A Conversational Course in Qur'ānic Arabic
لُغَةُ القُرْآنِ
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Phase 3 · Chapter Sixteen

لَيْسَ

Laysa — Negating “Is”

You now know how to say what something was (كَانَ). This chapter completes the set with what something is not. لَيْسَ looks like a past-tense verb, but it always has present meaning — and it works exactly like كَانَ, pushing the khabar into the accusative.

Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 40–50 min
Prerequisite check: Kāna/qāla from Chapter Fifteen for contrast.
Watch out for: لَيْسَ negates nominal sentences only — a common student error is trying to use it on verbs.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT

حِوَارٌDialogue

Yūsuf corrects a misunderstanding. Listen twice, then read aloud.

MARYAM
هَلْ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ أَخُوكَ؟
hal hādhā-r-rajulu akhūk?
Is this man your brother?
YŪSUF
لَا، لَيْسَ أَخِي، هُوَ صَدِيقِي.
lā, laysa akhī, huwa ṣadīqī.
No, he's not my brother, he's my friend.
MARYAM
وَهَلِ الِامْتِحَانُ صَعْبٌ؟
wa hal-l-imtiḥānu ṣa‘b?
And is the exam hard?
YŪSUF
لَيْسَ صَعْبًا، هُوَ سَهْلٌ إِنْ ذَاكَرْتِ.
laysa ṣa‘ban, huwa sahlun in dhākart.
It's not hard, it's easy if you study.
MARYAM
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، لَسْتُ خَائِفَةً إِذًا.
al-ḥamdu lillāh, lastu khā’ifatan idhan.
Praise be to Allah, I'm not afraid, then.
02 — CORE WORDS

الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary

لَيْسَ conjugates like a past-tense verb but always means present-tense ‘is not.’

ArabicSaysMeaningNote
NEWلَيْسَ laysahe is not—
NEWلَيْسَتْ laysatshe is not—
NEWلَسْتُ lastuI am not—
REVIEWلَسْتَ / لَسْتِ lasta / lastiyou (m./f.) are not—
NEWصَعْبٌ / سَهْلٌ ṣa‘b / sahldifficult / easy—
NEWخَائِفٌ / خَائِفَةٌ khā’if / khā’ifahafraid (m./f.)—
NEWامْتِحَانٌ imtiḥānan exam—
NEWإِذًاidhanthen, in that case—

Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.

ArabicSaysMeaningNote
EARLYالنَّاسُan-nāsthe peopleExtremely common — worth fixing solidly.
EARLYذَاكَرَ / ذَاكَرْتُdhākara / dhākartuto study, revise / I studiedThe verb every student needs.
EARLYمُتَأَكِّدٌmuta’akkidcertain, sureأَنَا مُتَأَكِّدٌ, "I'm sure."
EARLYكَمَاkamājust as, like—
EARLYمُسَاعَدَةٌmusā‘adahhelp, assistance—
EARLYالْأَمْرُal-amrthe matter, the situation—
EARLYالْحَقِيقِيُّal-ḥaqīqīreal, genuine—
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS

رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner

Laysa negates “is.” Just like كَانَ, لَيْسَ pushes the khabar of a nominal sentence into the accusative — but instead of describing the past, it denies the present.

هُوَ أَخِي
huwa akhī
He is my brother. (ordinary nominal sentence)
لَيْسَ أَخِي
laysa akhī
He is not my brother.
الِامْتِحَانُ لَيْسَ صَعْبًا
al-imtiḥānu laysa ṣa‘ban
The exam is not hard.

Don't confuse لَيْسَ with لَا: لَا negates verbs generally (لَا أَعْرِفُ, “I don't know”), while لَيْسَ specifically negates a nominal, verbless “is” sentence.

Quick check: why does صَعْبًا end in ‑an in “لَيْسَ الِامْتِحَانُ صَعْبًا”? (It's the khabar of laysa, which — like kāna — takes the accusative.)

04 — READING THE SOURCE

وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection

A short, clear verse that uses لَيْسَ to correct a common misunderstanding about righteousness.

SŪRAT AL-BAQARAH — 2:177 (EXCERPT)
لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces...
لَيْسَ
laysa
[it] is not
الْبِرَّ
al-birra
righteousness (khabar, accusative)
أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ
an tuwallū wujūhakum
that you turn your faces
الْبِرَّ takes the accusative ending because it's the khabar of لَيْسَ — exactly this chapter's grammar box. The verse continues to explain what righteousness truly is: faith, charity, prayer, and honesty.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE

عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases

Common expressions using لَيْسَ.

لَيْسَ لِي حِيلَةٌ
laysa lī ḥīlah — I have no way around it
لَيْسَ الْأَمْرُ كَذَلِكَ
laysa-l-amru ka-dhālik — it's not like that
لَسْتُ مُتَأَكِّدًا
lastu muta’akkidan — I'm not sure
لَيْسَ هُنَاكَ دَاعٍ
laysa hunāka dā‘in — there's no need
لَيْسَ مُهِمًّا
laysa muhimman — it's not important, never mind
لَيْسَ بَعِيدًا
laysa ba‘īdan — it's not far
لَيْسَ سِرًّا
laysa sirran — it's no secret
لَيْسَ الْآنَ
laysa-l-ān — not now
SKILLS PRACTICE

الِاسْتِمَاعُListening

Audio track 15.1

Salmā reassures Aḥmad before a test. Listen first, script second.

AḨMAD
أَنَا خَائِفٌ مِنَ الِامْتِحَانِ.
SALMĀ
لَا تَخَفْ، لَيْسَ صَعْبًا.
AḨMAD
لَكِنَّهُ طَوِيلٌ جِدًّا.
SALMĀ
لَيْسَ طَوِيلًا كَمَا تَظُنُّ، فَقَطْ ذَاكِرْ جَيِّدًا.
  1. Why is Aḥmad afraid?
  2. What does Salmā say about the exam's difficulty?
  3. What does she say about how long it is?
Reveal answers
1. He's afraid of the exam.   2. She says it's not hard.   3. She says it's not as long as he thinks.
SKILLS PRACTICE

التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking

Pair work

Partner drill. Make three true statements with لَيْسَ about yourself or your surroundings — “لَسْتُ ...”, “هَذَا لَيْسَ ...”.

Recycling round. Negate a Chapter Five adjective pair — "هَذَا لَيْسَ صَعْبًا، هَذَا سَهْلٌ" — so laysa attaches to vocabulary students already own.

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْقِرَاءَةُReading

Read silently, then aloud

Read once for meaning, then aloud.

كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ ظَنُّوا أَنَّ الْبِرَّ هُوَ اتِّجَاهُ الصَّلَاةِ فَقَطْ. لَكِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ قَالَ: لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ ذَلِكَ. الْبِرُّ الْحَقِيقِيُّ هُوَ الْإِيمَانُ وَالصِّدْقُ وَمُسَاعَدَةُ النَّاسِ. لَيْسَ الْأَمْرُ سَهْلًا، لَكِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مُسْتَحِيلًا.
1) مَاذَا ظَنَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ عَنِ الْبِرِّ؟
2) مَا هُوَ الْبِرُّ الْحَقِيقِيُّ؟
3) هَلِ الْأَمْرُ مُسْتَحِيلٌ حَسَبَ النَّصِّ؟
Reveal answers
1. ب — أَنَّهُ اتِّجَاهُ الصَّلَاةِ فَقَطْ   2. ب — الْإِيمَانُ وَالصِّدْقُ وَمُسَاعَدَةُ النَّاسِ   3. ب — لَا، لَيْسَ مُسْتَحِيلًا
SKILLS PRACTICE

الْكِتَابَةُWriting

On paper or in your notebook

Sentence building. Put these words in the correct order, then translate.

  1. أَخِي   لَيْسَ   هُوَ
  2. صَعْبًا   لَيْسَ   الِامْتِحَانُ
  3. خَائِفَةً   لَسْتُ

Guided writing. Write three sentences using لَيْسَ to correct a misunderstanding — real or invented — about yourself.

06 — CHAPTER EXERCISES

التَّدْرِيبَاتُExercises

1اخْتَرِ الْإِجَابَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَChoose the correct answer
1. لَيْسَ is used to negate:
2. “I am not” is:
3. In لَيْسَ الِامْتِحَانُ صَعْبًا, صَعْبًا is:
4. Which negates a verb rather than “to be”?
Reveal answers
1. b   2. a   3. b   4. b
2صِلْ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ بِمَعْنَاهَاMatch each item to its meaning
  1. لَيْسَ
  2. لَيْسَتْ
  3. لَسْتُ
  4. صَعْبٌ
  5. سَهْلٌ
  1. easy
  2. I am not
  3. difficult
  4. he is not
  5. she is not
Reveal answers
1–d, 2–e, 3–b, 4–a, 5–c
3تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِTranslate into English

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

  1. لَيْسَ هَذَا أَخِي.
  2. الِامْتِحَانُ لَيْسَ صَعْبًا.
  3. لَسْتُ خَائِفًا.
  4. لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ اتِّجَاهَ الصَّلَاةِ فَقَطْ.
Reveal answers
1. This is not my brother.
2. The exam is not hard.
3. I am not afraid.
4. Righteousness is not merely the direction of prayer.
4تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةِTranslate into Arabic

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

  1. This is not my book.
  2. I am not afraid of the exam.
  3. The exam is not difficult.
Reveal answers
١) لَيْسَ هَذَا كِتَابِي.
٢) لَسْتُ خَائِفًا مِنَ الِامْتِحَانِ.
٣) الِامْتِحَانُ لَيْسَ صَعْبًا.
5أَكْمِلِ الْحِوَارَComplete the dialogue
Word bank: لَيْسَ — لَسْتُ — صَعْبًا
مريم: هَلْ هَذَا أَخُوكَ؟
يوسف: لَا، أَخِي.
مريم: هَلِ الِامْتِحَانُ صَعْبٌ؟
يوسف: .
مريم: إِذًا خَائِفَةً.
Reveal answers
لَيْسَ — لَيْسَ — صَعْبًا — لَسْتُ
6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)
يُوسُفُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ أَخُوهُ.true / false
يُوسُفُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ سَهْلٌ.true / false
مَرْيَمُ خَائِفَةٌ فِي النِّهَايَةِ.true / false
Reveal answers
1. False — he says the man is his friend, not his brother.   2. True.   3. False — she says she's not afraid.
SKILLS PRACTICE

قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading

Hover to check — no test, just read

A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.

Word Sentence
لَسْتُ خَائِفًا مِنَ الِامْتِحَانِ. لَسْتَ مُتَأَكِّدًا إِذًا لِمَاذَا أَنْتَ هُنَا؟ لَيْسَ الْأَمْرُ صَعْبًا. لَيْسَتِ النَّاسُ خَائِفَةً مِنَ الْحَقِيقِيِّ. ذَاكَرْتُ كَمَا قَالَ أُسْتَاذِي. بِمُسَاعَدَتِكَ الِامْتِحَانُ لَيْسَ صَعْبًا. إِذًا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِخَيْرٍ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ.
SKILLS PRACTICE — NEW

مُحَادَثَةٌ حُرَّةٌConversation Practice

Chat with Yūsuf or Maryam using only what you've learned so far — type it or say it out loud, your choice.

تَمَّ الدَّرْسُ السَّادِسَ عَشَرَ بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ
Chapter Sixteen complete — next chapter: Past Tense, Part One (الماضي (١))
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