Negative markers and clausal structure

The three major categories of negative markers found in Arabic are single negation, bipartite negation and enclitic negation. This chapter introduces these three categories in a descriptive manner, making minimal theoretical reference only when necessary. The distinctions made between these categories are relevant to the organization of the book and its discussion of empirical and theoretical issues. Contrasts in the distribution of these negative markers among the three varieties of Arabic under investigation in this book clearly show that negation in Arabic can occupy various syntactic positions, but that there are word order restrictions that regulate these occurrences.

Single negation

The three Arabic varieties under investigation have negative markers that precede the verb. Jordanian Arabic (JA), Standard Arabic (SA) and Qatari Arabic (QA) have the negative marker maa. Crucially, negative markers do not have to be adjacent to the verb in any of the three varieties. It is widely assumed that negative markers have to be adjacent to the verb and that the preverbal negative marker maa is a proclitic attached to the verb. Consider the following examples where adverbs and definite subjects, for example, cannot intervene between the negative marker and the verb.

Nonetheless, indefinite subjects can intervene between the negative marker and the verb.

Interestingly, adverbs can also intervene between the negative marker and the verb in such contexts: