1. كَانَ قَائِمًا زَيْدٌ — khabar before the ism, after kāna: allowed.
2. قَائِمًا كَانَ زَيْدٌ — khabar even before the verb: the book’s allowed pattern.
3. قَائِمًا مَا زَالَ زَيْدٌ — not allowed according to the stated mā restriction.
Fronting the predicate before an ism and fronting it before the verb itself are distinct syntactic operations.
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The Ism of Kāna and Its Sisters
1. كَانَ قَائِمًا زَيْدٌ — khabar before the ism, after kāna: allowed.
2. قَائِمًا كَانَ زَيْدٌ — khabar even before the verb: the book’s allowed pattern.
3. قَائِمًا مَا زَالَ زَيْدٌ — not allowed according to the stated mā restriction.
Fronting the predicate before an ism and fronting it before the verb itself are distinct syntactic operations.