Negation is the contradiction or opposite of something positive. In English, you just need to add no, not, don't, didn't, won't, etc to the right place in the sentence to make it negative. In this lesson, we will learn about negation and negative expressions in Spanish.
Spanish negation and negative expressions
1. To make a sentence negative, put no before the verb or verb phrases.
For examples:
No me gusta este libro - I don't like this book
Ella no habla inglés - She doesn’t speak English
Él no es profesor - He is not a professor
Note:
- You should never seperate direct and indirect object pronouns from the verb in Spanish. Instead, place the negtive word "no" before the pronoun.
For example:
No lo conozco - I don't know him
- When the answer to a question is negative, it is required to use two negative words.
For example:
¿Habla Ud. español? - Do you speak Spanish?
No. No hablo español - No. I don’t speak Spanish
2. There are many words and phrases that you can use to negate a positive or affirmative sentence.
Below you will find a list of affirmative words and phrases and their negative counterparts.
| Affirmative | Negative |
| algo (something) | nada (nothing) |
| alguien (someone) | nadie (noone) |
| siempre (always) | nunca (never) |
| todavía, aún (still) | ya no (no longer) |
| ya (already) | todavía no (not yet) |
| no … para nada (not at all) | |
| alguna vez (ever) | jamás (never ever) |
| algún (-o, -a, -os, -as) (some, something) | ningún (-o, -a, -os, -as) (no, none) |
| o (or) | ni (nor) |
| o ... o (either ... or) | ni ... ni (neither ... nor) |
- Negative words can be used alone, in front of the verb.
For example:
Nadie habla - Nobody speaks
Nadie quiere salir - Nobody wants to leave
Él nunca come - He never eats
- Unlike in English, double negatives are acceptable in Spanish. So you can also use negative words with the word "no". In English, you use "didn't" and the positive pronoun "anyone" or "anything". However, in Spanish, "no" and the negative indefinite pronoun "nadie" (noone) are used.
You may want to see: Spanish active and passive voice
For example:
In English: You say, Maria doesn’t need anything. NOT Maria doesn’t need nothing.
In Spanish: You say María no necesita nada. NOT María no necesita algo.
Él no come nunca - He never eats
- Nadie (noone), nada (nothing), and nunca/jamás (never) can be used as an answer.
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