Negatives
No, nada, nunca, nadie and ninguno, and ya no, tampoco and ni ni at Higher.
Learn
Negatives, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Make a verb negative with no
Put no straight before the verb: No juego al baloncesto, I don't play basketball. An object pronoun goes between no and the verb: No lo sé, I don't know. In the perfect tense, no goes before he, has and the rest: No he terminado.
Use no with nada, nunca and nadie
Spanish uses a double negative: no before the verb and the negative word after it. No hago nada, I don't do anything; No voy nunca, I never go; No veo a nadie, I can't see anyone. English says anything and anyone here, but Spanish keeps both negatives.
Put the negative word first, without no
Nunca, nadie and nada can also go before the verb, and then no is left out: Nunca como carne, I never eat meat; Nadie viene, Nobody is coming. Both orders are right, so Nunca voy and No voy nunca mean the same.
Use ninguno for no and not any
Ninguno agrees like an adjective and shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun: No tengo ningún hermano, I haven't got any brothers; No hay ninguna tienda, There isn't a single shop. It is nearly always singular. On its own it means none or not one: No me gusta ninguno.
Answer with a negative word on its own
As a short answer, the negative word stands alone: ¿Qué haces? Nada; ¿Quién viene? Nadie. Their positive partners are algo (something) and alguien (someone): ¿Quieres algo? No, no quiero nada.
Use ya no for no longerHigher only
Ya no goes before the verb and means not any more or no longer: Ya no vivo en Madrid, I don't live in Madrid any more. It is perfect for contrasting then and now: Antes jugaba al fútbol, pero ya no.
Use tampoco for not either and neitherHigher only
Tampoco is the negative partner of también. Before the verb it stands alone: Tampoco me gusta, I don't like it either. After the verb it needs no: No me gusta tampoco. As a reply, Yo tampoco means Me neither.
Use ni ... ni for neither ... norHigher only
With no before the verb, put ni before each item for neither ... nor: No como ni carne ni pescado, I eat neither meat nor fish. For emphasis, a single ni means not even: No tengo ni un euro, I haven't got a single euro.
Negatives key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- no
- Not, placed straight before the verb: No quiero, I don't want to. It also means no as an answer.
- Double negative
- No before the verb with a negative word after it, which Spanish needs: No tengo nada, I haven't got anything.
- nada
- Nothing, or anything after no: No como nada, I don't eat anything. Its opposite is algo, something.
- nadie
- Nobody, or anybody after no: No conozco a nadie, I don't know anybody. Its opposite is alguien, someone.
- nunca
- Never. It can go before the verb on its own or after it with no: Nunca llego tarde, I'm never late.
- ninguno and ningún
- No, not any or none. Ningún goes before a masculine singular noun (ningún problema) and ninguna before a feminine one.
- ya noHigher only
- No longer, not any more: Ya no estudio francés, I don't study French any more.
- tampocoHigher only
- Not either, or neither: Yo tampoco, Me neither. It is the negative partner of también.
- ni ... niHigher only
- Neither ... nor, with no before the verb: No bebo ni café ni leche, I drink neither coffee nor milk.
Common mistakes in Negatives
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving out no in a double negative: Veo nada for I can't see anything.
When the negative word comes after the verb, no must go before it: No veo nada. Only when nada, nadie or nunca comes first does no drop: Nunca veo nada.
Putting no after the verb, as English puts not: Juego no al fútbol.
No always goes straight before the verb, or before the pronoun in front of it: No juego al fútbol, No lo tengo.
Putting no and the negative word side by side before the verb: No nunca voy.
Choose one pattern: Nunca voy, or No voy nunca. With no, the negative word goes after the verb.
Writing ninguno before a masculine noun, or making it plural: ninguno amigo, ningunos libros.
Before a masculine singular noun it shortens to ningún, and it stays singular: No tengo ningún libro, I haven't got any books.
Agreeing with a negative by using también: No me gusta el café. A mí también.Higher only
To agree with something negative, use tampoco: No me gusta el café. A mí tampoco. Keep también for agreeing with something positive.
Practice
Try a Negatives question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
What does No me gusta nada el baloncesto. mean?
- I don't like basketball at all.
- I like nothing except basketball.
- Nobody likes basketball.
- I never play basketball.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: I don't like basketball at all.
After no me gusta, nada works as "at all": No me gusta nada el baloncesto means I don't like basketball at all. It makes the dislike stronger.
- No me gusta el baloncesto is I don't like basketball.
- Adding nada after gusta strengthens it.
- So I don't like basketball at all.