Negation in Arabic
Negation in Arabic is the array of approaches used in Arabic grammar to express grammatical negation. These strategies correspond to words in English like no and not.
Modern Standard Arabic
Negation of present-tense verbs
Present-tense verbs are negated by adding لا lā "not" before the verb:[1]
| sentence type | example |
|---|---|
| affirmative sentence | أُحِبُّ الجَزَرَ
’uḥibbu al-jazara "I like carrots" |
| negative sentence | لا أُحِبُّ الجَزَرَ
lā ’uḥibbu al-jazara "I do not like carrots" |
Negation of past-tense verbs
In Modern Standard Arabic, the main way to negate past-tense verbs is to add the negative particle لَمْ lam "not" before the verb, and to put the verb in the jussive mood.[2] In more colloquial usage, it is possible to give the verb in the present indicative mood (which is largely identical in form to the jussive).[3]
| sentence type | example |
|---|---|
| affirmative sentence | أَحْبَبْتُ الجَزَرَ
’aḥbabtu al-jazara "I liked carrots" |
| negative sentence
(jussive: more formal) |
لَم أُحْبِبْ الجَزَرَ
lam ʾuḥbib al-jazara "I did not like carrots" |
| negative sentence
(present indicative: less formal) |
لَم أُحِبُّ الجَزَرَ
lam ’uḥibbu al-jazara "I did not like carrots" |
It is also possible, though rare in writing, to use the colloquially common negative particle ما mā before the verb, giving the verb in the past tense.[4][5]
| sentence type | example |
|---|---|
| affirmative sentence | أَحْبَبْتُ الجَزَرَ
’aḥbabtu al-jazara "I liked carrots" |
| negative sentence
(jussive: more formal) |
مَا أَحْبَبْتُ الجَزَرَ
mā ’aḥbabtu al-jazara "I did not like carrots" |
Negation of verbs in the future tense
Negating a proposition in the future is done by placing the negative particle لَنْ lan before the verb in the subjunctive mood.[6]
Negation of imperative verbs
Imperative verbs are negated by putting لا lā "not" before the verb.[7]
Negation of sentences with no verb
If a sentence would, in the affirmative, have no verb (this can only happen in the present tense), then the negative verb لَيْسَ laysa "is not" is used. laysa is inflected like a past-tense verb, but is used to negate present-tense sentences. As with كانَ kāna "was", the complement of laysa must be in the accusative case. Before consonantal endings, the diphthong -ay- is reduced to a short -a-.[8]
Here is an example sentence saying that something is not big in all possible persons and numbers:
| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person m | لَسْتُ كَبِيرًاlastu kabīran
"I am not big" |
— | لَسْنَا كُبَرَاءَlasnā kubarāʾa
"we are not big" |
| 1st person f | لَسْتُ كَبِيرَةًlastu kabīratan
"I am not big" |
— | لَسْنَا كَبِيرَاتٍlasnā kabīrātin
"we are not big" |
| 2nd person m | لَسْتَ كَبِيرًاlasta kabīran
"you (m) are not big" |
لَسْتُمَا كَبِيرَيْنِlaystumā kabīrayni
"you two (m) are not big" |
لَسْتُمْ كُبَرَاءَlastum kubirā’a
"you (m) are not big" |
| 2nd person f | لَسْتِ كَبِيرَةًlasti kabīratan
"you (f) are not big" |
لَسْتُمَا كَبِيرَتَيْنِlaystumā kabīratayni
"you two (f) are not big" |
لَسْتُنَّ كَبِيرَاتٍlastunna kabīrātin
"you (f) are not big" |
| 3rd person m | لَيْسَ كَبِيرًاlaysa kabīran
"he is not big" |
لَيْسَا كَبِيرَيْنِlaysā kabīrayni
"the two of them (m) are not big" |
لَيْسُوا كُبَرَاءَlaysū kubirā’a
"they (m) are not big" |
| 3rd person f | لَيْسَت كَبِيرَةًlaysat kabīratan
"she is not big" |
لَيْسَتَا كَبِيرَتَيْنِlaysatā kabīratayni
"the two of them (f) are not big" |
لَسْنَ كَبِيرَاتٍlaysna kabīrātin
"they (f) are not big" |
Saying "no"
"No", as an answer to a question, is expressed by the negative particle لا lā.[9]
Varieties of Arabic
North African, Egyptian, and some Levantine Arabic varieties negate verbs using a circumfix—a combination of the prefix ma- and the suffix -ʃ.
Here follows the negative paradigm of the verb كَتَبَ kataba "he wrote" in Algerian Arabic:
| Person | Past | Present | Future | Present continuous | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st (m) | ma ktebt-š | ma ktebna-š | ma nekteb-š | ma nekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š nekteb | ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu | ma Rani-š nekteb | ma Rana-š nekketbu |
| 2st (f) | ma ktebt-š | ma ktebna-š | ma nekteb-š | ma nekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š nekteb | ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu | ma Rani-š nekteb | ma Rana-š nekketbu |
| 2nd (m) | ma ketbt-š | ma ktebtu-š | ma tekteb-š | ma tekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š tekteb | ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu | ma Rak-š tekteb | ma Rakum-š tekketbu |
| 2rd (f) | ma ktebti-š | ma ktebtu-š | ma tekketbi-š | ma tekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š tekketbi | ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu | ma Raki-š tekketbi | ma Rakum-š tekketbu |
| 3rd (m) | ma kteb-š | ma ketbu-š | ma yekteb-š | ma yekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š yekteb | ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu | ma Rah-š yekteb | ma Rahum-š yekketbu |
| 3rd (f) | ma ketbet-š | ma ketbu-š | ma tekteb-š | ma yekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š tekteb | ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu | ma Raha-š tekteb | ma Rahum-š yekketbu |
In these varieties, to negate present participles and verbs conjugated in the future, mūš, or its conjugated form, is frequently used (in front of the verb).[10][11] For example, Tunisian Arabic موش mūsh is conjugated as follows:[12][13]
| Pronoun | Auxiliary Verb |
|---|---|
| ānā آنا | mānīš مانيش |
| intī إنتي | mākiš ماكش |
| hūwa هوة | māhūš ماهوش |
| hīya هية | māhīš ماهيش |
| aḥnā أحنا | mānāš مناش |
| intūmā انتوما | mākumš مكمش |
| hūmā هومة | māhumš مهمش |
See also
References
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 644 [§37.2.1.2].
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 647 [§37.2.2.1].
- ↑ Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar, Easy Arabic Grammar (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), p. 119 ISBN 0071462104.
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 647 [§37.2.2.2].
- ↑ Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar, Easy Arabic Grammar (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), p. 119 ISBN 0071462104.
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 648 [§37.2.2.3].
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 645 [§37.2.1.5].
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 641-43 [§37.1].
- ↑ Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 644 [§37.2.1.1].
- ↑ Gibson, M. (2009). Tunis Arabic. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, 4, 563–71.
- ↑ Wilmsen, D. (2014). Arabic Indefinites, Interrogatives, and Negators: A Linguistic History of Western Dialects. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Ben Abdelkader, R., & Naouar, A. (1979). Peace Corps/Tunisia Course in Tunisian Arabic.
- ↑ Chekili, F. (1982). The morphology of the Arabic dialect of Tunis (Doctoral dissertation, University of London).