LessonsThe Prohibitive: Active and Passive Paradigms with Emphatic NūnQuiz

For a regular sound verb, five indicative positions normally end in ḍamma and take sukūn under the prohibitive: third-person masculine singular, third-person feminine singular, second-person masculine singular, first-person singular and first-person plural.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
يَفْعَلُ → لَا يَفْعَلْlet him not act.
تَفْعَلُ → لَا تَفْعَلْlet her not act / do not act (male), according to context.
أَفْعَلُ → لَا أَفْعَلْlet me not act.
نَفْعَلُ → لَا نَفْعَلْlet us not act.

Weak-final verbs may instead show jussive loss of a weak letter, a separate morphological case.

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Sukūn in five regular positions

The Prohibitive: Active and Passive Paradigms with Emphatic Nūn

For a regular sound verb, five indicative positions normally end in ḍamma and take sukūn under the prohibitive: third-person masculine singular, third-person feminine singular, second-person masculine singular, first-person singular and first-person plural.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
يَفْعَلُ → لَا يَفْعَلْlet him not act.
تَفْعَلُ → لَا تَفْعَلْlet her not act / do not act (male), according to context.
أَفْعَلُ → لَا أَفْعَلْlet me not act.
نَفْعَلُ → لَا نَفْعَلْlet us not act.

Weak-final verbs may instead show jussive loss of a weak letter, a separate morphological case.