لا ... ولا

Neither nor

Level 4

Use لا ... ولا to rule out two options, actions, or people. It works with verbs (past and present) and nouns.

How It Works

The pattern لا ... ولا is a formal and precise way to negate two parallel parts of a sentence.

1. With Present Tense Verbs:
When used with present tense verbs, the verbs remain in the indicative mood (usually ending in a damma).
Example: لا يقرأُ ولا يكتبُ (He neither reads nor writes).

2. With Past Tense Verbs:
This is a unique case. While ما or لم are the standard ways to negate the past, لا is used if the negation is repeated. You cannot use a single لا for a past verb; it must be لا ... ولا.
Example: لا أكلتُ ولا شربتُ (I neither ate nor drank).

3. With Nouns (Nominal Sentences):

  • If the nouns are definite (have الـ), they stay in the nominative case.
  • If the nouns are indefinite and you are making a categorical denial, the first noun often follows the rules of categorical negation (accusative without tanwīn).

4. Register:
This structure is highly characteristic of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). In daily dialects, speakers often substitute لا with mā or mish, but لا ... ولا remains the gold standard for formal writing and speech.

Examples (4)

  1. لا ينامُ ولا يأكلُ.

    He neither sleeps nor eats.

    Word by Word: Not he sleeps and not he eats.

    Here, the pattern negates two present tense verbs in the indicative mood.

  2. لا الأستاذُ حاضرٌ ولا الطلابُ حاضرون.

    Neither the teacher nor the students are present.

    Word by Word: Not the teacher present and not the students present.

    In this nominal sentence, the definite nouns remain in the nominative case (marfū‘).

  3. لا رأيتُهُ ولا سمعتُ صوتَهُ.

    I neither saw him nor heard his voice.

    Word by Word: Not I saw him and not I heard voice his.

    When negating the past tense, the repetition of 'lā' is mandatory.

  4. لا خوفٌ عليهم ولا هم يحزنون.

    No fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve.

    Word by Word: No fear upon them and not they grieve.

    A classic example showing the negation of a noun followed by the negation of a verbal clause.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a single 'lā' to negate a past tense verb.

    لا ذهبتُ إلى المكتبة.
    ما ذهبتُ إلى المكتبة. / لا ذهبتُ ولا قرأتُ.

    In MSA, you cannot use 'lā' alone for the past tense. Use 'mā' for a single negation, or 'lā... wa-lā' if you are negating two things.

  • Using 'wa-mā' instead of 'wa-lā' in a correlative pair.

    لا أكلتُ وما شربتُ.
    لا أكلتُ ولا شربتُ.

    To maintain the 'neither... nor' structure, the second part must use 'wa-lā' to match the first 'lā'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

لا ... ولاLevel 4Neither nor

Learn This First

To understand the 'neither... nor' construction (لا ... ولا), you first need to be comfortable with basic negation using 'لا' and how the conjunction 'و' (and) is used to join words or phrases together.

Words in This Pattern

ولا