لا النافية للجنس | Arabic (Modern Standard) Grammar

لا النافية للجنس denies the presence or existence of any member of a class: لا حلَّ means “there is no solution,” not merely “one particular solution is absent.” It enters a nominal clause and works broadly like إنّ: its noun belongs to the accusative domain, while its predicate remains nominative if it is a single inflected word.

The construction is common in fixed expressions, formal argument, notices, and careful speech: لا شكَّ “there is no doubt,” لا أحدَ “there is nobody,” لا مانعَ “there is no obstacle/objection.” Its spelling is identical to verbal negative لا and prohibitive لا. The following structure—not the English word no—identifies its function.

See the broader system of لا for present-tense negation, prohibitions, and coordination. Here the focus is exclusively the categorical noun construction.

Categorical force and the basic case frame

Start with the productive pattern:

لا + immediately adjacent indefinite noun + predicate

لا حل للمشكلة من دون تعاون الجميع

lā ḥalla li-l-mushkilati min dūni taʿāwuni l-jamīʿ

There is no solution to the problem without everyone's cooperation. (Formal argumentative prose.)

حلَّ is a simple singular noun built on fatḥ in the syntactic position of the accusative noun of لا. It has no tanwīn. The prepositional phrase للمشكلة is the predicate: literally, “no solution exists for the problem.” من دون تعاون الجميع is an additional adverbial condition on the existence of such a solution; it does not turn حلَّ into شبه المضاف.

لا أحد في المبنى بعد السادسة

lā ʾaḥada fī l-mabnā baʿda s-sādisa(h)

There is nobody in the building after six.

The negation ranges over the entire class denoted by أحد. By contrast, ليس المدير في المبنى denies the location of a definite person; it does not deny that any person exists there.

لا اعتراض مقبول على هذا الإجراء

lā ʿtirāḍa maqbūlun ʿalā hādhā l-ʾijrāʾ

No objection to this measure is acceptable. (Formal/legal register.)

This example makes both cases audible: اعتراضَ is the noun of لا, while مقبولٌ is its nominative predicate. English puts no inside the noun phrase; Arabic constructs a negative nominal clause.

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Test the meaning with “not any X exists/applies.” If that captures the claim and an indefinite noun immediately follows لا, categorical لا is plausible. Then identify the noun’s structural type before choosing its ending.

The simple noun: built on its accusative form

Traditional grammar calls a noun مفرد here when it is neither an annex (مضاف) nor شبه المضاف. “Simple” describes its syntax, not necessarily singular number. The noun is built on the form corresponding to its accusative marker and does not take tanwīn.

Type	Example after لا	Analysis
singular	لَا شَكَّ	built on fatḥ
dual	لَا خِيَارَيْنِ	built on yāʾ, with the dual nūn retained because it is not an annex
sound masculine plural	لَا مُتَغَيِّبِينَ	built on yāʾ
sound feminine plural	لَا مُخَالَفَاتِ	built on kasra, its regular accusative marker

لا خيارين أمام اللجنة، بل خيار واحد فقط

lā khiyārayni ʾamāma l-lajna(h), bal khiyārun wāḥidun faqaṭ

The committee does not have two options; rather, it has only one. (Formal correction.)

لا متغيبين عن جلسة اليوم

lā mutaghayyibīna ʿan jalsati l-yawm

No one is absent from today's session. (The denied class is plural.)

لا مخالفات في التقرير النهائي

lā mukhālafāti fī t-taqrīri n-nihāʾiyy

There are no violations in the final report.

These less common number patterns are useful for recognition. In active use, high-frequency singular formulas such as لا شكَّ، لا أحدَ، لا مانعَ، لا بدَّ are the safest foundation.

The annexed noun: مضاف

If the noun of لا begins an annexation, it is مضاف. It is accusative and inflected rather than built as the simple type is. It takes no tanwīn because annexed nouns never do, and its complement is genitive.

لا طالب علم يكتفي بمصدر واحد

lā ṭāliba ʿilmin yaktafī bi-maṣdarin wāḥid

No student of knowledge is satisfied with a single source. (Formal maxim.)

طالبَ is accusative as the annexed noun of لا; علمٍ is its genitive annex complement. The verbal clause يكتفي بمصدر واحد is the predicate.

لا صاحب حق مضطر إلى الصمت

lā ṣāḥiba ḥaqqin muḍṭarrun ʾilā ṣ-ṣamt

No holder of a right is compelled to remain silent. (Formal/legal rhetoric.)

Here the case contrast is explicit: annexed صاحبَ حقٍّ is the noun, and مضطرٌّ is the nominative predicate. The entire annexation remains indefinite; adding a definite annex complement would make the phrase definite and would normally require a different negative construction.

With an annexed dual or sound masculine plural, the nūn is deleted by annexation independently of لا:

لا ممثلي شركتين حاضران في القاعة

lā mumaththilay shirkatayni ḥāḍirāni fī l-qāʿa(h)

No representatives of two companies are present in the hall. (Formal; dual annexed noun.)

This dense pattern is mainly a reading skill at B1. The yāʾ signals accusative dual ممثلي, while loss of nūn signals annexation.

شبه المضاف: a noun completed by a dependent phrase

A شبه المضاف noun is not a true annex, but a following complement completes its meaning—often a prepositional phrase or an object selected by a participle. It is explicitly accusative and normally keeps tanwīn.

لا راغبا في الإصلاح مرفوض

lā rāghiban fī l-ʾiṣlāḥi marfūḍun

No one seeking reform is rejected. (Formal.)

راغبًا is incomplete without its selected phrase في الإصلاح in the intended meaning. Because it is شبه المضاف rather than a simple noun, it is inflected accusative and has tanwīn. مرفوضٌ is the nominative predicate.

لا مهملا واجبه جدير بالثقة

lā muhmilan wājibahu jadīrun bi-th-thiqa(h)

No one who neglects his duty is worthy of trust. (Accusative شبه المضاف; nominative predicate.)

The active participle مهمِلًا governs object واجبَه and is therefore شبه المضاف. جديرٌ is nominative because it is the single-word predicate. This distinction is genuinely difficult because the dependent material makes the clause boundary longer than in لا شكَّ.

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For the noun after لا: simple means built and no tanwīn; annexed means accusative with a genitive complement and no tanwīn; شبه المضاف means explicitly accusative, normally with tanwīn, plus a phrase or object that completes it.

Repeated لا and coordinated categories

Repeating لا lets each coordinated noun form its own categorical domain: لا خوفَ ولا قلقَ “there is neither fear nor anxiety.” The conjunction و attaches to the second لا, producing ولا.

لا خوف ولا قلق ما دامت الإجراءات واضحة

lā khawfa wa-lā qalaqa mā dāmati l-ʾijrāʾātu wāḍiḥa(h)

There is neither fear nor anxiety as long as the procedures are clear.

لا تأخير في التسليم ولا زيادة في التكلفة

lā taʾkhīra fī t-taslīmi wa-lā ziyādata fī t-taklifa(h)

There will be neither a delay in delivery nor an increase in cost. (Formal assurance.)

Each noun is indefinite and immediately follows its own لا. This is different from ordinary coordination under verbal negation:

لا نؤخر التسليم ولا نزيد التكلفة

lā nuʾakhkhiru t-taslīma wa-lā nazīdu t-taklifa(h)

We do not delay delivery or increase the cost. (Verbal لا; both verbs remain indicative.)

The English translations are close, but the Arabic syntax differs: categorical nouns تأخيرَ، زيادةَ versus indicative verbs نؤخّرُ، نزيدُ.

When categorical لا is not available

The noun normally must be indefinite and adjacent. A definite noun, or separating material that breaks the construction, prevents the basic categorical analysis. Use ليس, a verbal negative, or another well-formed nominal negation for a specific referent.

ليس المدير في المكتب اليوم

laysa l-mudīru fī l-maktabi l-yawm

The director is not in the office today. (Specific definite person.)

Also distinguish categorical لا from prohibitive لا. لا إهمالَ denies the category “negligence”; لا تهملْ tells someone not to be negligent and governs a jussive verb.

لا إهمال مقبول في مسائل السلامة

lā ʾihmāla maqbūlun fī masāʾili s-salāma(h)

No negligence is acceptable in safety matters. (Categorical nominal negation.)

لا تهمل تعليمات السلامة

lā tuhmil taʿlīmāti s-salāma(h)

Do not neglect the safety instructions. (Prohibition.)

Common Mistakes

Adding tanwīn to a simple noun

❌ لا شك في النتيجة

lā shakkan fī n-natīja

Incorrect reading — simple شك is built on fatḥ without tanwīn in this construction.

✅ لا شك في النتيجة

lā shakka fī n-natīja(h)

There is no doubt about the result.

Making the predicate accusative too

❌ لا اعتراض مقبولا

Incorrect — اعتراض is the accusative-domain noun, but its one-word predicate is nominative مقبولٌ.

✅ لا اعتراض مقبول

lā ʿtirāḍa maqbūlun

No objection is acceptable.

Using a definite noun after categorical لا

❌ لا المدير حاضر اليوم

Incorrect for a specific director — categorical لا requires an indefinite class noun.

✅ ليس المدير حاضرا اليوم

laysa l-mudīru ḥāḍiran l-yawm

The director is not present today.

Treating شبه المضاف like a simple built noun

❌ لا باحث عن الحقيقة مذموم

Incorrect in fully marked MSA — باحث is completed by عن الحقيقة, so it is accusative with tanwīn: باحثًا.

✅ لا باحثا عن الحقيقة مذموم

lā bāḥithan ʿani l-ḥaqīqati madhmūmun

No seeker after truth is blameworthy.

Joining categorical لا to the following noun

❌ لاشك في ذلك

Incorrect standard spacing — لا is a separate particle before شك.

✅ لا شك في ذلك

lā shakka fī dhālik

There is no doubt about that.

Key Takeaways

لا النافية للجنس categorically denies every member of an indefinite class.
A simple noun is built on its accusative form without tanwīn; an annexed noun is accusative and followed by a genitive complement; شبه المضاف is accusative, normally with tanwīn, and completed by dependent material.
A one-word predicate remains nominative: لا اعتراضَ مقبولٌ.
Repeated لا...ولا can establish two parallel denied categories.
Definite referents and verbal statements require other negative structures such as ليس or ordinary verbal لا.

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