There are two particles used as suffixes to verbs to express emphasis in Arabic or to give an assertive tone to a certain action. Those particles are the emphatic nūn (ـنَّ/ـنْ) and the emphatic lām (لَـ).
Emphatic nūn / نُون التَوْكِيد
The emphatic nūn (نون التوكيد) is a letter nūn (ـن) suffixed to a verb to emphasize the action it expresses. This noun can be found under two different versions at the end of the verb; the heavy version and the light version, although the heavy version is most often preferred:
- The heavy nūn (نُون التَوكِيد الثَقِيلة) is a nūn bearing a shadda and a fatḥa ـنَّ (most used)
- The light nūn (نُون التَوكِيد الخَفِيفة) is a nūn bearing the sukūn ـنْ
Conditions of use
Both the heavy nūn and the light nūn are suffixed to verbs under the same conditions. The verb has to be either:
1. Imperative or interdiction
| Write the sentence on the board | اُكْتُبَنَّ الجُمْلةَ على اللَوْحِ |
| Don’t open the gift now | لا تَفْتَحَنْ الهَدِيّةَ الآنَ |
2. In the present tense
- In the negative form:
| He doesn’t live there | لا يَسْكُنَنَّ هناك |
| We don’t go out at night | لا نَخْرُجَنْ في اللَيْل |
- Following an oath:
| By God I will study hard | وَاللّهِ لأَدْرُسَنَّ باجتهاد |
| By God I will punish the thief | تَاللّهِ لأُعاقِبَنْ السارِق |
Note: When the emphatic nūn is used for an oath it’s usually combined with the emphatic lām.
- After a conditional particle combined with ما:
| {And if you fear treachery from any people (with whom you have a covenant) then publicly throw their covenant at them…} Qurʾān [al-Anfāl : 58] | {…وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِن قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةً فَانبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَىٰ سَوَاءٍ} القُرْآن [الأنفال: 58] |
| {And whether or not We take you away [in death], indeed, We will take retribution upon them} Qurʾān [al-Zukhruf : 41] | {فَإِمَّا نَذْهَبَنَّ بِكَ فَإِنَّا مِنْهُم مُّنتَقِمُونَ} القُرْآن [الزخرف: 41] |
Conjugation
- The heavy nūn (نُون التَوكِيد الثَقِيلة)
| مُثَنّى (dual) | جمع (plural) | مُفْرَد (singular) | المُضارِع Imperfect | |
| نَحْنُ نَفْعَلَنَّ | أنا أَفْعَلَنَّ | المُتَكَلِّم 1st person | ||
| أَنْتُما تَفْعَلانَّ | أَنْتُم تَفْعَلُنَّ | أنتَ تَفْعَلَنَّ | المُذَكَّر masc. | المُخاطَب 2nd person |
| أَنْتُنَّ تَفْعَلْنَانَّ | أَنتِ تَفْعَلِنَّ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | ||
| هُما يَفْعَلانَّ | هُم يَفْعَلُنَّ | هُوَ يَفْعَلَنَّ | المُذَكَّر masc. | الغائِب 3rd person |
| هُما تَفْعَلانَّ | هُنَّ يَفْعَلْنانَّ | هِيَ تَفْعَلَنَّ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | |
| مُثَنّى (dual) | جمع (plural) | مُفْرَد (singular) | الأَمْر Imperative | |
اِفْعَلانِّ | اِفْعَلُنَّ | اِفْعَلَنَّ | المُذَكَّر masc. | المُخاطَب 2nd person |
| افْعَلْنَانِّ | اِفْعَلِنَّ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | ||
- The light nūn (نُون التَوكِيد الخَفِيفة)
| مُثَنّى (dual) | جمع (plural) | مُفْرَد (singular) | المُضارِع Imperfect | |
| نَحْنُ نَفْعَلَنْ | أنا أَفْعَلَنْ | المُتَكَلِّم 1st person | ||
| N/A | أَنْتُم تَفْعَلُنْ | أنتَ تَفْعَلَنْ | المُذَكَّر masc. | المُخاطَب 2nd person |
| N/A | أَنتِ تَفْعَلِنْ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | ||
| N/A | هُم يَفْعَلُنْ | هُوَ يَفْعَلَنْ | المُذَكَّر masc. | الغائِب 3rd person |
| N/A | N/A | هِيَ تَفْعَلَنْ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | |
Note: The light nun doesn’t exist in dual and feminine plural forms
| مُثَنّى (dual) | جمع (plural) | مُفْرَد (singular) | الأَمْر Imperative | |
N/A | اِفْعَلُنْ | اِفْعَلَنْ | المُذَكَّر masc. | المُخاطَب 2nd person |
| N/A | اِفْعَلِنْ | المُؤَنَّث fem. | ||
Emphatic lām / لام التَوكِيد
The particle لَـ called لام التَوْكِيد (= the emphatic lām), can precede a noun or a verb to give it more force. It can be used:
- at the beginning of a sentence with what is called the ‘starting lām’ (لام الاِبْتِداء):
| He is (indeed) the best driver | لَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ السُوَّاقِ |
| The sun is (indeed) shining | لَلشّمْسُ مُشْرِقة |
- following an oath with the ‘lām of oath’ (لام القسم):
| By God, I will study hard | وَاللّه لأَدْرُسَنَّ باجتهاد |
| By God I will punish the thief | تَاللّه لأُعاقِبَنْ السارِق |
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