Till, Until and ªattaa in English and Arabic Discourse

484 ؼ ا ؼخ ط١جخ: ٣داة غخ اغخ عب ١خ، ا ؼذدزبعؼخالإغب ـ 1441, 19 ، ا

"Till", "Until" and "Ħattaa" in English

and Arabic Discourse

Mariam Mohammad Abdel-Aziz Al-Momani

Department of English Language and Literature

Faculty of Arts, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

[email protected]

Abstract:

This paper is an attempt to study and investigate the

semantic and syntactic features of the English items till and

until and compare them with their equivalent in Arabic,

ħattaa. The study is qualitative in nature drawing primarily

upon books. To achieve the goal of the study, the researcher

relies on different viewpoints of some linguists who study

the English items till and until (Swan (1983), Quirk et al

(1985), Leech and Svartvik (1994), Freeborn (1995), and

mailto:[email protected]

485

"Till", "Until" and "Ħattaa" in English and Arabic Discourse

Quirk and Greenbaum (1996)), and the linguists who study

the Arabic item ħattaa (Hassan (1973), Al-afghany (1977),

As-sayyed (1977), Jacob (1983), Ibn Jinny (1988), Al-

muradi (1992), Al-anbari (1995), and Al-fawzan (2003)).

The study exhibits different viewpoints about the subject.

For till and until, it is mentioned that they are used to

perform the functions of a preposition and conjunction

conveying the meanings of duration, purpose, or result. On

the other hand, the Arabic item, ħattaa, can be used as a

preposition, conjunction, introductory particle, and causative

particle. Arab linguists have cast light on the meanings

achieved by the use of ħattaa. These meanings include

indicating the last point of the temporal action (duration)

(?intihaa?u ?al-γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اضب١خ), the end of direction

((?intihaa?u ?al-γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اىب١خ(, the utmost end of

any feature (?al-γaϳa: اغب٠خ أ طفخ), 'cause or purpose'

486 Dr. Mariam Mohammad Abdel-Aziz Al-Momani

(?at-ta؟liil: ازؼ١), result (?an-natiiʤah: از١غخ(, exclamation

(?at-ta؟aʤub: ازؼغت(, and exception (?al-?istiθnaa?: الاعزضبء).

Keywords: Till; until; ħatta; prepositions;

conjunctions

1. Introduction

Contrastive studies are a complicated area of investigation

since they compare languages from different cultural and

linguistic heritage together in order to identify similarities

and differences between the languages compared. Thus, this

study is a modest attempt to investigate just one category in

both English and Arabic and to shed light on some features

of "till/", "until" and "ħattaa" with regard to their functions

and meaning.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Till and Until

Till and until are items that some grammarians have paid

attention to as two word classes, i,e. as prepositions and as

487


conjunctions according to the kind of complement each item

introduces.

Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, (1985)

suggest that until, which is used almost equally as a

conjunction and a preposition, occurs more frequently than

its variant till. However, till, which is not commonly used as

a subordinator, is mainly used in spoken texts and

"predominantly as a preposition (p. 534)". For example:

- They will live in Chicago until William finishes his thesis.

(until is a conjunction)

- She will be working till nine o'clock. (till is a preposition)

In their book "A University Grammar of English",

Quirk and Greenbaum (1995) argue that till and until, as

prepositions, are used "almost exclusively as prepositions of

time (p. 155) and can be followed by different structures

such as:

(a) a temporal noun phrase (e.g. till / until next year)


(b) a subjectless V-ing clause (e.g. till / until leaving school)

(c) a noun phrase with a deverbal noun (i.e. a noun derived

from a verb other than the gerund) or some other noun

phrase interpreted as equivalent to a clause (e.g. until the fall

of Rome = until Rome fell)

For Leech and Svartvik (1994), until and till can be

used in specific constructions to indicate the meaning of

"duration". For example, they can replace the preposition to

in the construction from … to … )from Monday to (until)

Friday) provided that from is not absent (p. 87). In addition,

until or till as a preposition and as a conjunction with a state

verb signals the terminal point of a period in positive

structures:

- You're to stay in bed until next Monday. (i.e. from

now to next Monday)

489


In negative structures, until can be used with event verbs to

give a meaning similar to before and to indicate the

commencement point of a period:

- He didn't start to read until he was ten. (= He didn't

start to read before he was ten)

Leech and Svartvik (ibid.) clarify that what determines

the class of till or until is the structure that follows each:

- I did not have glasses till I was eight. (till is a

conjunction)

- I did not have glasses till eight. (till is a preposition)

According to Swan (1983, sec. 611) until and till have

exactly the same meaning that indicates time. Additionally,

Swan clarifies when until can be used correctly: "Until is

used when we talk about a continuing situation or state that

will stop at a certain moment in the future." (p. 611)

Freeborn (1995, pp. 251-252), in his turn, claims that

the meaning of the adverbial clause is defined more clearly


by some traditional labels with conjunctions that relate to

them. Among the examples given is the conjunction until

that is used to introduce adverbial clauses of time.

2.2 Ħattaa

Ħattaa is the Arabic particle (ħarf: ؽشف( with which till and

until share some features. Concerning its usage, ħattaa

seems to have several functions and expresses various

meanings according to many Arab linguists.

In his book "?al-ʤana ?ad-danii Fii huruuf ?al-

ma؟anii", Al-muradi (1992) states that ħattaa is a particle

that has three functions: a preposition (ħarf ʤar: ؽشف عش),

conjunction (ħarf ؟atf: ؽشف ػطف(, and introductory particle

(ħarf ?ibtidaa?: ؽشف إثزذاء) according to Basra linguists. The

Kufic linguists add a fourth function as a causative particle

(ħarf naşb: ؽشف ظت). Al-muradi believes that the

prepositional ħattaa conveys the meaning of "the terminal

point of the action' (?intihaa?u ?al-γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ). This

491


means that the action extends over a period up to a specific

point in the future, provided that the object of the

preposition is an explicit noun (not a pronoun), and the

object is the last part of the noun that comes before ħattaa,

for example:

akaltu ?s-samakata?)سأعب ؽزىخ أوذ اغ -

ħattaa ra?siha)

- I ate the fish, until (up to) its head.

It is not necessary for the object of the prepositional ħattaa

to be included in the action. This is completely different

when ħattaa is a subordinate conjunction.

Although ħattaa is more popular as a preposition, it

sometimes appears as a subordinating conjunctive particle

)ħarf ؟atf: ؽشف ػطف(. In this situation, the noun after ħattaa

has to meet the following conditions:

(1) it has to be a part or part-like of the noun that precedes

ħattaa, for example:


(qadema ?l-ħuʤaaʤu ħattaa ?l-muʃatu( اؾغبط - ؽزلذ

اشبح.

- The pilgrims came even the pedestrians. (pedestrians

are part of the pilgrims)

)qadema ?ş-şaϳaduuna ħattaa kilaabuhum) - لذ

ولاث. ؽزاظ١بد

– The hunters came even their dogs. (dogs are part-like

of hunters)

(2) it has to indicate the utmost end of any feature attributed

to the noun that precedes ħattaa. (?al-γaϳa: اغب٠خ), for

example: the maximum degree of generosity or the

maximum degree of stinginess.

(3) it has to be a single item not a clause.

The third function as an introductory particle (ħarf

?ibtidaa?: ؽشف إثزذاء) indicates the meaning of the utmost

end of any feature of the noun that precedes ħattaa (?al-γaϳa:

according to the linguists of Al-Basra. It is worth (اغب٠خ

493


mentioning that ħattaa has to be followed by a clause to

perform this function.

The Kufic linguists, as Al-muradi (ibid.) and Jacob (1983)

show, suggest that ħattaa can be used as a causative particle

)ħarf naşb: ؽشف ظت) expressing two meanings: 'cause or

purpose' (?at-ta؟liil: ازؼ١) and the terminal point of the

action (duration) which, then, can be replaced by ?ilaa ?an

()إ أ "up to".

For Ibn Jinny (1988, p. 76-77), ħattaa may function

as a preposition, conjunction, and a resumption

(introductory) particle after which a new structure begins.

Al-fawzan (2003, p. 251) focusses on one function of

ħattaa as a preposition that indicates the "end of the period

or direction' (?intihaa?u ?l- γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اضب١خ أ اىب١خ),

for example:

)sahirtu ?al-laϳlata ħattaa ?al-faʤri ) افغش. ؽزعشد ا١خ -

- I stayed up till the approach of the daybreak.


(the action of staying up extended over a period and stopped

when the daybreak approached)

Al-anbari (1995, pp. 240-241), Ibn Hisham (1960),

Sarhan (2007), and As-sayyed (1977, p. 348) agree upon

that ħattaa can be used as a preposition, as a conjunction,

and as an introductory particle.

Al-afghany (1977, p. 331) believes that ħattaa may

function as (1) a preposition that signals the terminal point

of a period (duration) as illustrated by the following

example:

- I stayed up until the morning. (sahirtu

ħattaa ?aş-şabaaħi( اظجبػ. ؽزعشد -

(morning was the last point of the action of staying up that

went on over a period of time),

and (2) as a conjunction with the meanings of 'cause or

purpose' (at-ta؟liil) and the end of the period or direction'

495


(?intihaa?u ?l- γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اضب١خ أ اىب١خ). The

following two examples clarify the last two meanings:

-Work hard in order to (to) win.

)?iʤtahid ħattaa tafuuz) رفص. ؽزاعزذ -

(winning is the purpose of working hard, and working hard

is the cause of winning)

- ħafiðtu ?l-qur?aanaعسح اجمشح. ؽزؽفظذ امشآ و

kullahu ħattaa suurata ?l-baqarati) (

- I memorized the whole Quran even surat al-Baqara.

(the action of memorizing is complete and it includes Surat

Al-Baqarah)

In the four volumes of his book "?an-naħu ?al-waafii",

Hassan )1973( studies ħattaa thoroughly and talks in details

about its three functions as a preposition, conjunction, and

introductory particle mentioning the exact situations and

possible meanings for each by using many examples.

Hassan confirms that the prepositional ħattaa has three


meanings: the 'cause or purpose' (?at-ta؟liil), exception (?al-

istiθnaa?(, or the utmost end of any feature that relates to the

unit before ħattaa (?al-γaϳa: اغب٠خ). The latter sense is shared

with ħattaa as an introductory particle )ħarf ?ibtidaa?: ؽشف(

.اثزذاء

Otherwise, ħattaa as a subordinating conjunction shows the

sense of "the end of the period or direction" (?intihaa?u-?al-

γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اضب١خ أ اىب١خ).

3. Findings and Discussion

Since till / until, and ħattaa show some similarities and

differences as have been illustrated in

the previous section, in what follows, the researcher will

present some evidence to show that till / until, and ħattaa

can be used to perform similar functions and convey similar

meanings, in addition to some distinct features of ħattaa.

3.1 The Meaning of "Duration"

497


(1) They will live in Chicago until William finishes his

thesis.

(2) She will not leave till her brother gets there.

(3) The performance lasted until 2 a.m.

(4) She will be working till nine o'clock.

The sentences above, which are used by Quirk et al

(1985, pp. 533-534), prove that each of till and until,

which carry strong semantic content of time, can be used

to give the meaning of duration. In each sentence, the

action continues over a period up to a specific point

indicated by either till or until. In sentences (1) and (2),

until and till are subordinate conjunctions that introduce

adverbial clauses whereas sentences (3) and (4) use till

and until as prepositions followed by noun phrases.

Frank (1972), in his turn, provides some examples to

shed light on the meaning of extended time (i.e. duration) if

only the last point is given (pp. 164, 216):


(5) I cannot see you until / till five o'clock. (until/ till are

prepositions)

(6) Let's sit out here till the sun sets. (till is a

subordinate conjunction)

(7) We'll wait inside until the rain stops. (until is a

subordinate conjunction)

In the examples above, till and until are used to mark the

time up to which the situation in the clause or phrase

applies.

Like till and until, the Arabic particle ħattaa may

function as a preposition implying duration as the

following examples illustrate:

(nimtu ħattaa maţla؟i ?l-faʤri( ذ ؽز طغ افغش. (8)

- I slept till/ until the appearance of dawn.

The-( ٠ضداد اؾش بس اظ١ف ؽز رغ١ت اشظ. 9)

summer heat increases until the sunset.

499


)ϳazdaadu ?l-ħarru nahaara ?aş-şaϳfi ħattaa taγiiba ?aʃ-

ʃamsu(

u ?al- qiţaaru ħattaaؾطخ. ( ٠غشع امطبس ؽز ٠ذخ ا10)

ϳadxula ?al-maħaţata(؟)ϳusri

- The train speeds up until getting into the station.

Hassan (1973, p. 335) uses examples (9) and (10) to

clarify that ħattaa is a particle that gives the meaning of

duration. In these two examples, ħattaa is a preposition

that indicates a continuous situation or the last point of

the action (?intihaa?u ?al-γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ اضب١خ(. In this

case, it is necessary for ħattaa to be followed by a noun,

noun phrase, or verbal clause.

3.2 The Meaning of "Purpose"

(11) Larry polished the table until he could see his face in it.

In this sentence, the subordinate conjunction until has a

meaning comparable to conjunctions of purpose such as:


"that" or "in order that" since the subject of the until-clause

is the same as the subject of the main clause (Larry and he).

Consequently, the following sentence sounds quite

acceptable:

(12) Larry polished the table in order that he could see his

face in it.

In Arabic, this meaning is apparently common with

the preposition ħattaa that can be translated into to or in

order to as the following examples show:

- (s?aʤtahidu ħattaa ?afuuza(أفص. ؽزعأعزذ (13)

I will work hard to (in order to) win.

. ؽز( ششثذ اذاء 14) θaribtu ?ad-dawaa?a ħattaa(أطؼ

?aşşiħħa(

-I took the medicine to (in order to) recover.

Replacing ħattaa with kaϳ (و) in these sentences is an

obvious signal of purpose:

501


و، ششثذ اذاء )s?aʤtahidu kaϳ ?afuuza(أفص. وعأعزذ

. )θaribtu ?ad-dawaa?a kaϳ ?aşiħa(أطؼ

3.3 The Meaning of "Result"

Until / till clauses or phrases may indicate result as well as

time. This sense is clear in the following examples from

Quirk et al (ibid, pp. 1081, 1083):

(15) She massaged her leg until it stopped hurting.

It is obvious that until, which is a subordinate conjunction in

this sentence, corresponds to "with the result that …." or

"so that" signaling the result of the action stated in the main

clause.

(16) Larry polished the table until you could see his face in

it.

Because the subject of the main clause and that of the until-

clause are not coreferential (they do not refer to the same

antecedent), until may convey the meaning of result in


addition to the meaning of time )…as a result, you could see

his face in it).

Similarly, ħattaa seems to reflect the meaning of

result, along with the meaning of time, when it is used with

verbal clauses in the past tense:

- He worked hard. As a result, he succeeded.(؟amila biʤidin

ħattaa naʤaħa( ثغذ غؼ. ؽزػ (17)

)rakaᵭtu limasaafatin ţawiilatin ħattaa ta؟ibtu) سوضذ

رؼجذ. ؽزغبفخ ط٠خ (18)

- I ran for a long distance. As a result, I got tired.

In addition to what has been discussed, it is fitting to

mention some meanings and functions that are exclusively

connected with ħattaa as shown below:

3.4 Exception (?al-istiθnaa?: العرصاء)

Exception is one of the meanings of the Arabic particle

ħattaa as the following example illustrates:

503


)laa ϳaşluhu ?alwalii lilħukmi ħattaa ϳaltazima ?al؟adla)

اؼذي. ؽزلا ٠ظؼ اا ؾى ٠زض (19)

- The governor can not rule unless he is committed to

justice.

Hassan (1973, p. 337) claims that ħattaa can be used to give

the meaning of exception if it can be replaced by ?illaa ?an

without causing any change to the general meaning of )إلا أ)

the structure: لا ٠ظؼ اا ؾى اؼذي. إلا أ ٠زض )laa ϳaşluhu

?alwalii lilħukmi ?illaa ?an ϳaltazima ?al؟adla)

3.5 Reaching the utmost end of any feature (?al-

γaϳa: انغاح(

This is another meaning that ħattaa can convey. It can be

used to indicate the maximum degree of the noun. The

following points are good examples:

ثببي ( ٠جخ ا20) lam ϳabxali ?alγaniϳϳu(ا٢لاف. ؽزغ

bilmaali ħattaa ?al?aalaafi)

- The rich man donated money even thousands.


.I ate the fish even its head -سأعب. ؽز( أوذ اغىخ 21)

(?akaltu ?as-samakata ħattaa ra?sahaa(

In these two sentences, ħattaa is a subordinate conjunction

that requires only a noun or noun phrase to follow it. This

noun or noun phrase points out the maximum degree of the

noun that precedes ħattaa.

This meaning, along with the sense of exclamation,

can be viewed with ħattaa as an introductory particle (ħarf

?ibtidaa?: ؽشف اثزذاء) to introduce a new clause. Mas'oud

(1992, p. 294) provides the first example to support this

point:

- Even my friend betrays me! ( ħattaa

şadiiqii ϳaxuununii( طذ٠م ٠خ! ؽز (22)

This point gains more clarity with the next example:

)ϳaa lil؟aʤabi! Ħattaa Zaϳdun ʃatamanii( !ص٠ذ ؽز٠ب ؼغت

(23) شز.

- I am surprised! Even Zaid said bad words to me!

505


4 Conclusion

In this contrastive study, the researcher highlights the

semantic and syntactic features of the two categories till and

until on the one hand, and ħattaa on the other. The study has

revealed that there are some similarities and differences

between these two categories in function and meaning. In

function, both categories can be used as prepositions and as

subordinate conjunctions in addition to the exclusive

functions of ħattaa as an introductory particle and as

causative particle. With regard to the meaning, duration,

result, and purpose are the meanings signaled by till and

until. Nevertheless, the semantic scope of ħattaa extends to

cover the senses of exception (?al-istiθnaa?: الإعزضبء), the

utmost end of any feature attached to the noun before ħattaa

(i.e. the maximum degree of the noun (?al-γaϳa: اغب٠خ)), the

end of a period or direction (?intihaa?u-?al-γaϳa: ازبء اغب٠خ

.)ازؼغت :aʤub؟and exclamation (?t-ta ,(اضب١خ أ اىب١خ


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507


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انغرخهص

" until "يعتبر هذا البحث محاولة لدراسة السؿات الدلقة والـحقية للأداتقـ:

"till " بالؾغة الإكجؾقزية، ومؼاركتفؿا بؿا يرادففؿا بالؾغة العربقة مـ حروف. وقد

اطتؿدت الباحثة في جؿع مادة البحث طؾك الؿعؾقمات الؿتقافرة بالؽتب بشؽؾ

العديد مـ الؿتخصصقـ بالؾغتقـ العربقة أساسل، حقث قامت بدراسة أراء

يعؼقب (،1977(، افغاني )1973واكجؾقزية، ومـ أبرزهؿ طؾك التقالل: حسـ )

(، الػقزان 1995(، اكباري )1992(، الؿرادي )1988(، ابـ جـل )1983)

(2003 ،)Swan(1983) ،Quirk et al (1985)،Leech and Svartvik

(1994) ،Freeborn (1995) ثبلإضبفخ إQuirk and

Greenbaum (1996).

وقد تقصؾت الدراسة إلك أن اداتقـ السابؼ ذكرهؿا يصـػان في الؾغة الإكجؾقزية

ضؿـ قسؿقـ مـ أقسام الؽلام وهؿا: حرف جر، وحرف ططػ للإشارة إلك الؿدة

د أضفرت الدراسة الزماكقة، أو الؿؽاكقة، أو الغاية، أو الـتقجة. وطلاوة طؾك ذلؽ، فؼ

أن للأداة حتك في الؾغة العربقة وضائػ طدة؛ حقث يؿؽـ اطتبارها حرف جر، و

حرف ططػ، و حرف ابتداء، وكذلؽ حرف كصب. ولؽؾ مـفا معان مختؾػة تدل

طؾقفا كاكتفاء الغاية الزماكقة أو الؿؽاكقة، التعؾقؾ، استثـاء، الـتقجة و التعجب.

. until؛ till؛ حتك؛ حرف جر؛ حرف ططػ: الؽؾؿات الؿػتاحقة

Documents

Till, Until and ªattaa in English and Arabic Discourse