m' + vowel

Elided Negative Ma

Level 2

M'għandix and m'hemmx retain għ and h in ordinary spelling.

How It Works

Negative ma can lose its vowel before a following vowel sound, producing m'. Write the apostrophe next to the following form: compare ma daħalx, “he did not enter,” with m'ordnax, “he did not order.” The attached negative ending normally remains.

The environment includes established forms beginning with għ or silent h, such as m'għandix and m'hemmx. Keep those letters; vowel-conditioned elision does not authorize phonetic respelling.

The predicate follows its own negative paradigm. A closely related negative indefinite can license omission of final -x. Also distinguish negative ma from prepositional ma', “with,” which has its own elision and article combinations.

Examples (3)

  1. M'ordnax soppa.

    He did not order soup.

    M' precedes a vowel-initial perfect verb.

  2. M'għandix kappell.

    I do not have a hat.

    The possession form retains written għ.

  3. M'hemmx ħobż fil-kċina.

    There is no bread in the kitchen.

    The existential form retains written h.

How It Connects

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

m' + vowelLevel 2Elided Negative Ma

Learn This First

Develop the sound-conditioned shortening of the initial negative marker through m'ordnax, m'għandix, and m'hemmx. Preserve the apostrophe and underlying written letters while treating predicate morphology separately.

Words in This Pattern

ma