التابع - Follower
This post will explain التابع, a fundamental concept that includes many types of constructions found in Arabic grammar.
This post will explain توابع, a fundamental concept that includes many types of constructions found in Arabic grammar. The singular form for this word is تابع (lit. follower), and the plural form is توابع.
Definition of التابع
The definition of التابع is:
هو كل ثانٍ معربٌ بإعراب سابقِهِ من جهةٍ واحدةٍ
It is every second word that follows the i’rāb of the word before it due to the same grammatical reasoning.
Types of إعراب
There are two reasons of إعراب for معرب words in Arabic:
إعراب الأصليّة: when the إعراب in the word is because it is from the مرفوعاب, منصوبات, مجرورات
إعراب التبعِيّة: when the إعراب in the word is because it is following the إعراب of a preceding word, and the grammatical reason for their إعراب is the same
The word that is followed (comes early) is the متبوع, and the word that follows (comes later) is the تابع
Examples of تابع and متبوع
Example 1: جاءني رجلٌ عالمٌ (A knowledgeable man came to me)
عالم (the تابع) is مرفوع because it is also occurring as the فاعل, which is the same grammatical reason for رجل (the متبوع) to be مرفوع
Example 2: مررتُ برجلٍ عالمٍ (I passed by a knowledgeable man)
عالم (the تابع) is مجرور because it is also being acted upon by the حرف الجر just like how رجل (the متبوع)
Example 3 (not correct): الشخصُ عالمٌ (The person is knowledgeable)
in this case, both الشخص and عالم are مرفوع, yet they are not considered التابع or المتبوع. Why?
because the are مرفوع for different reasons
الشخص is المبتدأ
عالم is الخبر
for a تابع construction to occur, both words must have the same i’rāb for the same reason
5 Types of إعراب
Types of tawābi’:
نعت (adjective)
العطف بالحروف (conjunction with a particle)
التأكيد (emphasis)
البدل (substitute)
عطف البيان (explicative apposition)
And Allāh knows best.
Source: Hidāyat al-Nahw m’a As’ilatin wa Ajwabatin bil Lughatil Angalaziyyah