NEGATION (NJỤ)
The only prominent negative suffix in Igbo is GHI, the secondary is LA.
A.
1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular – append the negative particle “ghi” to the auxillary verb “na” and then delete the hyphen.
M na-agba ọsọ ≠ M naghi agba ọsọ
(I am running) (I am not running)
Ị na aga ahia ≠ Ị naghi aga ahia
(You are going to the market) (You are not going to the market)
Ọ na ete egwu ≠ Ọ naghi ete egwu
(He is dancing) (He is not dancing)
Ọ na-achị ọchị ≠ Ọ naghi achị ọchị
(She is laughing) (She is not laughing)
B.
1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural – prefix the letter “a” to the auxillary verb “na” and then suffix the negative particle “ghi” to it. Delete the hyphen.
Anyi na-eche echiche ≠ Anyi anaghi echi echiche
(We are thinking) (We are not thinking)
Unu na-ebe akwa ≠ Unu anaghi ebe akwa
(You all are crying) (You all are not crying)
Ha na-agụ akwụkwọ ≠ Ha anaghi agụ akwụkwọ
(They are reading a book) (They are not reading a book)
Negation of Alternative Forms
1st person singular and 3rd person plural – add the negative particle “ghi” to “na” before the pronouns.
A na m eri nri ≠ A naghi m eri nri
(I am eating food) (I am not eating food)
A na m arụ ọrụ ≠ A naghi m arụ ọrụ
(I am working) (I am not working)
A na m agba ọbara ≠ A naghi m agba ọbara
(I am bleeding) (I am not bleeding)
A na ha eri nri ≠ A naghi ha eri nri
(They are eating food) (They are not eating food)
A na ha echu mmiri ≠ A naghi ha echu mmiri
(They are fetching water) (They are not fetching water)
A na ha agba egwu ≠ A naghi ha agba egwu
(They are dancing) (They are not dancing)
Important! If the subject pronouns are replaced by their antecedents, the 1st , 2nd, and 3rd person singular forms will all prefix the letter “a” to the auxillary verb “na” before attaching the negative particle “ghi” to it. They will thus follow the same rule of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural.
M naghi eri nri → Obi, anaghi eri nri
(I am not eating food) (Obi is not eating)
Ị naghi ede ihe → Nneka, anaghi ede ihe
(You are not writing something.) (Nneka is not writing something.)
Ọ naghi ere ihe → Ada, anaghi ere ihe
(He is not selling something.) (Ada is not selling something.)
NEGATION OF IMPERATIVES
“la” as a negative particle is used to negate an instruction, order or advice. To negate an imperative, replace the infinitive marker “i” with either “e” or “a”, according to the vowel harmony of the verb, and append the suffix “la”.
Bia (Come!) ≠ Abiala (Do not come!)
Jee/Gaa (Go!) ≠ Ejela/Agaala (Do not go!) *Note: Eje/Aga are dialectal variants.
Taa (Chew!) ≠ Atala (Do not chew!)
hụụ (See!) ≠ Ahụla (Do not see!)
rie (Eat!) ≠ Erila (Do not eat!)
