Negation
النَّفْي
لا before verbs, لَيْسَ in 'to be' sentences.
You will learn
- Negate present verbs with لا
- Negate verbless sentences with لَيْسَ / لَيْسَتْ
- Answer no in full sentences
لا + present verb
لا أَفْهَمُ (I don't understand). لا يَشْرَبُ قَهْوة (he doesn't drink coffee).
لَيْسَ for 'is not'
Verbless sentences use لَيْسَ (m) / لَيْسَتْ (f): هُوَ لَيْسَ طالِبًا (he isn't a student). The noun after لَيْسَ takes an -an ending (ـًا) in careful Arabic.
- هِيَ لَيْسَتْ هُنا — hiya laysat hunā — she isn't here
Vocabulary
| Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| لا | lā | not (before verbs) / no |
| لَيْسَ | laysa | is not (m) |
| لَيْسَتْ | laysat | is not (f) |
| لا أَعْرِفُ | lā aʿrifu | I don't know |
| هُنا | hunā | here |
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