Rah is the answer for direct negative answers (equivalent to “no”). When used before nouns, the noun it governs is put into the genitive case:
Ni buvas pevadi jouna e Amerikia? Rah.
Do you like American movies? No.
Rah syeniara.
No running.
Rah bepeqa.
No answer.
Rah is also the word that puts verbs into the negative (equivalent to “not”):
Rah vavas pevadi jouna e Amerikia.
I do not like American movies.
Sometimes English uses “no” to mean “not any”:
Rah bepeqda.
Give no answer. [Not answer.]
Rah is also used for questions asked in the negative, when the answer is a definite “no”:
Ni buvas pevadi jouna e Francia? Rah.
Don’t you like French movies? No.
Cer rah is translated by “not yet”, but it is used much more than in English, where “not” usually suffices:
Ni bes buaibanda? Cer rah.
Have you eaten yet? [Have you already eaten?] No[, not yet].
Cer rah yoqabda buhai aqucon.
He has not gone to the office [yet].
Aisya rah is translated by “never” or “not ever” (often with ha or puno for emphasis), and it is used more than in English, where “never” may suffice:
Aisya rah vavas oher Francia.
I have never been to France.
Aisya rah yoqaindi jouna e Dania puno.
He has never seen a Danish movie.
[Ha] aisya rah yoyer ya qaindibu stayu.
He does not ever want to see you again. [He never wants to see you again.]
Syau rah is translated by “no longer”, “no more”, “not any longer” or “not any more”, and it is used more than in English, where “not” may suffice:
Syau rah yovas peuda oher Francia.
He no longer lives in France.
Syau rah vaqabda buhai jounabon labeutu.
I no longer go to the cinema. [I don’t go to the cinema any more.]
Taneraic, like English, resists double negatives, so expressions with “none”, “no one/nobody” (= not anyone), “nothing” (= not anything), etc., are rendered thus:
Yoyemou yole rah nu tou andenda.
He would not allow anyone in. [Lit., He allowed that no one entered.]
Iher rah nu tou yobahudi bahut.
He asked no one any questions. [Lit., To no one he asked any questions.]
As Taneraic does not have a past participle form, paraphrases must be used:
Rah nu tou mubousda.
There is nobody interested. [Lit., nobody is interested.]
