Negation in Arabic

Arabic has several words for "not". Which one you need depends on the tense and on whether the sentence has a verb: ⁨لَا أَعْرِف⁩ (I don't know), ⁨لَمْ أَذْهَبْ⁩ (I didn't go), ⁨لَسْتُ طَبِيبًا⁩ (I'm not a doctor).

The Present with ⁨لَا⁩

Put ⁨لَا⁩ before a present verb. The verb itself doesn't change. On its own, ⁨لَا⁩ also means "no".

The Past with ⁨لَمْ⁩

To say that something didn't happen, Arabic usually puts ⁨لَمْ⁩ before the present form, not the past. After ⁨لَمْ⁩ the verb is in the jussive: its last vowel becomes a sukun, and the endings ⁨ـُون⁩, ⁨ـِين⁩ and ⁨ـَان⁩ lose their ⁨ن⁩. The ending ⁨ـُوا⁩ is written with the same silent alif as in the past. The form with ⁨ـْنَ⁩ doesn't change.

This course usually leaves off the last vowel of the present, so in the singular the only visible change is the sukun: ⁨يَكْتُب⁩, ⁨لَمْ يَكْتُبْ⁩. This topic writes the sukun so you can see the form. With ⁨ـُون⁩, ⁨ـِين⁩ and ⁨ـَان⁩ the change is easy to hear: ⁨يَكْتُبُون⁩, ⁨لَمْ يَكْتُبُوا⁩.

The Past with ⁨مَا⁩

⁨مَا⁩ before a past verb also means "didn't": ⁨مَا كَتَبْتُ⁩ means the same as ⁨لَمْ أَكْتُبْ⁩. ⁨مَا⁩ is common in speech and in stories, and ⁨لَمْ⁩ is more usual in writing and in the news.

The Future with ⁨لَنْ⁩

⁨لَنْ⁩ means "will not". It takes the place of ⁨سَـ⁩ or ⁨سَوْفَ⁩, and the verb after it is in the subjunctive: its last vowel becomes a. In sentences this course leaves that vowel off, as it does in the present: ⁨لَنْ أَذْهَب⁩. The forms with ⁨ـُون⁩, ⁨ـِين⁩ and ⁨ـَان⁩ lose their ⁨ن⁩, just as after ⁨لَمْ⁩.

Sentences Without a Verb: ⁨لَيْسَ⁩

A sentence with no verb, like ⁨هُوَ طَبِيب⁩ (he is a doctor), is negated with ⁨لَيْسَ⁩ (is not). ⁨لَيْسَ⁩ takes endings for the person, like a past verb, but it always means the present. The word after it is in the accusative, which you see as ⁨ـًا⁩ on most indefinite words: ⁨هُوَ لَيْسَ طَبِيبًا⁩.

Not Before a Word: ⁨غَيْر⁩

⁨غَيْر⁩ goes before an adjective or noun and gives its opposite, like un- or in- in English: ⁨صَحِيح⁩ (correct), ⁨غَيْر صَحِيح⁩ (incorrect). The two words form an idafa, so ⁨غَيْر⁩ never takes ⁨ال⁩.

Common Mistakes

• Using ⁨لَا⁩ with the past: say ⁨لَمْ أَذْهَبْ⁩ or ⁨مَا ذَهَبْتُ⁩, not ⁨لَا ذَهَبْتُ⁩.
• Using a past verb after ⁨لَمْ⁩: say ⁨لَمْ يَكْتُبْ⁩, not ⁨لَمْ كَتَبَ⁩.
• Keeping the ⁨ن⁩ after ⁨لَمْ⁩ or ⁨لَنْ⁩: say ⁨لَمْ يَكْتُبُوا⁩, not ⁨لَمْ يَكْتُبُون⁩.
• Putting ⁨لَا⁩ before the future: say ⁨لَنْ أُسَافِر⁩, not ⁨لَا سَأُسَافِر⁩.
• Using ⁨لَا⁩ in a sentence without a verb: say ⁨أَنَا لَسْتُ طَبِيبًا⁩, not ⁨أَنَا لَا طَبِيب⁩.
• Leaving ⁨لَيْسَ⁩ unchanged: say ⁨أَنَا لَسْتُ⁩, not ⁨أَنَا لَيْسَ⁩.

Example Sentences