Urban Lebanese normally negates a رح future with ما رح + bare imperfect: رح نرجع “we'll return” becomes ما رح نرجع “we won't return.” ما comes before invariant رح, while the lexical verb keeps person and number agreement. The ordinary b-marker is absent after رح in both positive and negative clauses.
The same structure can deny a prediction, a plan, a promise, or a controllable intention. Context and the subject’s control decide whether English prefers won't, isn't going to, or will not. Review the affirmative selection rule on the رح future page.
ما رح comes before an agreeing bare verb
| Person | Affirmative | Negative | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | رح إتأخر | ما رح إتأخر | raḥ itʾakhkhar / ma raḥ itʾakhkhar |
| إنت | رح تتأخر | ما رح تتأخر | raḥ titʾakhkhar / ma raḥ titʾakhkhar |
| إنتي | رح تتأخري | ما رح تتأخري | raḥ titʾakhkhare / ma raḥ titʾakhkhare |
| هو | رح يتأخر | ما رح يتأخر | raḥ yitʾakhkhar / ma raḥ yitʾakhkhar |
| هي | رح تتأخر | ما رح تتأخر | raḥ titʾakhkhar / ma raḥ titʾakhkhar |
| نحنا | رح نتأخر | ما رح نتأخر | raḥ nitʾakhkhar / ma raḥ nitʾakhkhar |
| إنتو | رح تتأخروا | ما رح تتأخروا | raḥ titʾakhkharo / ma raḥ titʾakhkharo |
| هني | رح يتأخروا | ما رح يتأخروا | raḥ yitʾakhkharo / ma raḥ yitʾakhkharo |
رح نوصل قبل الضهر إذا فلينا هلق.
raḥ nūṣal ʾabel eḍ-ḍoher iza fillēna hallaʾ.
We'll arrive before noon if we leave now. (affirmative prediction)
ما رح نوصل قبل الضهر بهالعجقة.
ma raḥ nūṣal ʾabel eḍ-ḍoher b-hal-ʿazhʾa.
We won't arrive before noon in this traffic. (negative prediction)
هي رح تبعتلك النسخة النهائية الليلة.
hiyye raḥ tibʿatlak en-noskha n-nihēyiyye l-lēle.
She'll send you the final copy tonight. (affirmative 3fs intention)
هي ما رح تبعتلك شي قبل ما يوافق المدير.
hiyye ma raḥ tibʿatlak she ʾabel ma ywāfeʾ el-mdīr.
She won't send you anything before the manager agrees. (negative intention with recipient clitic)
Prediction, commitment, and refusal
With an uncontrollable subject, ما رح is usually a prediction. With a human agent, it can be a decision, commitment, or firm refusal. Voice and context supply the pragmatic force; the grammar is the same.
الغيم خفيف؛ ما رح تشتي قبل المسا.
el-ghēm khfīf; ma raḥ tishte ʾabel el-masa.
The clouds are light; it won't rain before evening. (prediction)
ما رح إحكي عن هالموضوع قدام الولاد.
ma raḥ iḥke ʿan hal-mawḍūʿ ʾaddēm el-wlēd.
I won't discuss this subject in front of the children. (deliberate commitment)
لأ، ما رح وقع قبل ما إقرا كل الشروط.
laʾ, ma raḥ waʾʾeʿ ʾabel ma iʾra kill esh-shorūṭ.
No, I won't sign before I read all the terms. (firm refusal)
ما بدّي denies desire or willingness; ما رح commits to a future non-event. The two can support each other, but they are not interchangeable. ما بدّي روح means “I don't want to go”; ما رح روح means “I won't go,” whatever the reason.
ما بدي غير الموعد، بس إذا الطبيب اتأخر ما رح ضل ناطر.
ma badde ghayyer el-mawʿed, bass iza ṭ-ṭabīb itʾakhkhar ma raḥ ḍall nāṭer.
I don't want to change the appointment, but if the doctor is late I won't keep waiting. (desire versus future decision)
Scope and focused alternatives
Neutral ما رح denies the future proposition. To reject only one constituent, speakers often affirm the future and put مش before the corrected phrase.
ما رح نعمل الاجتماع بكرا؛ تأجل كله.
ma raḥ niʿmal el-izhtimēʿ bokra; tʾazhzhal killo.
We won't hold the meeting tomorrow; the whole thing was postponed. (whole future event denied)
رح نعمل الاجتماع، بس مش بكرا؛ نهار التلاتا.
raḥ niʿmal el-izhtimēʿ, bass mish bokra; nhār et-tlēta.
We will hold the meeting, just not tomorrow—on Tuesday. (time constituent corrected)
مش كل الطلبات رح توصل اليوم.
mish kill eṭ-ṭalabāt raḥ tūṣal el-yōm.
Not all the orders will arrive today. (negation scopes over all)
Colloquial مش رح is heard with marked focus and in regional or speaker-specific patterns, but this course uses ما رح for neutral Beirut verbal negation. Lebanese لح also occurs as a future marker (regional/social Lebanese variation). Neither is silently blended into the production model.
Dialogue: a prediction becomes a refusal
رح تجي معنا عالعشا بعد الشغل؟
raḥ tizhe maʿna ʿal-ʿasha baʿd esh-shoghol?
Rami: Will you come to dinner with us after work? (future question)
ما رح إقدر اليوم؛ عندي مكالمة عالتسعة.
ma raḥ iʾdar el-yōm; ʿinde mkāleme ʿat-tisʿa.
Lina: I won't be able to today; I have a call at nine. (prediction about availability)
طيب، منأجلها للجمعة؟
ṭayyeb, mnʾazhzhila lal-zhomʿa?
Rami: Okay, shall we postpone it until Friday? (proposal)
ما تأجلوها كرمالي؛ أنا كمان ما رح خلص بكير الجمعة.
ma tʾazhzhilūha kirmēle; ana kamēn ma raḥ khalleṣ bkīr el-zhomʿa.
Lina: Don't postpone it for me; I won't finish early on Friday either. (refusal plus future negative)
Common Mistakes
❌ ما بيروح رح عالمطار بكرا.
Incorrect — ما رح must precede the bare agreeing verb as one ordered complex.
✅ ما رح يروح عالمطار بكرا؛ رح ياخد القطار.
ma raḥ yrūḥ ʿal-maṭār bokra; raḥ yākhod el-ʾiṭār.
He won't go to the airport tomorrow; he'll take the train.
❌ ما رح بيشتغل المحل نهار العيد.
Incorrect — رح selects the bare imperfect يشتغل, without b-.
✅ ما رح يشتغل المحل نهار العيد.
ma raḥ yishtighel el-maḥall nhār el-ʿīd.
The shop won't operate on the holiday.
❌ نحنا ما رح يضلوا للآخر.
Incorrect — the lexical verb must agree with نحنا, not with a third-person plural subject.
✅ نحنا ما رح نضل للآخر لأن عنا سفر.
niḥna ma raḥ nḍall lal-ākher laʾann ʿinna safar.
We won't stay until the end because we're traveling.
❌ ما رح جايي عاللقاء.
Incorrect — جايي is a participle; ما رح requires a bare finite verb.
✅ ما رح إجي عاللقاء، بس رح إبعت ملاحظاتي.
ma raḥ izhe ʿal-liʾāʾ, bass raḥ ibʿat mlāḥaẓāte.
I won't come to the meeting, but I'll send my notes.
Key Takeaways
Use ما رح + bare imperfect for neutral negative futures. Keep ما رح in that order, remove b-, and preserve person agreement and object clitics on the lexical verb. Context distinguishes prediction, commitment, and refusal. Deny one detail by affirming the future and correcting that constituent with مش, and keep regional or focus-marked alternatives labeled.
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- Weak Verbs under NegationB2 — Negate Lebanese weak verbs without losing their person-conditioned stems, b-markers, future licensing, or attached objects.
- Negating b-Imperfect Verbs with ماA1 — Negate Lebanese habits and nonpast verbal states with ما while retaining the b-imperfect marker, agreement, and attached objects.
- مش with Nominal, Adjectival, and Participial PredicatesA1 — Use مش to negate present identities, properties, locations, and participial states in urban Lebanese Arabic.
- Motion Participles for Arranged and Imminent EventsB1 — Use رايح and جايي for current direction, arranged movement, and imminent arrival while keeping them distinct from general رح futures.