mhux

Negating a Present Description

Level 1

Fixed mhux can occur with subjects of any person, number or gender.

How It Works

Compare Il-ġnien sabiħ. with Il-ġnien mhux sabiħ. “The garden is not beautiful”. Fixed mhux also works in feminine Il-kamra mhux sabiħa..

Agreeing negative copular forms include m’iniex “I am not”, m’intix “you singular are not”, masculine mhuwiex / mhux, feminine mhijiex / mhix, m’aħniex “we are not”, m’intomx “you plural are not”, and mhumiex “they are not”. Additional singular variants exist.

In Jien m’iniex marid., the negative form marks first-person singular and the adjective describes a male speaker. In Aħna m’aħniex morda., both have plural reference.

Ordinary lexical verbs typically take ma ... x. Participles and constructions with se or qed also use mhux. Specialized verbal uses do not make it an unrestricted replacement for ordinary verbal negation.

Examples (6)

  1. Il-ġnien mhux sabiħ.

    The garden is not beautiful.

    Fixed mhux before a masculine adjective.

  2. Il-kamra mhux sabiħa.

    The room is not beautiful.

    Fixed mhux with a feminine subject.

  3. Jien m'iniex marid.

    I am not ill.

    First-person singular negative copula; male speaker.

  4. Inti m'intix marida.

    You are not ill.

    Second-person singular negative copula; female addressee.

  5. Aħna m'aħniex morda.

    We are not ill.

    First-person plural negative copula.

  6. Huma mhux studenti.

    They are not students.

    Fixed mhux with a plural noun predicate.

How It Connects

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mhuxLevel 1Negating a Present Description

Learn This First

Negate present descriptions while retaining the predicate's agreement. Fixed mhux is introduced alongside person-related negative copular forms; the comparisons establish their use without requiring the later ordinary verbal-negation lesson.

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Words in This Pattern

mhux