LessonsThe Subject of Predication: Pronouns of Affair, Iltifāt and Departure from Expected ExpressionQuiz

A pronoun of affair works in two linked stages. First comes a broad, unexplained indication; then a full clause resolves it. This arrangement produces anticipation, not just an extra syllable.

Ordinary reference: «جاء زيد وهو مسرور» — Zayd came, and he was happy; «هو» refers back to Zayd.
Affair construction: «هو الحق ظاهر» — The situation is that truth is manifest; «هو» introduces the full following assertion.

The second sentence is an explanatory illustration rather than a quotation from the page. The surface word is alike, but its grammatical reference and rhetorical function differ. In the affair construction, the following clause supplies what the initial pronoun left unexpressed.

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Anticipation followed by explanation

The Subject of Predication: Pronouns of Affair, Iltifāt and Departure from Expected Expression

A pronoun of affair works in two linked stages. First comes a broad, unexplained indication; then a full clause resolves it. This arrangement produces anticipation, not just an extra syllable.

Ordinary reference: «جاء زيد وهو مسرور» — Zayd came, and he was happy; «هو» refers back to Zayd.
Affair construction: «هو الحق ظاهر» — The situation is that truth is manifest; «هو» introduces the full following assertion.

The second sentence is an explanatory illustration rather than a quotation from the page. The surface word is alike, but its grammatical reference and rhetorical function differ. In the affair construction, the following clause supplies what the initial pronoun left unexpressed.