"And [the apostles] saw what appeared to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages as the Spirit enabled them." - Acts 2:3-4
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Lesson 1.9: Negation
Up until now, we’ve been learning different ways to talk about things that happened. Now we’re going to learn negation, which is how we talk about things that didn’t happen: in other words, how we say “not” and other related ideas.
Basic negation with no
The simplest way to negate a statement is to place no (not) before the verb.
Example:Yo sé. (I know.) becomes Yo no sé. (I don’t know.)Example:Juega al fútbol. (He plays soccer.) becomes No juega al fútbol. (He doesn’t play soccer.)
Using other negative words
Other negative words can also be used to form negative statements. The main negative words besides no are:
nunca (never)
nada (nothing)
nadie (nobody)
ni... ni... (neither... nor...)
ninguno (none; no, functioning as an adjective, follows adjective agreement and apocopation)
tampoco (neither; not either)
ya no (not anymore)
Example:Nadie sabe qué pasó. (Nobody knows what happened.)Example:Ningún ordenador puede almacenar datos infinitos. (No computer can store infinite data.)
Double negatives (the use of two negative words in a sentence) are incorrect in English, but they are sometimes required in Spanish. The rule is that, if one of the above negative words comes anywhere after the verb, no should be inserted before the verb. Otherwise, no should not be used.
Example:Yo no veo nada. (I don’t see anything.)Example:No tengo hambre tampoco. (I’m not hungry either.)
Some negative words can be used as adverbs, and in that case, you have the option to place them before the verb or after the verb. Those words still follow the rule that, if they come after the verb, no should be inserted before the verb.
Example:Nunca fumo. (I never smoke.); No fumo nunca. (I never smoke.)Example:Tampoco tengo hambre. (I’m not hungry either.); No tengo hambre tampoco. (I’m not hungry either.)
Inversion
Like for questions, inversion can optionally be applied to negative statements. If the statement contains a negative word other than no, then you can choose to swap the subject and the verb. Keep in mind that, if this causes the negative word to come after the verb, no still needs to be added.
Example:Mi hermana no está aquí. (My sister isn’t here.); No está mi hermana aquí. (My sister isn’t here.)Example:Nadie vino. (Nobody came.); No vino nadie. (No vino nadie.)
Just to clarify, inversion isn’t allowed for sentences where no is the only negative word.