Spanish: Negation
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Basic Negation
Negation in spanish is pretty straightforward: "no" is placed in front of the main verb:
- Affirmative: Hablo español - I speak spanish
- Negative: No hablo español - I don't speak spanish
More examples:
- No estoy aqui - I am not here
- No lo sabe - He doesn't know
- No tengo un perro - I don't have a dog
Negative Indefinite Pronouns
The following negative indefinite pronouns are common in spanish:
- nada - nothing
- ninguna parte - nowhere
- nadie - nobody
- nunca - never
- jamas- (2nd a accented) never (with more emphasis)
- cualquier/cualquiera- any
And one can use ningún adjectively with any noun to express: "none of ....":
- ningún perro - no dog [at all]
- ninguna casa - no house [at all]
- ningunos perros - no dogs [at all]
- ningunas casas - no houses [at all]
Double Negation
Unlike English, Spanish uses double negations:
- No veo nada - (literally: I don't see nothing) - I don't see anything
- No veo nadie - (literally: I don't see nobody) - I don't see anybody
- No te veo nunca - (literally: I don't see your never) - I never see you / I don't ever see you
- No tengo ningún perro - (literally: I don't have no dog) - I don't have a dog at all / I don't have any dog
There is however an alternative way of saying that last sentence, by using a positive indefinite pronoun directly behind the noun:
- No tengo perro alguno (literally: I don't have dog any) - I don't have a dog at all / I don't have any dog
