Non-Future Uses of the Particle ġādi in Moroccan Arabic

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Authors: Simone Bettega
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Abstract In the literature about Moroccan Arabic dialects, the particle ġādi is normally described as a marker of future tense. This article explores some non-prototypical and previously undocumented uses of ġādi, in which the particle is used to refer to a moment in time that precedes, or coincides with, the time of reference. Through the use of a questionnaire developed specifically for this purpose, ġādi has been tested for all the non-future uses that the typological literature suggest can be associated to so-called ‘future markers’. Of these, four are found to be associated with ġādi: the inferential, the concessive, the prospective and the counterfactual.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Syntax Semantics Linguistic Variation Language Linguistics Cultural Analysis Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies

Publication details

Journal / source
Journal of Semitic Studies
Volume
71
Issue
1
Pages
277–306
Publication date
1 January 2026
Language
EN