أَفِي الْخَابِيَةِ دِبْسٌ أَمْ فِي الزِّقِّ عَسَلٌ
Is syrup in the jar, or honey in the waterskin?
When both the location and the substance vary across alternatives, identifying the exact focus becomes subtler. The speaker may be contrasting locations, substances, or the whole alternatives.
Neither hamza nor am by itself settles that focus. The structure of the alternatives and the surrounding context must be considered to specify what is being identified.
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Istifhām: Conception, Assent, and the Interrogative Hamza
أَفِي الْخَابِيَةِ دِبْسٌ أَمْ فِي الزِّقِّ عَسَلٌ
Is syrup in the jar, or honey in the waterskin?
When both the location and the substance vary across alternatives, identifying the exact focus becomes subtler. The speaker may be contrasting locations, substances, or the whole alternatives.
Neither hamza nor am by itself settles that focus. The structure of the alternatives and the surrounding context must be considered to specify what is being identified.