Explaining the "Why": The Adverbial Accusative of Purpose
In Arabic, you can express the underlying motivation for an action—doing something "out of love," "in hopes of," or "for fear of"—using a structure known as the Adverbial Accusative of Purpose (المفعول لأجله).
To create this, you take a verbal noun (a noun that represents an action or emotion, like "desire" or "hope") and place it in the indefinite accusative case. This means the word will take the double fatha marker, written as ـًا or ـةً.
For example, taking the noun رغبة (desire) and using it in the accusative makes it "out of a desire":
| I donated money to the charitable association out of a desire to help. | تبرعت بالمال للجمعية الخيرية رغبة في المساعدة.tabarra'tu bil-mâli lil-jam'iyyati al-khayriyyati raghbatan fil-musâ'adati |
Pairing with Prepositions
Because these adverbs describe internal feelings directed at something, they are almost always followed by a specific preposition that links the emotion to its target (just like we say "fear of" or "respect for" in English).
For instance, أمل (hope) pairs with the preposition في:
| The rich man built a hospital in hopes of helping the needy. | بنى الرجل الغني مستشفى أملا في مساعدة المحتاج.banâ ar-rajulu al-ghaniyyu mustashfan amalan fî musâ'adati al-muhtâj |
Words expressing positive regard, like حب (love), احترام (respect), and تقدير (appreciation), typically pair with the preposition لـ:
| We were donating food to the orphan out of love for him. | كنا نتبرع بالطعام لليتيم حبا له.kunnâ natabarrau bittaâmi lilyatîmi hubban lahu |
| Did you visit the old professor out of respect for him? | هل زرت الأستاذ القديم احتراما له؟hal zurta al-ustâdha al-qadîma ihtirâman lahu? |
| The boy who won the prize stood up in appreciation of the professor. | وقف الولد الذي فاز بالجائزة تقديرا للأستاذ.waqafa al-waladu alladhî fâza bil-jâ'izati taqdîran lil-ustâdhi |
On the other hand, a feeling like خوف (fear) pairs with the preposition من (from/of):
| We did not leave the city for fear of the war. | ما تركنا المدينة خوفا من الحرب.mâ taraknâ al-madînata khawfan mina al-harb. |
You can use this structure alongside any verb tense or sentence type, as long as the adverb itself remains in the accusative case to answer the question, "Why did you do it?"
