The Time Reference of the verb (Went) in the Holy Qur’an between the Perspectives of Form and Context

Abstract

The paper is a search in one of the interesting complicated topics of semantics. Because of its relation to the subject of time, which includes three intertwined fields of knowledge, namely philosophy, physics and language. In the field of language, its complication is not less than that because of the confusion, difference and variability of opinions on the concepts, terms and systematic measures. What they differ about includes the relation of time reference with the form of the verb, or with its current context , or with both, as the ancient researchers recognized that form has a subjective connotation to one of the known divisions of time (past, present, and future). As for context, their linguistic writings were filled with analytical applications of different texts, and examples and models confirming the importance of context, represented by a set of tools, verbs and nouns that converge to give words a time connotation different from the time of the verb form, as is the case with the cultural context. The choice has fallen on the verb (went) in the Holy Qur’an to verify the participation of both form and context in the formation of the overall temporal connotation of speech, as it was found that the form of the verb sometimes retains its function in indicating time, and sometimes it backs down in favor of the essay or current context, and the research applications are a proof of the richness of Arabic by means of indicating time, and of the different variants of time that exceed the known triple division, and of the fact that language is a pliant tool for its user, which he uses as he wants to achieve his verbal intentions, and this is evidence that, when it enters into rich use, it declares its rebellion against strict laws and fixed forms.