Learn Arabic › A1 › أَلّا
أَلّا
that ... not /ʔalˈlaː/
particleA1#198 most common
Also: lest, so as not to, in order not to
Example sentences
يَجِبُ أَلّا تَكْذِبَ.
You must not lie.
أُرِيدُ أَلّا تَتَأَخَّرَ.
I want you not to be late.
قَرَّرْتُ أَلّا أُدَخِّنَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى.
I decided not to smoke again.
نَصَحَنِي الطَّبِيبُ بِأَلّا أَتَنَاوَلَ السُّكَّرَ.
The doctor advised me not to eat sugar.
خَشِيتُ أَلّا يَصِلَ القِطَارُ فِي مَوْعِدِهِ.
I feared that the train would not arrive on time.
حَرَصَتِ الحُكُومَةُ عَلَى أَلّا تَتَكَرَّرَ الأَزْمَةُ الاقْتِصَادِيَّةُ.
The government was keen that the economic crisis not recur.
Word family
أَنْthat (introduces the subjunctive)
لاno, notلِئَلّاlest, so that not
إِلّاexcept, unless (from إِنْ + لا)Etymology
أَلّا is a contraction of the subjunctive particle أَنْ ('that') and the negative لا ('not'). When the two meet, the n of أَنْ assimilates into the l of لا, and the pair is written as one word with a shadda. Both parts are old Semitic function words. The لا element has clear cognates across the Semitic family.
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