{"id":144864,"date":"2024-03-08T01:39:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T06:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-negation\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T05:59:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T10:59:44","slug":"spanish-negation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-negation\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Negation (Including Key Negative Words and the Double Negative)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nunca<\/strong> quieres nada<\/strong> de sopa.<\/em> (You never want any soup).\u00a0Yes, that’s a double negative in Spanish, and it’s grammatically correct.<\/p>\n

Creating negative sentences is an important skill to have in any language, and one you’ll likely use daily. Below you’ll find a list of the most important negation words in Spanish along with plenty of examples in context. Plus, you’ll learn how to use Spanish double negatives, as well as triple and even quadruple negatives.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How to Use Spanish Negation<\/h2>\n

English and Spanish share a lot of rules, but more often than not it’s their differences<\/a> that stand out between them.<\/p>\n

Negation isn’t an exception, and there are a couple of things you should take into account when studying la negaci\u00f3n en espa\u00f1ol <\/em>(negation in Spanish). I’m talking of course about simple sentences and simple negation.<\/p>\n

One of the most common ways to form the negative in Spanish when transforming an affirmative sentence into a negative<\/a> one, is to just add no<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>in front of the verb:<\/p>\n

Me gusta Polonia.<\/em> (I like Poland.) \u2192 No<\/strong> me gusta Polonia.<\/em>\u00a0(I don\u2019t like Poland.)<\/p>\n

Queremos ir al cine.<\/em> (We want to go to the cinema.) \u2192 No<\/strong> queremos ir al cine.\u00a0<\/em>(We don\u2019t want to go to the cinema.)<\/p>\n

Mis vecinos han tra\u00eddo regalos.<\/em> (My neighbors have brought presents.) \u2192 Mis vecinos no<\/strong> han tra\u00eddo regalos.<\/em>\u00a0(My neighbors haven\u2019t brought any presents.)<\/p>\n

This is also true for questions:<\/p>\n

\u00bfTe apetecer\u00eda venir?<\/em> (Would you like to come?) \u2192 \u00bfNo<\/strong> te apetecer\u00eda venir?<\/em>\u00a0(Wouldn\u2019t you like to come?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfTe acuerdas de Michael?<\/em> (Do you remember Michael?) \u2192 \u00bfNo<\/strong> te acuerdas de Michael?<\/em>\u00a0(Don\u2019t you remember Michael?)<\/p>\n

So if you just remember to add no<\/em> in front of the verb, you can say you’ve mastered 75 percent of Spanish negation!<\/p>\n

Main Spanish Negation Words<\/h2>\n

Every language has its ways of making negations. There are many negation words in Spanish, but for the sake of space and time, I’ll show you the most important ones.<\/p>\n

No<\/em><\/h3>\n

Undoubtedly the most important negation word in any language, no\u00a0<\/em>is commonly used<\/a> to negate the verb and you can use it to answer questions just by itself.<\/p>\n

No<\/strong> bebo caf\u00e9 por la tarde.<\/em> (I don\u2019t drink coffee in the afternoon.)<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda no<\/strong> vendr\u00e1 a la fiesta.<\/em> (Mar\u00eda is not coming to the party.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQuieres ir de compras? \u00a1No<\/strong>, no<\/strong> quiero!<\/em> (Do you want to go shopping? No, I don\u2019t!)<\/p>\n

In the last example, notice the use of no<\/em> twice followed by the main verb. You can’t use an auxiliary verb as you do in English (e.g. don’t). Maybe that\u2019s why we Spaniards prefer to say just no<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nada<\/em><\/h3>\n

Nada<\/em> means “nothing” or “anything,” and it’s also very common in Spanish negative sentences. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

No me apetece hacer nada<\/strong> hoy.<\/em> (I don\u2019t feel like doing anything today.)<\/p>\n

Nada<\/strong> tiene sentido sin ti.<\/em> (Nothing makes sense without you.)<\/p>\n

Nada<\/strong> me gusta m\u00e1s que dar un paseo bajo la lluvia.<\/em> (I don’t like anything more than going for a walk in the rain.)<\/p>\n

Nadie<\/em><\/h3>\n

It means “no one,” “nobody,” or “anybody,” and it’s (obviously) used when talking about people!<\/p>\n

No hay nadie<\/strong> aqu\u00ed. V\u00e1monos.<\/em> (There\u2019s nobody here. Let\u2019s go.)<\/p>\n

Mi hermana no invit\u00f3 a nadie<\/strong> a su boda.<\/em> (My sister didn\u2019t invite anybody to her wedding.)<\/p>\n

Nadie<\/strong> sabe m\u00e1s que t\u00fa. <\/em>(Nobody knows more than you do.)<\/p>\n

Ning\u00fan\/-o\/-a\/-os\/-as<\/em><\/h3>\n

Meaning “none,” “(not) any,” “no one,” or “anyone,” these negative words (except for ning\u00fan<\/em> and ninguno<\/em><\/a>) can function both as adjectives and as pronouns, depending on whether they’re followed by a noun or not, respectively.<\/p>\n

Ning\u00fan<\/em> and ninguno<\/em> mean the same, but they’re used in different contexts. While ning\u00fan<\/em> will always be followed by a masculine noun, ninguno<\/em> will always be a pronoun and won’t\u00a0have any accompanying nouns right after it.<\/p>\n

Have a look at these sentences:<\/p>\n

No me gusta ning\u00fan<\/strong> libro.<\/em> (I don\u2019t like any book.)<\/p>\n

No me gusta ninguno<\/strong>.<\/em> (I don\u2019t like any [of them].)<\/p>\n

Here you have some examples with the other three \u201csiblings\u201d:<\/p>\n

Ninguna<\/strong> de estas pizzas tiene aceitunas.<\/em> (None of these pizzas has olives.)<\/p>\n

No tengo ningunos<\/strong> problemas.<\/em> (I don\u2019t have any problems.)<\/p>\n

Ningunas<\/strong> noticias fueron buenas.<\/em> (None of the news was good.)<\/p>\n

Note that the plural forms (ningunos,<\/em> ningunas<\/em>), shown in the second and third examples, are less and less used in everyday Spanish<\/a>. We normally use ning\u00fan<\/em>\/ninguna<\/em>\u00a0plus a singular name in order to refer to a whole group. For example: No tengo ning\u00fan<\/strong> problema.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Nunca \/ Jam\u00e1s<\/em><\/h3>\n

Nunca<\/em> and jam\u00e1s<\/em> both mean “never” or “(not) ever.” They can be used interchangeably, but jam\u00e1s<\/em> seems to be a little more emphatic than nunca<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Nunca<\/strong> hab\u00eda visto a un chico tan guapo en mi vida.<\/em> (I had never in my life seen such a handsome guy.)<\/p>\n

Mis hermanos nunca<\/strong> ven la tele.<\/em> (My brothers never watch TV.)<\/p>\n

Jam\u00e1s<\/strong> pens\u00e9 que llegar\u00edas a ser presidente. \u00a1Estoy m\u00e1s orgulloso que nunca<\/strong>!<\/em> (I would have never thought you would become president. I am prouder than ever!).<\/p>\n

Jam\u00e1s<\/strong> les des de comer a los elefantes.<\/em> (Never feed the elephants. \/ Do not ever feed the elephants.)<\/p>\n

If you want more emphasis you can even use them together in a sentence:<\/p>\n

Nunca jam\u00e1s<\/strong> dejar\u00e9 de amarte.<\/em> (I will never ever stop loving you.)<\/p>\n

\u00a1No me vuelvas a mentir nunca jam\u00e1s<\/strong>!<\/em> (Don\u2019t lie to me ever again!)<\/p>\n

Ni <\/em><\/h3>\n

By itself, the word ni<\/em> means “(not) even,” but it’s also common to see the combination ni…ni<\/em>, meaning “neither…nor.” Look at these examples:<\/p>\n

No quiero ni<\/strong> t\u00e9 ni<\/strong> caf\u00e9. Prefiero beber agua.<\/em> (I want neither tea nor coffee. I prefer drinking water.)<\/p>\n

Ni<\/strong> les gusta ni<\/strong> lo necesitan.<\/em> (They neither like it nor need it.)<\/p>\n

Pas\u00f3 de largo y ni<\/strong> me mir\u00f3. <\/em>(He walked by and didn’t even look at me..)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Ni<\/strong> me toques!<\/em> (Don\u2019t even touch me! \u2013 Much stronger than \u00a1No me toques!<\/em>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tampoco<\/em><\/h3>\n

Tampoco<\/em> means “also not,” “(not) either,” “neither,” and even “too,” when “too” is needed in a negative context. It operates in opposition to tambi\u00e9n<\/em> (“too”\/”as well”) as its negative counterpart.<\/p>\n

Don’t make the common mistake<\/a> of saying tambi\u00e9n no<\/em> instead of using tampoco!<\/em><\/p>\n

No tengo ninguna prisa tampoco<\/strong>.<\/em>(I am not in any hurry either.)<\/p>\n

Tu\u00a0ordenador no funciona. El m\u00edo tampoco<\/strong>.<\/em> (Your computer doesn\u2019t work. Neither does mine.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfTampoco<\/strong> pudiste ir a la fiesta?<\/em> (You couldn\u2019t go to the party either?)<\/p>\n

Yo tampoco<\/strong> tengo nada que decir.<\/em> (I, too, have nothing to say.)<\/p>\n

Notice that you can use ni<\/em> together with tampoco<\/em> in order to intensify the negation:<\/p>\n

Mis vecinos no son amables ni tampoco<\/strong> serviciales.<\/em> (My neighbors are neither nice nor helpful.)<\/p>\n

Todav\u00eda no<\/em><\/h3>\n

It means not yet, but it works a little differently in Spanish. You can say todav\u00eda no<\/em> or no\u2026todav\u00eda<\/em>, and you normally start a sentence with one word in this pair. Have a look:<\/p>\n

Todav\u00eda no<\/strong> he terminado de escribir el ensayo.<\/em> (I haven\u2019t finished writing the essay yet.)<\/p>\n

No<\/strong> hemos llegado a Barcelona todav\u00eda<\/strong>.<\/em> (We haven\u2019t arrived in Barcelona yet.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfHab\u00e9is le\u00eddo el libro? \u00a1Todav\u00eda no<\/strong>!<\/em> (Have you read the book? Not yet!)<\/p>\n

Ya no<\/em><\/h3>\n

This last negative word means “(no) longer” or “(not) anymore.” It also appears in front of the verb (normally) and it can be separated and inverted (no\u2026ya<\/em>), although this option is much less common than ya no.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ya no<\/strong>\u00a0te quiero porque eres infiel.<\/em> (I no longer love you because you are unfaithful.)<\/p>\n

No<\/strong> podemos entregarlo ya<\/strong>. Es muy tarde.<\/em> (We no longer can hand it in. It is too late.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfTodav\u00eda vives en Madrid? \/ No, ya no<\/strong>.<\/em> (Are you still living in Madrid? \/ No, not anymore.)<\/p>\n

All these words can function by themselves or keep each other company. In Spanish, it’s perfectly OK to make a double or triple negation, which we’ll get into next.<\/p>\n

Spanish Double Negatives<\/h2>\n

Double negatives are very common in Spanish and completely acceptable! In fact, I would even venture to say that most of the time (except when we just use the negative word no<\/em>) you’ll find a double negation in a negative sentence in Spanish.<\/p>\n

There’s of course the option of using only one negative word at the beginning of the sentence and saving ourselves from having to use the word no<\/em>, but this is a very marked option and we tend to avoid it unless it’s necessary.<\/p>\n

There are even occasions in Spanish when the word no\u00a0<\/em>isn’t needed, and you can make your double negatives by using other negative words.<\/p>\n

But in general, the rule for Spanish double negatives is pretty simple: Use the word no\u00a0<\/em>in front of the verb, then later on in the sentence use a second negative word:<\/strong><\/p>\n

No<\/strong> como pasta nunca<\/strong>.<\/em> (I never eat pasta.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfNo<\/strong> te gusta tomar nada <\/strong>con el almuerzo?<\/em> (Don\u2019t you like to drink anything with lunch?)<\/p>\n

No<\/strong> he visto a nadie<\/strong> desde que llegu\u00e9.<\/em> (I haven\u2019t seen anyone since I arrived.)<\/p>\n

As I mentioned before, you can have double negations without even having to use the word no<\/em>. In this case, you’ll always have another negative word starting the sentence:<\/p>\n

Nadie<\/strong> dice nada<\/strong>.<\/em> (Nobody says anything.)<\/p>\n

Ninguno<\/strong> de estos libros es para nadie<\/strong>.<\/em> (None of these books is for anybody.)<\/p>\n

Nunca<\/strong> vemos a nadie<\/strong> en esta zona. <\/em>(We never see anyone in this area.)<\/p>\n

Just remember these two very important things:<\/p>\n