(لا الناهية ولا النافية) in Arabic Language (لا) and The Negation (لا) The Prohibition

 

  (لا الناهية ولا النافية) 

The  Prohibition لا and The Negation لا In Arabic Language

By; Yusuf Basirat Bolanle

Discussion

1.     The Prohibition (لا) (لا الناهية) 

In Arabic words, (لا الناهية) simply means the prohibition لا. It is used with the present tense as a request from the first person (The speaker) to the second person (The Listener) to stop performing a particular action or request to put an end to something. 

This (لا الناهية), when used with any present tense, it is usually affects its grammatical case by giving the present tense after it al-jazm sign which is as-sunkun parsing mark at the end.

 (لا الناهية)  also expresses a command to the second person not to perform an action or not to do something, but always comes in form of a request. Examples are;

-  (لا تجلسْ علي الكرسي)  - (Do not sit on the chair)

- (لا تكتبُوا علي السبورة)  - (Do not write on the board)

- (لا تذهبْ الي المدرسة اليوم) - (Do not go to the school today)

- (لا تنمْ علي الأرض)   - (Do not sleep on the floor)

- (لا تشربْ وأنت قائم) - (Do not drink while standing)

Features of a Prohibition  لا

1- It always comes in form of a request to stop an action. e.g 

    (لا تجلسْ علي الكرسي هنا) (Do not sit on the chair)

2- It can come in form of a command to put an end to an

    action. E.g 

    (لا تكتبْ علي السبورة) (Do not write on the board)

3- It is always comes before a present tense. E.g 

    (لا تشربْ ماء) (Do not drink water)

4- It changes the grammatical case of its present tense to 

    Al-Jazm with As-sukun mark at the end. E.g

    (لا تذهبْ إلى السوق) (Do not go to the market)

2.     The Negation (لا)    (لا النافية)

The Negation (لا)  (لا النافية) is simply used to negate  the occurrence or happening of an event or action in either the present or the past time. Negation لا  can be used with a noun, the present and the past tense in a sentence. Unlike the prohibition لا, which is only working with the present tense. It is very active with a nominal sentence, a sentence that starts with a noun but while used with verbs, it does not in any way affects the verbs grammatical cases or changes the sign at the end of the verbs.

The Negation لا emphasizes that something did not or does not happen in the sentence or that something is not true. The verb after it remains in its ar-rafu position with ad-dammah sign with no changes to the grammatical case. Examples of (لا النافية) are:

- (لاولد في البيت) - (There is no boy in the house)

- (لا أحب الكذب) - (I don’t like lying)

- (لا طالب في الفصل)- (There is no student in the class)

- (نحن لا نشرب فى نهار الرمضان) - (We don’t drink in the day of Ramadhan)

- (لماذا لا تقول الحق) - (Why don’t you say the truth)

The following are the features of The Negation لا (لا النافية)

 

1- The لا that comes in form of asking question is a Negation لا. Example: 

(لماذا لا تُسرعُ في درسك؟) (Why don’t you be quick with your studies)

2- The لا that comes before a Nominal sentence is a Negation لا. Example:

   (لا ولدا قادمُ) (There is no boy coming)

3- The لا that comes before the past tense is a Negation لا. Example;

 (لا قامَ معلم)   (The teacher did not stand)

4- The لا that comes after the present tense, not for the second or third person, is a Negation لا. Example; 

- (الولد المجتهد لا يفشل) (The hardworking student doesn't fail)

5- If a لا comes before a first personal present tense, it is a Negation لا. Example; 

 - (أنا لا أحب التفاح)  (I don’t like the apple)

- (نحن لا نتواقف عن أداء الواجب)-  (We don’t stop doing our duties)