Particle Negative

Summary

Negative particles are terms that negate some aspect of a sentence, either an individual word or an entire phrase.

Article

אַיִן or אֵין

This term is used in verbless clauses to negate an entire clause or sentence. It is sometimes classified as a noun but usually appears in the verbal position of normal word order. Literally, the term is translated in English as “there is no” or “there is not”; but the English translation is often simplified to “is not” (see example below).

לֹא

The word לֹא is the standard negative particle in Biblical Aramaic. This term often negates verbs, but it has potential to negate other kinds of words as well. In English, it is usually translated as “no” or “not”. When used with 2nd person imperfect verbs to express a negative command, this particle signifies a more emphatic command than the use of the negative particle אַל (with an imperfect verb).

אַל

The term אַַל is almost exclusively used to negate verbs; it is also the standard particle used to negate jussive and cohortative verbs. When used with 2nd person imperfect verbs to express a negative command, this particle signifies a less emphatic command than the use of the negative particle לֹא.