Learn Assyrian › Grammar

3.4 Saying "is NOT / am NOT" (negative present)

3 · The Copula — "am / is / are" (and "was / were") · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar

To negate, the copula fuses with the negator la into a single le- word:

Easy handle: the positive forms mostly start with a vowel (ile, iven…); the negatives start with le- (lele, leven…). In fast speech the -v- forms contract further (levet → let, leven → len, levakh → lekh), e.g. lekh beta "we are not home."