Lesson 23: Negation

Como decir no

Lesson Goal

Say no correctly in Spanish

Learn how to make sentences negative and use words like never, nothing, and nobody.

Simple Negation: "No"

To make a sentence negative, put no before the verb.

Affirmative	Negative
Hablo español.	No hablo español.
I speak Spanish.	I don't speak Spanish.

Simple Negation Examples

Spanish	English
Yo no trabajo aquí.	I don't work here.
Ella no come carne.	She doesn't eat meat.
No vivimos en Barcelona.	We don't live in Barcelona.

Practice: Make it Negative

1. Yo hablo francés.

Yo no hablo francés.

2. Tú comes pizza.

Tú no comes pizza.

3. Nosotros vivimos en Madrid.

Nosotros no vivimos en Madrid.

Negation in Questions

"No" goes right before the verb, even in questions.

Spanish	English
¿No hablas español?	Don't you speak Spanish?
¿No tienes un lápiz?	Don't you have a pencil?

Other Negative Words

Spanish has other ways to express negation:

nunca / jamásnever

nadanothing

nadienobody

ningún / ningunonone, not any

ni ... nineither ... nor

Nunca / Jamás

Spanish	English
No voy nunca al cine.	I never go to the cinema.
No como jamás sushi.	I never eat sushi.

Jamás is slightly more emphatic than nunca, but they mean the same thing.

Nada

Nothing

Spanish	English
No como nada.	I don't eat anything.
No tengo nada.	I don't have anything.

Nadie

Nobody

Spanish	English
No conozco a nadie.	I don't know anybody.
No hay nadie aquí.	There is nobody here.

Ningún / Ninguno

None, not any

Spanish	English
No tengo ningún hermano.	I don't have any brother.
No tengo ninguna hermana.	I don't have any sister.
Ninguno de mis amigos va.	None of my friends go.

Ningún is used before masculine singular nouns. Ninguno is used alone or before 'de'.

Ni ... ni

Neither ... nor

Spanish	English
No quiero ni café ni té.	I want neither coffee nor tea.
No hablo ni inglés ni francés.	I speak neither English nor French.

Double Negatives are OK!

In Spanish, double negatives are correct and required.

Spanish	Literal English
No voy nunca.	I don't go never.
No tengo nada.	I don't have nothing.
No conozco a nadie.	I don't know nobody.

This is NOT a grammar mistake in Spanish—it's required!

Position of Negative Words

Option 1

no + verb + negative word

No voy nunca.

Option 2

Negative word starts the sentence

Nunca voy al cine.

Nada me importa.

When a negative word starts the sentence, "no" is omitted.

Common Mistakes

Yo no nada veo → No veo nada
Put no before the verb and nada after it.

Nadie no vino → Nadie vino
When nadie comes first, drop the second no.

Tengo no dinero → No tengo dinero
No always goes directly before the verb.

Practice: Double Negatives

1. I never study. (estudiar)

No estudio nunca.

2. I don't have anything. (tener)

No tengo nada.

3. I don't know anybody. (conocer)

No conozco a nadie.

Practice: Change the Position

Rewrite the sentence starting with the negative word.

1. No voy nunca al cine.

Nunca voy al cine.

2. No tengo nada.

Nada tengo.

3. No conozco a nadie.

Nadie conozco.

Key Takeaways

Basic negation: no + verb

Double negatives are correct in Spanish (no voy nunca)

Other negatives: nunca, nada, nadie, ninguno, ni...ni

When a negative word starts the sentence, "no" is omitted

Ningún before masculine singular; ninguno/a elsewhere

Lesson 23 Complete

You can now say no correctly in Spanish!

Next up: Practice and exercises on negation.

Homework

Practice

Negation

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