Language/Libyan-arabic/Grammar/Negation
Hi Libyan Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Libyan Arabic grammar. Negation is an important aspect of any language as it enables us to turn a positive statement into a negative one.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Questions, Plurals, Give your Opinion & How to Use Be.
Negation Particle[edit | edit source]
In Libyan Arabic, the negation particle is "ما" (ma). It is placed before the verb of the sentence to make it negative.
For example, let's take the sentence: "أريد أكل الطعام" (areed akl ett’aam) which means "I want to eat food".
To make this sentence negative, we add the negation particle "ما" (ma) before the verb "أريد" (areed) making the sentence: "ما أريد أكل الطعام" (ma areed akl ett’aam) which means "I don't want to eat food".
Negation of Past Tense Verbs[edit | edit source]
To negate verbs in the past tense, "ما" (ma) is placed before the auxiliary verb "كان" (kan) which means "was" or "were".
For example, let's take the sentence: "أنا درست في هذه المدرسة" (ana derest fee hadhih elmadrasa) which means "I studied in this school".
To make this sentence negative, we would use "ما" (ma) before "كان" (kan) and add the verb in the past tense so that the sentence becomes: "ما كنت درست في هذه المدرسة" (ma kunt derest fee hadhih elmadrasa) which means "I didn't study in this school".
Here's another example with an irregular past tense verb: "شفته أمبارح" (shufto ambareh) which means "I saw him yesterday". To make this sentence negative, we would use "ما" (ma) before "كان" (kan) and add the verb in the past tense so that the sentence becomes: "ما كان شفته أمبارح" (ma kan shufto ambareh) which means "I didn't see him yesterday".
Negation of Present Perfect Tense Verbs[edit | edit source]
To negate verbs in the present perfect tense, the negation particle "ما" (ma) is placed before the verb "حصل" (hasal) which means "has happened" or "has occurred".
For example, let's take the sentence: "أنا قد قرأت هذه الكتب" (ana qad qarat hadhih elktob) which means "I have read these books".
To make this sentence negative, we would use "ما" (ma) before "حصل" (hasal) so that the sentence becomes: "ما حصلتش على هذه الكتب" (ma hasaltesh ala hadhih elktob) which means "I haven't read these books".
Here's another example with an irregular present perfect tense verb: "نحن سافرنا كثيراً" (ne7na saferna kaθiiran) which means "we have traveled a lot". To make this sentence negative, we would use "ما" (ma) before "حصل" (hasal) so that the sentence becomes: "ما حصلناش على كثير من السفر" (ma hasalnash ala kaθiir men eşsafar) which means "we haven't traveled a lot".
Negation with Other Sentence Structures[edit | edit source]
Negation can be used with other sentence structures in Libyan Arabic.
For example,
- "ما عندك فلوس؟" (ma 3andek fulus?) which means "Don't you have any money?". Here, "ما" (ma) is used to make this question negative.
- "ما ناويين نروح اليوم" (ma nawiyn naruh elyoum) which means "We aren't planning on going today". Here, "ما" (ma) is used in combination with the present continuous verb "ناويين" (nawiyn).
Practice Dialogue[edit | edit source]
- Person 1: "أنت بتحب تشرب الشاي؟" (inti betheb tshrab esh-shay?) - ("Do you like to drink tea?")
- Person 2: "ما بحبش" (ma bhebesh) - ("I don't like it")
Additional Resources[edit | edit source]
To further improve your understanding of Libyan Arabic grammar, check out the questions and answers on the Polyglot Club website. You can also refer to the Grammar section of Libyan Arabic on the website.