) * Pajbara l-mucallim-u l-t
¯t
¯ilmiid
¯˙-a calaa Pan forced DEF-teacher-NOM DEF-pupil-ACC on to/that sa-yaqif-a fii z-zaawiyat-i.
FUT-stand-ACC inDEF-corner-GEN
‘The teacher forced the pupil to stand in the corner.’
However, one may use (56a) as a counter example to the subjunctive analysis, given that the matrix verbs are cognitive verbs, that is, verbs which are supposed to select a different complementizer than Pan.
(56) a. Paqsama zayd-un Pan sa-ya ˙glibu camr-an.
swore Zayd-NOM that FUT-beat Amr-ACC
‘Zayd swore that he will beat Amr.’
b. Pazcaja-nii Pan ˙galaba zayd-un camr-an.
annoyed-me that beat Zayd-NOM Amr-ACC.
‘Zayd swore that he will beat Amr.’
(Al-Seghayar, 1997, 2)
However, as stated in the traditional grammar of Arabic, the complemenizer Pan in this case is a reduced form of the declarative complementizer Panna imposed by the lack of a lexical subject and the adjacency of the verb to the complemtizer. It is rather the subject of phonological constraints than the subject of syntactic or semantic constraints. This point can be made evident by introducing a noun subject. This operation is expected to trigger the (re-)introduction of the complementizer Panna and to produce a grammatical sentence with declarative verbs (57). With conjunctive verbs, the usage ofPanna in all cases will lead to ungrammaticality (58).
(57) Paqsama zayd-uni Panna-hui sa-ya ˙glibu camr-an.
swore Zayd-NOMthat-he FUT-beat Amr-ACC
‘Zayd swore that he will beat Amr.’
(58) * Pamara l-qaaPid-u Panna l-junuud-a yataraajac-uu.
orderedDEF-chief-NOM that DEF-soldiers-NOM retreat-PL
‘The chief ordered the soldiers to retreat.’