Lesson 42
Negation lam, lan, lā, maa
النفي
Arabic negation uses four different tools depending on the tense and meaning. Getting negation right is essential for reading and writing accurate Arabic.
Four Negation Tools
ParticleMood used withMeaning/UseExample
لَمْJussive (مَجْزُوم)Did not (past negation)لَمْ يَكْتُبْ
لَنْSubjunctive (مَنْصُوب)Will never (future negation)لَنْ أَفْعَلَ
لَاJussive (prohibition)Do not! (command negation)لَا تَكْذِبْ
لَاIndicative (nominal)Is not (equational sentence)لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
مَاPast tense verbDid not (alternative past)مَا كَتَبَ
لَيْسَNominal sentenceIs not (kāna-sister)لَيْسَ طَالِباً
Effect on Verb Endings
ParticleRegular verbFive-Verb form (نون)
لَمْ (jussive)لَمْ يَكْتُبْلَمْ يَكْتُبُوا (نون drops)
لَنْ (subjunctive)لَنْ يَكْتُبَلَنْ يَكْتُبُوا (نون drops)
لَمْ يَكْتُبِ الدَّرْسَ لَنْ أَفْعَلَ هَذَا لَا تَكْذِبْ
Lam yaktubi d-darsa Lan afʿala hādhā Lā takdhib
He did not write the lesson. I will never do this. Do not lie.
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى
Lā ilāha illā llāh Mā kadhaba l-fuʾādu mā raʾā
There is no god but Allah. The heart did not lie about what it saw. (53:11)
- لَمْ + jussive: يَكْتُبُ loses its ḍamma → يَكْتُبْ (sukūn); Five-Verb nūn drops: يَكْتُبُونَ → يَكْتُبُوا.
- لَنْ is stronger than سَوْفَ لَا it expresses a definitive "will never."
- Prohibition: لَا + jussive لَا تَكْذِبْ (do not lie). Distinct from لَا in nominal sentences.
- لَا النَّافِيَة لِلْجِنْس (the generalising لَا): لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ the noun after this لَا is in accusative without tanwīn.
- مَا as past negation is more common in Hijazi Arabic and the Quran; Classical Arabic often prefers لَمْ for the same meaning.