Modern Standard Arabic 4.6. Conjunctions

Conjunctions are essential components in Arabic, as they enable speakers to link sentences and convey meaningful ideas.

Table of Contents

• Common Conjunctions in Arabic
• وَ (wa) ‘and’ & أَوْ (’aw) ‘or’
• Or: أَوْ (’aw) vs. أَمْ (’am)
• If: إِنْ (’in) vs. إِذا (’idhā) vs. لَـوْ (law)
• But: لـكِـنْ (lākin) vs. لـكِـنَّ (lākinna)
• Because: لِأَنَّ
• Conjunctions Followed by the Subjunctive
• Other Conjunctions in Arabic
• Level IV – Intermediate II (B2)

Common Conjunctions in Arabic

The most common conjunctions in Arabic are:

Conjunction	Meaning	Example
وَ wa	and	حَـسَـن وَ مُـحَـمَّـد يَـعـيـشـانِ هُـنـا٠ ḥasan wa-muḥammad ya‘īshāni hunā. Hassan and Muhammad live here.
أَوْ ’aw	or	أُريــدُ عَـصـيـرَ بُـرْتُـقـال أَوْ لَـيْـمـون٠ ’urīdu ‘aṣīra burtuqāl ’aw-laymūn. I want orange or lemon juice.
فَـ ٠٠٠ fa…	so, then, thus	سَـأَلَـهُ سُـؤالًا فَـــأَجــابَـهُ٠ sa’alahu su’ālan fa-’ajābah. He asked him a question, so he answered him.
ثُــمَّ thumma	and then	شَـرِبْتُ الْـقَـهْـوَةَ ثُـمَّ خَـرَجْـتُ لِـلْـعَـمَـلِ٠ sharibtu -l-qahwata thumma kharajtu li-l-‘amal. I drank coffee, and then I went out to work.
إِنْ ’in	if	إِنْ كُـنْـتَ تَـعْـلَـم، أَخْـبِـرْنـي٠ ’in kunta ta‘lam, ’akhbirnī. If you know, tell me.
إِذا ’idhā	if	إِذا طَـلَـعَـتِ الـشَّـمْـسُ سَـأَذْهَـبُ لِـلـنَّـوْمِ٠ ’idhā ṭala‘at (i) -sh-shamsu sa-’adh habu li-n-nawm. If (when) the sun rises, I will go to sleep.
لَـوْ law	if	لَـوْ كُـنْـتُ أَعْـلَـمُ لَأَخْـبَـرْتُـكَ٠ law kuntu ’a‘lamu la-’akhbartuk. If I knew, I would have told you.
لـكِـنْ lākin	but	أُريـدُ أَنْ آكُـلَ لـكِـنْ لَـيْـسَ الْآن٠ ’urīdu ’an ’ākula lākin laysa -l-’ān. I want to eat but not now.
بَــلْ bal	but rather	الـيَـوْمُ لَـيْـسَ الـخَـمـيـسَ بَــل الـجُـمُـعَـةَ٠ al-yawmu laysa -l-khamīsa bal (i)-l-jumu‘ah. Today is not Thursday but rather Friday.
لِأَنَّ li-’anna	because	لَـنْ أَذْهَــبَ إِلـى العَـمَـلِ لِأَنَّ الطُّـرُقَ مُـغْـلَـقَـةٌ٠ lan ’adh  haba ’ilā -l-‘amali li–’anna -ṭ-ṭuruqa mughlaqah. I won’t go to work because the roads are closed.
بِـسَـبَـبِ bi-sababi	because of	لا يُـمْـكِـنُـنـا الـخُـروجُ بِـسَـبَـبِ الـثُّـلـوج٠ lā yumkinunā -l-khurūju bi–sababi -th-thulūj. We can’t go out because of the snow.

وَ (wa) ‘and’ & أَوْ (’aw) ‘or’

In Arabic, the conjunctions وَ (wa) ‘and’ and أَوْ (’aw) ‘or’ are repeated multiple times for multiple nouns or adjectives. For example:

يَـعـيـشُ هُـنـا لُـبْـنـانِـيّـونَ وَسـورِيّـونَ وَفِـلَـسْـطـيـنـيّـونَ وَمِـصْـرِيّـونَ٠ ya‘īshu hunā lubnāniyyūna wa-sūriyyūna wa-filasṭīniyyūna wa-miṣriyyūn. Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, and Egyptians live here.

أُريــدُ عَـصـيـرَ بُـرْتُـقـال أَوْ رُمّــان أَوْ لَـيْـمـون٠ ’urīdu ‘aṣīra burtuqāl ’aw-rummān ’aw-laymūn. I want orange, pomegranate, or lemon juice.

Or: أَوْ (’aw) vs. أَمْ (’am)

The conjunction أَمْ (’am) replaces أَوْ (’aw), both translated as “or,” when asking a نَـعَـمْ (na‘am) ‘yes’ or لا (lā) ‘no’ question using the interrogative particle هَــلْ (hal) or أَ (’a). For example:

أَتُـريـدُ أَنْ تَـأْكُـلَ أَمْ تُـريـدُ أَنْ تَـنـامَ؟ ’a-turīdu ’an ta’kula ’am turīdu ’an tanām? Do you want to eat or you want to sleep?

هَـلْ بَـيْـتُـكَ قَـريـبٌ أَمْ بَـعـيـدٌ مِـنْ هُـنـا؟ hal baytuka qarībun ’am ba‘īdun min hunā? Is your house close or far from here?

If: إِنْ (’in) vs. إِذا (’idhā) vs. لَـوْ (law)

There are three different conjunctions in Arabic that can be translated as “if” in English: إِنْ (’in), إِذا (’idhā), and لَـوْ (law). The conjunctions إِنْ (’in) and إِذا (’idhā) are typically used in Arabic when referring to present or future actions, while لَـوْ (law) refers to past actions, often in hypothetical scenarios.

While both إِنْ (’in) and إِذا (’idhā) are used for present or future actions, their meanings differ, especially in Quranic Classical Arabic. إِنْ (’in) introduces actions with uncertainty, whereas إِذا (’idhā) implies certainty or likelihood.

Let us summarize the differences with examples:

future action may or may not happen	إِنْ جـاءَ أَحْـمَـدُ سَـأُرَحِّـبُ بِـهِ٠ ’in jā’a ’aḥmadu sa-’uraḥḥibu bih(i). If Ahmad comes, I will welcome him.
future action will certainly or likely happen, إِذا(’idhā) almost means “when”	إِذا جـاءَ أَحْـمَـدُ سَـأُرَحِّـبُ بِـهِ٠ ’idhā jā’a ’aḥmadu sa-’uraḥḥibu bih(i). If/When Ahmad comes, I will welcome him.
past action or hypothetical situations	لَـوْ جـاءَ أَحْـمَـدُ كُـنْـتُ سَـأُرَحِّـبُ بِـهِ٠ law jā’a ’aḥmadu kuntu sa-’uraḥḥibu bih(i). If Ahmad had come, I would’ve welcomed him.

Notice that regardless of the indicated meaning, the three conjunctions in the examples above are followed by a past verb in Arabic, even if the meaning is in the present or future.

This is an example of how what we call the past tense in Arabic can be used even when referring to present or future events.

In general, only إِنْ (’in) can be followed by a present verb. In such cases, both the present verb following إِنْ (’in) and the present verb in the subsequent clause are in the jussive mood. For example:

إِنْ تَـسْـأَلْ تَـجِـدْ جَـوابًـا٠ ’in tas’al tajid jawāban. If you ask, you find an answer.

In everyday spoken Arabic, إِنْ (’in) is rarely used. Instead, إِذا (’idhā) is commonly used for present or future actions, regardless of the probability of occurrence or level of certainty.

But: لـكِـنْ (lākin) vs. لـكِـنَّ (lākinna)

There is a minor difference between لـٰكِـنْ (lākin) and لـٰكِـنَّ (lākinna), both meaning “but.” In general, لـٰكِـنْ (lākin) is used in the following cases:

1. When the following clause is a phrase or an incomplete sentence. In most cases, the meaning of negation is explicitly stated or implied, either before or after لـٰكِـنْ (lākin). For example:

أُريـدُ أَنْ آكُـلَ لـكِـنْ لَـيْـسَ الْآن٠ ’urīdu ’an ’ākula lākin laysa -l-’ān. I want to eat but not now.

شَـرِبْـتُ قَـهْـوَةً لـكِـنْ بِـدونِ سُـكَّـر٠ sharibtu qahwatan lākin bidūni sukkar. I had coffee but without sugar.

Note that both لَـيْـسَ الْآن (laysa -l-’ān) ‘not now’ and بِـدونِ سُـكَّـر (bidūni sukkar) ‘without sugar’ are phrases (not complete sentences) that convey a negative meaning.

2. When the second clause is a verb, particularly in commands. This is often the case when one command is affirmative, and the other is negative. For example:

أَنْـفِـقْ مـا شِـئْـتَ لـكِـنْ لا تَـكُـنْ مُـسْـرِفًـا٠ ’anfiq mā shi’ta lākin lā takun musrifan. Spend as much as you want but do not be extravagant.

شـاهِـدِ الـتِّـلْـفـازَ لـكِـن نَــمْ مُـبَـكِّـرًا٠ shāhid (i) -t-tilfāza lākin nam mubakkiran. Watch television but sleep early.

On the other hand, we use لـٰكِـنَّ (lākinna) when the second clause is a nominal sentence. Grammatically, the مُـبْـتَـدَأ (mubtada’) ‘topic’ of the nominal sentence that follows لـٰكِـنَّ (lākinna) is in the accusative. For example:

قـابَـلْـتُ أَحْـمَـدَ لـكِـنَّ خـالِـدًا لَـمْ يَـكُـنْ مَـعَـنـا٠ qābaltu ’aḥmada lākinna khālidan lam yakun ma‘anā. I met Ahmad but Khaled wasn’t with us.

الـشَّـمْـسُ سـاطِـعَـةٌ وَلـكِـنَّ الـرِّيـاحَ شَـديـدَةٌ٠ ash-shamsu sāṭi‘atun wa–lākinna -r-riyāḥa shadīdah. The sun is shining but the wind is strong.

Note that لـٰكِـنَّ (lākinna) can sometimes be preceded by وَ (wa) ‘and.’

If the second clause is a nominal sentence that begins with a personal pronoun, either لـٰكِـنْ (lākin) followed by a detached pronoun or لـٰكِـنَّ (lākinna) followed by an attached pronoun can be used. For example:

أَنـا + لـكِـنْ lākin + ’anā = لـكِـنَّـنـي (or) لـكِـنّـي lākinnī (or) lākinnanī	أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـنْ أَنـا تَـأَخَّـرْتُ٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākin ’anā ta’akh khart. = أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـنَّـنـي تَـأَخَّـرْتُ٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākinnanī ta’akh khart. I wanted to go but I was late.
أَنْـتَ + لـكِـنْ lākin + ’anta = لـكِـنَّــكَ lākinnaka	أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـنْ أَنْـتَ مَـنَـعْـتَـنـي٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākin ’anta mana‘tanī. = أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـنَّــكَ مَـنَـعْـتَـنـي٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākinnaka mana‘tanī. I wanted to go but you prevented me.
أَنْـتُـمْ + لـكِـنْ lākin + ’antum = لـكِـنَّـكُـمْ lākinnakum	أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـن أَنْـتُـمْ لَـمْ تَـكُـونـوا هُـنـاكَ٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākin ’antum lam takūnū hunāk. = أَرَدْتُ الـذَّهـابَ لـكِـنَّـكُـمْ لَـمْ تَـكُـونـوا هُـنـاكَ٠ ’aradtu -dh-dhahāba lākinnakum lam takūnū hunāk. I wanted to go but you (all) were not there.

Because: لِأَنَّ

The conjunction لِأَنَّ (li’anna) ‘because’ is typically followed by a nominal sentence. For example:

لِأَنَّ li-’anna because

أَشْـعُـرُ بِـالْـبَـرْدِ لِأنَّ الـرِّيـاحَ شَـديـدَةٌ٠ ’ash‘uru bi-l-bardi li–’anna -r-riyāḥa shadīdah. I feel cold because the wind is strong.

Notice that the grammatical case of the مُـبْـتَـدَأ (mubtada’) ‘topic,’ following لِأَنَّ (li’anna), is changed from nominative to accusative.

If the مُـبْـتَـدَأ (mubtada’) ‘topic’ of the nominal sentence is a detached personal pronoun, it is replaced with an attached personal pronoun. For example:

أَنـا + لِأَنَّ li-’anna + ’anā = لِأنَّـنـي (or) لِأنّـي li-’annī (or) li-’annanī	أَشْـعُـرُ بِـالْـبَـرْدِ لِأنَّ … (أَنـا مَـريـض)٠  ’ash‘uru bi-l-bardi li–’anna … (’anā marīḍ). = أَشْـعُـرُ بِـالْـبَـرْدِ لِأنّـي مَـريـض٠ ’ash‘uru bi-l-bardi li–’annī marīḍ. I feel cold because I (am) sick.
أَنْـتَ + لِأَنَّ li-’anna + ’anta = لِأنَّـكَ li-’annaka	أَخْـبَـرْتُـكَ لِأنَّ … (أَنْـتَ سَـأَلْـتَـنـي)٠ ’akhbartuka li–’anna … (’anta sa’altanī). = أَخْـبَـرْتُـكَ لِأَنَّـكَ سَـأَلْـتَـنـي٠ ’akhbartuka li–’annaka sa’altanī. I told you because you had asked me.

Conjunctions Followed by the Subjunctive

Some conjunctions in Arabic require the present verb to be in the subjunctive mood. In Lesson 2 of this level, we encountered the negative particle لَـنْ (lan), which is used to negate the future tense and triggers the subjunctive mood.

Remember that, in the subjunctive mood, a regular present verb replaces the final ضَـمَّـة (ḍammah) ‘short u’ in the nominative mood with فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a’ in all singular forms. In dual and plural forms, the present verb drops the final ن (nūn) ‘n.’ For example:

لَـنْ نَـشْـرَبَ الْـعَـصـيـر٠ lan nashraba -l-‘aṣīr. We won’t drink the juice.

الْأَوْلادُ لَـنْ يَـذْهَـبـوا بِـسُـرْعَـةٍ٠ al-’awlādu lan yadhhabū bi-sur‘ah. The boys won’t go quickly.

Similarly, some conjunctions require the use of the subjunctive mood. The most common conjunctions in this category are أَنْ (’an) ‘that’ and أَلّا (’allā) ‘that not.’

Conjunction	Meaning	Example
أَنْ ’an	that	أُريـدُ أَنْ تَـأْتِـيَ لِـزِيـارَتِـنـا٠ ’urīdu ’an ta’tiya li-ziyāratinā. I want that you come to visit us.
* أَلّا ’allā	that not	أُريـدُ أَلّا (أَنْ لا) تُـؤْذيَ أَحَـدًا٠ ’urīdu ’allā (’an lā) tu’dhiya ’aḥadan. I want that you do not hurt anyone.

^* This conjunction can be written in assimilated form أَلّا (’allā) or separately أَنْ لا (’an lā).

Other conjunctions in Arabic that trigger the subjunctive are often followed by a verb that indicates reason or motivation. For example:

(1) لِـ٠٠٠ li…	أُريـدُ أَنْ أَتَـعَـلَّـمَ الـعَـرَبِـيَّـةَ لِأَقْـرَأَ الْـقُـرْآنَ٠ ’urīdu ’an ’ata‘allama -l-‘arabiyyata li-’aqra’a -l-qur’ān. I want to learn Arabic in order to read the Quran.
(2) كَـيْ kay	أُريـدُ أَنْ أَتَـعَـلَّـمَ الـعَـرَبِـيَّـةَ كَـيْ أَقْـرَأَ الْـقُـرْآنَ٠ ’urīdu ’an ’ata‘allama -l-‘arabiyyata kay ’aqra’a -l-qur’ān. I want to learn Arabic in order to read the Quran.
حَـتّـى ḥattā	أُريـدُ أَنْ أَتَـعَـلَّـمَ الـعَـرَبِـيَّـةَ حَـتّـى أَقْـرَأَ الْـقُـرْآنَ٠ ’urīdu ’an ’ata‘allama -l-‘arabiyyata ḥattā ’aqra’a -l-qur’ān. I want to learn Arabic in order to read the Quran.

⁽¹⁾ Distinguish between the preposition لِـ٠٠٠ (li…) followed by a noun in the genitive case and the conjunction لِـ٠٠٠ (li…) followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood, which indicates reason or motivation. The latter is also called لام الـعِـلَّـة (lām al-‘illah) ‘causal lām.’

⁽²⁾ The conjunction كَـيْ (kay) can be preceded by the preposition لِـ٠٠٠ (li…), forming لِـكَـيْ (li-kay). In negative constructions, the conjunction is often written in the assimilated form, i.e., كَـيْـلا (kaylā) or لِـكَـيْـلا (li-kaylā).

Other Conjunctions in Arabic

Other conjunctions in Arabic include:

Conjunction	Meaning	Example
إِذًا ’idhan	hence, thus, then	أَنْـتَ أَخْـبَـرْتَـنـي، إِذًا سَـأَكـونُ حَـذِرًا٠ ’anta ’akhbartanī, ’idhan sa-’akūnu ḥadhiran. You told me; hence, I’ll be careful.
وِفْـقًـا لـ٠٠٠ wifqan li…	according to	وِفْـقًـا لِــلْأَخْـبـارِ، فـإِنَّ الـحَـرْبَ انْـتَـهَـتْ ٠ wifqan li-l-’akhbār, fa-’inna -l-ḥarba -ntahat. According to the news, the war has ended.
بِـحَـسَـبِ ٠٠٠ bi-ḥasabi …	according to	لَـيْـسَـت الـقَـهْـوَةُ سَـيِّـئَـةً بِـحَـسَـبِ الْأَطِـبّـاءِ٠ laysat (i) -l-qahwatu sayyi’atan bi-ḥasabi -l-’aṭibbā’. Coffee is not bad according to the doctors.
إِلّا ’illā	except	هـذا لا يَـحْـدُثُ إِلّا فـي حـالاتٍ نـادِرَةٍ٠ hādhā lā yaḥduthu ’illā fī ḥālātin nādirah. This does not happen except in rare cases.
مـا عَـدا mā ‘adā	except	ذَهَـبْـتُ كُـلَّ يَـوْمٍ مـا عَـدا يَـوْمَـيْـن٠ dhahabtu kulla yawmin mā ‘adā yawmayn. I went every day except for two days.
بَـدَلًا مِـنْ badalan min	instead of	بَـدَلًا مِـنَ الـقَـهْـوَةِ سَـأَطْـلُـبُ الـشّـاي٠ badalan min al-qahwati sa-’aṭlubu -sh-shāy. Instead of coffee, I’ll order tea.
عِـوَضًا عَـنْ ‘iwaḍan ‘an	instead of	عِـوَضًا عَـنِ الاسْـتِـسْـلامِ، تَـمَـسَّـكْ بِـالْأَمَــل٠ ‘iwaḍan ‘an (i) -l-istislām, tamassak bi-l-’amal. Instead of surrender, hold on to hope.
لِـذلِـكَ li-dhālika	therefore	الْـوَقْـتُ مُـتَـأَخِّـرٌ، لِـذلِـكَ لَـنْ نَـخْـرُجَ ٠ al-waqtu muta’akh khirun, li–dhālika lan nakhruj. It is late; therefore, we won’t go out.
وَإِلّا wa-’illā	otherwise	أَتَـمَـنّـى أَلّا تُـمْـطِـرَ وَإِلّا فَـلَـنْ نَـخْـرُجَ٠ ’atamannā ’allā tumṭira wa–’illā fa-lan nakhruj. I hope it doesn’t rain; otherwise, we don’t go out.
عَلى الرَّغْمِ مِنْ ‘alā -r-raghmi min	in spite of, despite, although	عَـلى الـرَّغْــمِ مِـنْ قِـصَـرِهِ فَـهُـوَ لاعِـبٌ جَـيِّـدٌ٠ ‘alā -r-raghmi min qiṣarihi fa-huwa lā‘ibun jayyid. Despite being short, he is a good player.
أَيْ أَنَّ ’ay ’anna	that is	الـجَـوُّ بـارِدٌ، أَيْ أَنَّ الـثُّـلـوجَ قَـدْ تَـسْـقُـطُ٠ al-jawwu bārid, ’ay ’anna -th-thulūja qad tasquṭ. The weather is cold, that is, the snow may fall.
بَـيْـنَـمـا baynamā	while	دَعـونـا نَـشْـتَري شَـيْـئًـا بَـيْـنَـمـا نَـحْـنُ هُـنـا٠ da‘ūnā nashtarī shay’an baynamā naḥnu hunā. Let us buy something while we are here.
طـالَـمـا ṭālamā	as long as	طـالَـمـا أَنْـتَ مُـسْـتَـعِـدٌّ فَـلا داعـي لِـلْـقَـلَـق٠ ṭālamā ’anta musta‘iddun fa-lā-dā‘ī li-l-qalaq. As long as you’re ready, you don’t need to worry.
إِمّـا ٠٠٠ أَوْ ٠٠٠ ’immā… ’aw…	either… or…	إِمّـا أَنْ نَـرْحَـلَ الْآنَ أَوْ لاحِـقًـا٠ ’immā ’an narḥala -l-’āna ’aw lāḥiqan. We either leave now or later.
بِـالْإِضافَـةِ إِلى bil-’iḍāfati ’ilā	in addition to	بِـالْإِضـافَـةِ إِلـى الـطَّـعـامِ سَـأَطْـلُـبُ بَـعْـضَ الْـمـاء٠ bi-l-’iḍāfati ’ilā -ṭ-ṭa‘ām, sa-’aṭlubu ba‘ḍa -l-mā’. In addition to food, I will order some water.
عَـلـى عَـكْـسِ ‘alā ‘aks(i)	contrary to	فـازَ عَـلـى عَـكْـسِ كُـلِّ الـتَّـوَقُّـعـاتِ٠ fāza ‘alā ‘aksi kulli -t-tawaqqu‘āt. He won contrary to all expectations.

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