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1. The simple sentence This entry examines salient syntactic differences in simple and complex sentences between Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic (see also verbal clause; nominal clause). In both varieties, the word orders Verb-Subject-Object (VSO), as in (1a) and (2a), and Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), as in (1b) and (2b), are used alternately, although the latter is the unmarked surface order. Standard Arabic (1a) kataba ḥātim-un risālat-an wrote.3ms Hatim-Nom letter-Acc ‘Hatim wrote a letter’ (1b) ḥātim-un kataba risālat-an Hatim-Nom wrote.3ms letter-Acc ‘Hatim wrote a …

Interrogative sentences in Classical Arabic are divided into yes/no questions, and questions with an interrogative pronoun or adverb (Reckendorf 1921:31–41; Wright 1964:II, 306–317). Yes/no questions are usually introduced by a question particle ʾa- or hal. In Classical Arabic, ʾa- is the general interrogative particle, but it may be used to express astonishment or indignation: ʾa-jāʾa zayd ‘Zayd didn't come, did he?’. With a negation, a positive answer is often anticipated, e.g. ʾa-lā tarā ʾanna… ‘don't you see that…; surely, you can see that…’; ʾa-lā or ʾallā may also express …