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Verb Negation

Адмаўленьне дзеясловаў

8-II: Negating Verbs with не/ня

To negate a verb in Belarusian, place «не» before the verb. When the negation is unstressed, it becomes «ня»:

Я не́ бачу. (stressed не) — I don't see.

Ён ня ве́дае. (unstressed ня) — He doesn't know.

Яна не стаі́ць. (stressed не before стаіць) — She is not standing.

Use «не» when the negation carries the stress (typically before stressed verbs). Use «ня» when the stress falls elsewhere (typically before the verb's stressed syllable). In practice, «не» is more common and always acceptable.

Я не хачу́. — I don't want (to).

Ён ня мо́жа. — He can't.

Мы не стаі́м. — We are not standing.

Remember from Unit 7: after negation, the direct object often shifts from accusative to genitive:

Я бачу дом. → Я не бачу до́му. — I see the house. → I don't see the house.

Ён мае кнігу. → Ён не мае кнігі. — He has a book. → He doesn't have a book.

Vocabulary

Belarusian	English	Audio
не	She is not standing by the window.	—
школы	We don't see the school.	—
Я не бачу школы.		—

Practice

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