Comparing sentence transformations
An Arabic class begins with the original teaching example الكتابُ مفيدٌ. One student changes it to إنّ الكتابَ مفيدٌ, while another proposes كان الكتابُ مفيدًا to express a past description. A third student swaps the endings because both introductory words have been described as affecting a nominal construction. The teacher asks the class to identify the relevant governing family, distinguish the noun from the predicate and explain the displayed case relationships. The task does not ask students to infer a real publication, a current textbook policy or a specific dialect pronunciation. They are using vocalized classroom examples to make relationships visible before practising ordinary unvocalized writing. The final response should explain a construction rather than merely repeat the name of a vowel sign.
1. Which proposed transformations preserve the intended basic case relationships?
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Both the first and second proposals do: إنّ makes its noun accusative with a nominative predicate; كان retains a nominative noun with an accusative predicate.
2. Why is a mechanical swap unreliable?
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The governing families have different functions. Identify the actual noun and predicate within each construction before deciding how case is realized.