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In astrophysics, there are many cosmic phenomena that scientists are researching but haven't completely figured out. To describe these ongoing quests, Arabic uses a specific structure for negative anticipation.

### Expressing "Not Yet" with لَمّا

To express that an action has not occurred up to the present moment—but is expected to happen eventually—Arabic uses the particle لَمّا (not yet). It is always followed by a verb in the present tense.

Grammatically, لَمّا is a jussive particle. This means it forces the present tense verb that follows it into the jussive mood (المضارع المجزوم). For standard singular verbs, as well as the "we" form, you form the jussive by replacing the final short vowel with a vowelless pause (ْ).

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### The Plural Jussive

When tracking the progress of multiple scientists or research teams, you will need to use plural verbs. When a plural verb enters the jussive mood after لَمّا, it drops its final ن. For masculine plurals, this dropped ن is replaced by a silent ا. For example, يكتشفون (they discover) becomes يكتشفوا.

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"Not yet" with the jussive (لَمّا)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
astronomy	فلكfalak
not yet	لماlammâ
The astronomer kept studying the universe, but he has not yet understood it.	ظل عالم الفلك يدرس الكون، لكنه لما يفهمه.zhalla 'âlimu l-falaki yadrusu l-kawna, lâkinnahu lammâ yafhamhu.
origin	نشأةnash'ah
Astronomy searches for the origin of the universe, but we have not yet found the answer.	يبحث علم الفلك عن نشأة الكون، لكننا لما نجد الجواب.yabhathu 'ilmu al-falaki 'an nash'ati al-kawni, lakinnana lammâ najidi al-jawâba.
probe	مسبارmisbâr
The agency sent a probe to the planet, and it has not yet returned.	أرسلت الوكالة مسبارا إلى الكوكب، وهو لما يرجع.arsalati alwakâlatu misbâran ilâ alkawkabi, wahuwa lammâ yarji
cosmic	كونيkawniyy
The probe will take pictures of the cosmic dust soon.	سيلتقط المسبار صورا للغبار الكوني قريبا.sayaltaqitu al-misbâru suwaran lilghubâri al-kawniyyi qarîban.
radiation	إشعاعish'â
Cosmic radiation is very dangerous, but we have not yet understood it.	الإشعاع الكوني خطير جدا، لكننا لما نفهمه.al-'ishâu al-kawniyyu khatîrun jiddan, lâkinnanâ lammâ nafhamhu
spectrum	طيفtayf
The female scientist analyzed the radiation spectrum, but she has not yet published the result.	حللت العالمة طيف الإشعاع، لكنها لما تنشر النتيجة.hallalati al-'âlimatu tayfa al-ish'â'i, lâkinnahâ lammâ tanshuri an-natîjah
explanation	تفسيرtafsîr
We have not yet found an explanation for the mysterious spectrum.	لما نجد تفسيرا للطيف الغامض.lammâ najid tafsîran liṭṭayfil ghâmiḍ
to baffle	حيرhayyara
This cosmic phenomenon baffled the scientists, and they have not yet written an explanation for it.	حيرت هذه الظاهرة الكونية العلماء، ولما يكتبوا تفسيرا لها.hayyarat hâdhihi z-zâhiratu l-kawniyyatu l-'ulamâ'a, wa lammâ yaktubû tafsîran lahâ.
to expand	توسعtawassaa
The universe kept expanding a lot, but this baffled the scientists.	ظل الكون يتوسع كثيرا، لكن هذا حير العلماء.zalla al-kawnu yatawassa'u kathiran, lakin hatha hayyara al-'ulama'a
The universe is expanding very quickly, and it has not yet stopped.	يتوسع الكون بسرعة كبيرة، ولما يتوقف.yatawassa'u alkawnu bisur'atin kabîratin, walammâ yatawaqqaf.
We read an article about the origin of galaxies, but we have not yet found a clear explanation.	قرأنا مقالا عن نشأة المجرات، لكننا لما نجد تفسيرا واضحا.qara'nâ maqâlan 'an nash'atil-majarrâti, lakinnanâ lammâ najid tafsîran wâdihan.
The female researcher observed the cosmic radiation, but she has not yet discovered its source.	راقبت الباحثة الإشعاع الكوني، لكنها لما تكتشف مصدره.raqabati al-bâhithatu al-ish'â'a al-kawniyya, lakinnahâ lammâ taktashif masdarahu.
The scientists cooperated according to the program, but they have not yet discovered the cosmic secret.	تعاون العلماء وفقا للبرنامج، لكنهم لما يكتشفوا السر الكوني.taâwana al-'ulamâ'u wafqan lilbarnâmaji, lâkinnahum lammâ yaktashifû as-sirra al-kawniyya.
Nobody discovered this dark planet except the new probe.	لم يكتشف أحد هذا الكوكب المظلم إلا المسبار الجديد.lam yaktashif ahadun hâdha-l-kawkaba-l-muzlima illa-l-misbâru-l-jadîd