Negative and Indefinite Words
Overview
Spanish may have the simplest way to make phrases negative: put a "no" in front of them. To provide additional information, you can use negative and indefinite words. Negative and indefinite words can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs.
Negative Words
Below you will find a list of the most common negative words. They can refer to people or things and are usually used in conjunction with "no."
Negative Words
nadie | nobody |
nada | nothing |
ni | nor |
ni...ni | neither...nor |
ningún(-o, -a, -os, -as) | no, no one, none, any |
no | no |
nunca, jamás | never |
tampoco | neither, not either |
todavía no | not yet |
ya no | no longer |
Examples
- No hay nadie en este club. (There is nobody in this club.)
- No quiero ni pizza ni pasta. (I want neither pizza nor pasta.)
- No hablo mucho tampoco. (I don´t talk a lot either.)
- ¿Comes espinaca? No, no como nunca espinaca. (Do you eat spinach? No, I never eat spinach.)
Double Negatives!?
Notice that each sentence has two negative words. It is both common and expected to have a double negative in Spanish. It is also correct to respond with "no" twice as the first one answers the "yes/no" question and the second one negates the sentence.
Indefinite Words
Indefinite words are the opposites of negative words. Below you will find a list of the most common indefinite words. See if you can match them to the negative words above.
Indefinite Words
alguien | somebody |
algo | something |
algún(-o, -a, -os, -as) | some, something |
alguna vez | ever |
siempre | always |
también | also |
todavía, aún | still |
ya | already |
o | or |
o...o | either...or |
Examples
- ¿Conoces a alguien guapo? (Do you know anyone cute?)
- ¿Hay algún problema? (Is there any problem?)
- Voy a pedir o la pizza o la pasta. (I am going to order either the pizza or the pasta.)
- ¿Corres siempre por la mañana? (Do you always run in the morning?)
Exercises
1) Rewrite each affirmative sentence so that it is negative. You may need to use more than one negative word.
Example: Yo voy a ir al cine también. -> Yo no voy a ir al cine tampoco.
- Siempre estudio el español.
- Hay alguien en mi casa.
- Hay algunos problemas con la computadora.
- Quiero o un perro o un gato.
- ¿Alguna vez has ido a España?
Answers
- Nunca estudio el español.
- No hay nadie en mi casa.
- No hay ningunos problemas con la computadora.
- No quiero ni un perro ni un gato.
- ¿Jamás/Nunca has ido a España?