كَمْ رَجُلًا ضَرَبْتَ؟
Kam occupies the accusative object position.
كَمْ رِجَالٍ ضَرَبْتَهُمْ!
The pronoun hum is the direct object; kam can stand in a nominative topic position, with the following clause as predicate.
Two contrasts work together: interrogative/singular-accusative versus declarative/plural-genitive, and the arrival of a resumptive object pronoun.
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Al-Kināyāt — Kam, its Tamyīz and Syntactic Positions
كَمْ رَجُلًا ضَرَبْتَ؟
Kam occupies the accusative object position.
كَمْ رِجَالٍ ضَرَبْتَهُمْ!
The pronoun hum is the direct object; kam can stand in a nominative topic position, with the following clause as predicate.
Two contrasts work together: interrogative/singular-accusative versus declarative/plural-genitive, and the arrival of a resumptive object pronoun.