Virtual Bangladesh: Bengali Primer: Lesson 5

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Sentence Structure: Negation

Just like the rule that the verb in Bengali always comes at the end, in negative sentences the negative particle (nA) always comes after the verb. There are of course some exceptions to this where the negative particple is placed before the verb. We will deal with them later.

First, consider the following sentence with which you are already familiar:

I am a student: Ami chhAtro

The negation of this sentence is:

I am not a student: Ami chhAtro nA

Exceptions:

if sentences:

If you don't go: tumi jodi nA jAo

With the word jyano (so that)

You watch that I do not fall: tumi dyakho jyano Ami nA pori

Selected Glossary:

dyakho: watch
pori: fall
jodi: if
jAo: go (second person, familiar)