There are many negation forms in Arabic. In standard Arabic there are 5 well-known elements for negations
| لا | لم | ما | لن | ليس/ليست |
| La | Lm | Ma | Ln | Laysa/Layst |
La – لا
-
For Order Form:
La + Present tense starting with a Ta “ت”
Examples:
|
لاتكتب لاتلعب لاتكذب لاترقص لا تضحك |
-
For Present Form:
La + Present tense starting with “ي
ن – أ”
Use “ي” when speaking about one absent person.
Use “ن” when speaking about a group 2 or more.
Use “أ” when speaking about yourself.
Examples:
|
لاأكتب لانلعب لايكذب لاأرقص لا نضحك |
Lm
لم
-
For Past Form:
Lm + Present tense.
Examples:
|
لم أكتب |
Ma
ما
-
For Past Form:
Ma + Past tense.
Examples:
|
ما كتب |
Ln
لن
-
For Future Form:
Ln + Present tense.
Examples:
|
Laysa
ليس
-
For Non-Verb Form:
Laysa + Noun (Male).
Laysat + Noun (Female).
Examples:
|
|
|
ليس القطار جديد |