LessonsDefining the Subject by Demonstration: Rhetorical Purposes of DemonstrativesQuiz

To determine a demonstrative's purpose in a fresh example, ask four questions: Who is the referent? In what sense is it near or distant? What attributes or predicate follow? What is the speaker trying to achieve? This keeps lexical meaning distinct from rhetorical inference.

Worked examples:
«هٰذَا الطَّالِبُ نَاجِحٌ» — identifying a particular student; special praise is not necessarily intended.
«ذٰلِكَ الْعَالِمُ قُدْوَةٌ» — in a reverential setting, suggesting a scholar's elevated standing.
«أُولٰئِكَ أَهْلُ الْوَفَاءِ» — indicating a known group and attributing faithfulness to them.

In summary, demonstration identifies a referent while context determines its rhetorical purpose. The next section studies definiteness through «اللام», another means of identifying the subject.

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A four-part method for analyzing a demonstrative

Defining the Subject by Demonstration: Rhetorical Purposes of Demonstratives

To determine a demonstrative's purpose in a fresh example, ask four questions: Who is the referent? In what sense is it near or distant? What attributes or predicate follow? What is the speaker trying to achieve? This keeps lexical meaning distinct from rhetorical inference.

Worked examples:
«هٰذَا الطَّالِبُ نَاجِحٌ» — identifying a particular student; special praise is not necessarily intended.
«ذٰلِكَ الْعَالِمُ قُدْوَةٌ» — in a reverential setting, suggesting a scholar's elevated standing.
«أُولٰئِكَ أَهْلُ الْوَفَاءِ» — indicating a known group and attributing faithfulness to them.

In summary, demonstration identifies a referent while context determines its rhetorical purpose. The next section studies definiteness through «اللام», another means of identifying the subject.