Negatives are words that will help you to deny or reject something. The most common way to make a negation in Spanish is to add no before a verb. However, in this article, you will learn some of the other popular negative words used in Spanish. You will also learn more about double negatives.
Spanish
English
No duermas tarde.
Don't sleep late.
Nunca duermas tarde.
Never sleep late.
Spanish Negative Words
Rule 1. Here is a list of other negative words commonly used by Spanish speakers:
| Negative Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| no | no |
| nadie | no one |
| nada | nothing |
| jamás | ever |
| nunca | never |
| tampoco | also/neither |
| Negative Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| no | no |
| nadie | no one |
| nada | nothing |
| jamás | ever |
| nunca | never |
| tampoco | also/neither |
Spanish
English
Él nunca quiere ver esta película.
No one wants to see this movie.
How to Form Negative Sentences
Rule 2. In negative sentences, the usual order (except when there are direct and indirect object pronouns) of the elements is the following :
| subject | + negative word | + verb |
|---|
| subject | + negative word | + verb |
|---|
Spanish
English
Tú jamás tomas agua, te va a hacer daño.
You never drink water, it will hurt you.
Rule 3. When there are direct and indirect object pronouns, the negative word always comes before the pronoun.
Spanish
English
Jamás le digas a Erica lo que te acabo de decir.
Don't ever tell Erica what I just told you.
Double Negatives
Rule 4. Unlike other languages such as English, in Spanish, it is very common and normal to use double negatives. This serves to emphasize the negation.
Rule 5. To create a double negative, simply follow the form below:
| no | + verb | + negative word | + complement |
|---|
| no | + verb | + negative word | + complement |
|---|
Spanish
English
No comas jamás en ese restaurante, simple me enfermo.
Don't ever eat at that restaurant, it makes me sick.
No visitemos nunca ese lugar.
Let's never visit that place.
Rule 6. It is also common, particularly in spoken settings, to move the negative word to the end of the sentence.
Spanish
English
No visitemos ese lugar nunca.
Let's never visit that place.
Ni ... ni
Rule 7. The negative ni...ni follows a different pattern. To form a double negative with this combination, you need this structure:
| no | + verb | + ni | + option 1 | + ni | + option two |
|---|
| no | + verb | + ni | + option 1 | + ni | + option two |
|---|
Spanish
English
No visitemos ni este lugar ni el otro.
Let us visit neither this place nor the other.
Quiz
1/3
Tú ______________ (neither) eres muy honesto.
0
correct answers.