Laysa in Arabic means “not” (eg. that is not a pen). Unlike the other negations maa and laa, laysa is conjugated as a verb, depending on what you’re negating.
For example:
- the duck is not big (al-battatu laysat kabiyratan)
- the cat is not lazy (al-qittu laysa bi kaslaana)
Whenever you use laysa, the mubtada and khabr change: the mubtada becomes ismu laysa, and the khabr becomes khabru laysa.
Finally, laysa causes ismu laysa (not the mubtada–it’s now ismu laysa) to be marfoo’ (takes dumma/tanween-dumma), and khabru laysa becomes mansoob (takes fatha/tanween-fatha — see example one). Except if you prefix the khabr with bi (the preposition). In that case, it takes kasra, just as any word with a preposition. (Like example two.)
And of course, you can use laysa at the beginning of a sentence, just like any verb–eg. I am not sick (lastu bi mariydin).
The sarf for laysa is listed below–laysa is essentially a past-tense verb. (Read the sarf from top to bottom and right to left.)
| I (M/F) | You (F) | You (M) | She (F) | He (M) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| لَستُ | لَستِ | لَستَ | لَيسَت | لَيسَ | Single |
| لَسنَا | لَستُمَا | لَستُمَا | لَيسَتَ | لَيسَا | Dual |
| لَستَنَّ | لَستُ | لَسنَ | لَيسُو | Plural |
Wallahu ‘alim. As usual, post a comment inshallah if you need any clarifications or have any questions.
Interesting but very confusing for me. Guess that shows my lack of arabic knowledge.
JazakAllahu Khaira, thanks again for sharing a brilliant article.
Assalam alaikum.
Assalaamu’alykum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh
i do have one question about laysa, you can use laysa at the begin of the sentence right? its still verb right?
can you clarify what you mean by mubtada and khabr change names using further examples cos i didnt quite understand (im still only learning)? jazakAllah khayr
wassalaam
Wa’alikum as-salaam wa rahamtullahi wa barakatuhu,
Yes, you can use laysa at the beginning of the sentence (it becomes a verbal sentence), jazakumullahu khayran; I’ve added an example.
Also, by change, that means the mubtada is now called “ismu laysa”, and the khabr is called “kabru laysa.” (The name change means they follow different rules and stuff, wallahu ‘alim.)
as salaam alaikum……
the information you posted is very beneficial and easy to read…….
i was wondering if u know where i can access any laysa conjugated worksheets that i can print
jezak’Allahu khair
السلام عليكم،
أظن أن هناك خطأ في جدول تصريف ليس… ممكن أن تعيد النظر إليه، وشكرًا
من كوالا لمفور،ماليزيا