לא

Negating a Statement

Level 1

לא negates an ordinary statement: אני לא עובד means I am not working. It can also negate a noun or adjective predicate.

How It Works

Before the Verb

אני לא קורא says I am not reading. היא לא באה says she is not coming. The verb still agrees with its subject. No extra word corresponding to English do is required.

Without a Verb Be

אני לא עייף says I am not tired. With a linking pronoun, a common order is דנה היא לא המורה. The negative normally comes after the linking היא and before the predicate in that construction.

Choose the Meaning

אין מים states an absence. אל תלך is a negative instruction. לא, אין and אל are not interchangeable merely because English might translate each with not. More formal present negatives such as אינו are taught at a later level.

Examples (4)

  1. אני לא קורא עכשיו.

    I am not reading now.

    לא comes before the present verb.

  2. היא לא באה היום.

    She is not coming today.

    The feminine verb remains feminine.

  3. אני לא עייף.

    I am not tired.

    An adjective predicate can be negative.

  4. דנה היא לא המורה.

    Dana is not the teacher.

    לא follows the linking pronoun here.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing לא before a linking הוא in this ordinary statement.

    דן לא הוא עייף.
    דן הוא לא עייף.

    For the intended statement Dan is not tired, put לא before the predicate after the linking הוא; contrastive uses require their own context.

How It Connects

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

לאLevel 1Negating a Statement

Learn This First

Negate a familiar predicate while keeping the subject and description.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.