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Expressing prohibition – don’t Posted by on Aug 19, 2010 in Grammar

To express prohibition (النهي) in Arabic, we use the particle (لا) with the present tense form of the verb conjugated with you. In this post, I explain how to make orders with (أنتَ) you singular masculine.

Consider the following examples:

أنتَ تفتح.

You open.

لا تفتحْ.

Don’t open!

أنتَ تستمع.

You listen.

لا تستمعْ.

Don’t listen!

أنتَ تحمل.

You carry.

لا تحمل ْ.

Don’t carry!

It should be noted that when (لا) is used for prohibition before a present tense verb, it becomes in the jussive case (المجزوم), i.e. it ends in (سكون) like the examples.

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