אינו / אינה / אינם / אינן

Formal Negation of Present Predicates

Level 5

אינו, אינה, אינם and אינן commonly negate a present participle or a noun/adjective predicate in formal writing. They identify the person or subject being negated.

How It Works

Match the Subject

Use אינו for a masculine singular subject, אינה for feminine singular, אינם for masculine plural, and אינן for feminine plural. In היא אינה קוראת, both אינה and קוראת correspond to the female subject.

A Present Predicate

These forms negate present participles and present nominal predicates. הספר אינו ארוך negates an adjective. הם אינם בבית negates a place phrase. In ordinary daily speech, לא is used with these present predicates instead.

Recognize the Other Persons

The related forms include אני אינני or איני, אתה or את אינך, אנחנו איננו, אתם אינכם and אתן אינכן. The masculine and feminine singular forms of אינך share unpointed letters but have different pronunciations.

Examples (4)

  1. הספר אינו ארוך.

    The book is not long.

    Masculine singular אינו negates an adjective predicate.

  2. היא אינה קוראת עכשיו.

    She is not reading now.

    Both אינה and קוראת relate to the female subject.

  3. הם אינם בבית.

    They are not at home.

    The negated predicate is a place phrase.

  4. הן אינן עובדות כאן.

    They do not work here.

    The formal negator is feminine plural.

How It Connects

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אינו / אינה / אינם / אינןLevel 5Formal Negation of Present Predicates

Learn This First

Use agreeing formal negative forms with present nominal, adjectival or participial predicates.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.