LessonsThe Imperative: Active and Passive Paradigms and Formation RulesQuiz

Lām al-amr conveys an injunction and normally makes the imperfect jussive, whereas the emphatic lām of the preceding chapter strengthens a future assertion. The consonant lām appears in both, but its grammatical role differs.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
لِيَفْعَلْlet him do.
لَيَفْعَلَنَّhe will certainly do.
لِيَفْعَلَنَّlet him certainly do (emphatic imperative).

In the last form, imperative lām is combined with an emphatic nūn, so it remains a reinforced command, not merely a report about the future.

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Imperative lām versus emphatic lām

The Imperative: Active and Passive Paradigms and Formation Rules

Lām al-amr conveys an injunction and normally makes the imperfect jussive, whereas the emphatic lām of the preceding chapter strengthens a future assertion. The consonant lām appears in both, but its grammatical role differs.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
لِيَفْعَلْlet him do.
لَيَفْعَلَنَّhe will certainly do.
لِيَفْعَلَنَّlet him certainly do (emphatic imperative).

In the last form, imperative lām is combined with an emphatic nūn, so it remains a reinforced command, not merely a report about the future.