# لعمرك



## S1234

Hi everyone

Why is the word عمر in لعمرك pronounced amr instead of umr and why is it in the nominative (marfu) state? For example,

لعمرك إن الموت ما أخطأ الفتى لكالطول المرخى وثنياه باليد

لعمرك لأقتلنها

Thanks


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## HotIcyDonut

لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّ المَوتَ مَا أَخْطَأَ الفَتَـى ... لَكَالطِّـوَلِ المُرْخَى وثِنْيَاهُ بِاليَـد

That's initiatory lam (لام ابتدائية), not your usual preposition li- you expect. Enters upon مبتدأ. Example:

*لَ*صابرين أجمل امرأة في العالم

Sabreen is *truly* the most beautiful woman in the world

Useable to dispel doubts your listener has about your statement given in خبر


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## Romeel

HotIcyDonut said:


> لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّ المَوتَ مَا أَخْطَأَ الفَتَـى ... لَكَالطِّـوَلِ المُرْخَى وثِنْيَاهُ بِاليَـد
> 
> That's initiatory lam (لام ابتدائية), not your usual preposition li- you expect. Enters upon مبتدأ. Example:


I think this is لام القسم ?!


HotIcyDonut said:


> *لَ*صابرين أجمل امرأة في العالم


This is لام ابتدائية


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## HotIcyDonut

Oops, thank you for correction, i tend to confuse them


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## Romeel

HotIcyDonut said:


> Oops, thank you for correction, i tend to confuse them


ليس مهما أن تعرف الإسم الإصطلاحي لها في النحو، المهم أن تعرف لِم استخدمتها!


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## Mahaodeh

I don’t think he is asking about اللام.



S1234 said:


> Why is the word عمر in لعمرك pronounced amr instead of umr


In Classical Arabic العَمْر والعُمْر والعُمُر all meant the same thing, probably different pronunciations of the same word. In Classical Arabic the first two were the most common (or so I was told) - عَمْر وعُمْر, in modern dialects the first is no longer used except in the personal name and the latter two are the ones common in dialects عُمْر وعُمُر. This is probably why you think that it should be the latter.

It’s worth noting that in القسم it’s almost always عَمْر, I don’t know why but perhaps that was the original pronunciation (maybe in pre-Classical Arabic?) so it got frozen in the oath and didn’t change as the word did. But this just a guess of course, I have no evidence whatsoever.



S1234 said:


> and why is it in the nominative (marfu) state?


Because it is مبتدأ.



Romeel said:


> I think this is لام القسم ?!


No, it is لام الابتداء.


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## Ali Smith

Mahaodeh said:


> Because it is مبتدأ.


And where is the خبر?


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## WadiH

وكلمة { لعمرك } صيغة قسم . واللام الداخلة على لفظ ( عمر ) لام القسم .

والعَمْر بفتح العين وسكون اللام أصله لغة في العُمر بضم العين ، فخص المفتوح بصيغة القسم لخفّته بالفتح لأن القسم كثير الدوران في الكلام . فهو قسم بحياة المخاطب به . وهو في الاستعمال إذا دخلت عليه لام القسم رفعوه على الابتداء محذوف الخبر وجوباً . والتقدير : لعمرك قَسمي .


إعراب لعمرك إنهم لفي سكرتهم يعمهون | إعراب الآية 72 من سورة الحجر.


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## Romeel

لعمرك يقابلها هذه الايام في اللغات الدارجة وشرفك، بحياتك، بشرفك، بشرفي، برحمة أبوك إلخ


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## Ali Smith

If I've understood you correctly, لَعَمْرُكَ means "by your life".

لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
By your life, they were bewildered in their intoxication.

And the خبر is understood to be either قَسَمِيْ or ما أُقْسِمُ بِهِ

لَعَمْرُكَ قَسَمِيْ Your life is my oath.
لَعَمْرُكَ ما أُقْسِمُ بِهِ Your life is that by which I swear.


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## WadiH

Correct.


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## S1234

And what does the لَ in the beginning add to the meaning?


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## Sadda7

WadiH said:


> (but note it's actually سكراتهم -- the little _aleph _doesn't show up in the hyperlink)


It's only read one way "سَكْرَتهم".


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## Ali Smith

S1234 said:


> And what does the لَ in the beginning add to the meaning?


It adds emphasis.


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## Romeel

Ali Smith said:


> It adds emphasis.


No, it is لام القسم without it there is no قسم.
أدوات القسم واو باء تاء لام


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## WadiH

Sadda7 said:


> It's only read one way "سَكْرَتهم".



You're right, sorry.  I guess I'm getting old because I could have sworn I'd seen an aleph there!



Ali Smith said:


> It adds emphasis.



No it's literally an oath.


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## Sadda7

WadiH said:


> واللام الداخلة على لفظ ( عمر ) لام القسم





Romeel said:


> No, it is لام القسم without it there is no قسم.





WadiH said:


> No it's literally an oath.



It's لام الابتداء in the majority of books that deal with the إعراب of Quran and books of grammar, in essence it is لام الابتداء and can be called both حرف ابتداء وقسم (see اللامات and الحروف والمعاني by الزجّاجي), and it does add emphasis as @Ali Smith said and because the قسم itself is أسلوب توكيد.

قال سيبويه في الكتاب:​


> "اعلم أنّ القسم *توكيدٌ *لكلامك"



al-Zajjaji also said that 4 _lams_ branch off from لام التوكيد:


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## WadiH

Yeah in the sense that every oath is kind of emphasis (on the truth of the statement), then sure you can say that.  But I don't think it gives the full picture to a non-native learner without explaining that it is a specific type of emphasis (i.e. an oath).


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