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Negative Expressions in Spanish

Speak Spanish long enough and you'll find that in addition to making statements about what you and others do (affirmative expressions), you'll also need to express what you and others do not do (negative expressions). The simplest way to change a sentence from affirmative to negative in English is to include "do not" or "does not" (or "don't" or "doesn't").

The simplest way to change a sentence from affirmative to negative in Spanish is simply to include the word "no."

This would be a pretty short lesson if that were all there was too it, but we'll need more than just "no" to make any sentence negative.

Affirmative / Negative Words and Expressions

In English we frequently include affirmative or indefinite words and expressions which need to be changed when they're used in a negative sense. Consider:

The same thing occurs in Spanish:

Following is a list of Spanish words and expressions that need to change depending on whether the sentence is an affirmative one or a negative one.

Here are some examples of these affirmative/negative pairs.

Algo / Nada

The words "algo" and "nada" are pronouns that refer to things and objects (or the lack thereof.) They are "invariable" which means they do not change based on number or gender.

"Para Nada" / "Nada"

You may also see the word "nada" (or the phrase "para nada") used as an adverb to mean "at all."

Alguien / Nadie

The words "alguien" and "nadie" are pronouns that always refer to people. They are invariable. When they are used as direct objects in a sentence, remember to include a personal "a."

Alguno / Ninguno

The words "alguno" and "ninguno" are adjectives that modify nouns. Just like any other adjective, they will need to be changed to agree in gender and number with the nouns that they modify. The word "alguno" might become "algunos," "alguna," or "algunas" depending on the situation. The word "ninguno" might become "ninguna." (You won't normally need "ningunos" or "ningunas" since you rarely have a plural form of "none.") Unlike other adjectives, these usually precede the nouns they modify.

Notice that like the adjectives "uno," "bueno," and "primero," "alguno" and "ninguno" lose their "-o" ending when used before masculine, singular nouns. When that happens, they also gain an accent to keep the pronunciation consistent (e.g. "algún," "ningún").

The words "alguno" and "ninguno" can also be used as pronouns that refer to both people and things. They need to agree in gender and number with the nouns they are replacing. When used as pronouns, you will not drop any "-o" endings because they are replacing the nouns, not preceding them.

Siempre / Nunca

The words "siempre" and "nunca" are adverbs that modify the verb in a sentence.

"Alguna Vez"

The expression "alguna vez" can also be paired with "nunca." It is translated as "one time," "once," or "ever" when used in a question.

"Jamás"

The words "nunca" and "jamás" both mean "never." The word "nunca" is the more common of the two. The word "jamás" (or the phrase "nunca jamás") is used for emphasis.

También / Tampoco

The words "también" and "tampoco" are adverbs.

o…o / ni…ni

Used by itself "o" is a conjunction meaning "or". But when it shows up more than once in a sentence, the first instance translates to "either." More than one instance of "ni" translates to "neither" … "nor."

Using "No" / Double Negatives

In many of the examples above you may have noticed something that would make your elementary school teacher cringe: a double negative. Take a sentence like "I don't know nobody." In proper English this would be considered incorrect because the "don't" and the "nobody" cancel each other out. You are essentially saying "I know somebody." In Spanish, however, not only is it OK to use double negatives, it's proper to use them. If one part of your sentence is negative, the rest of the sentence needs to be negative too.

In Spanish, two negatives words don't cancel each other out; they reinforce each other. The general formula is:

no + verb + negative word

Some examples:

Él no sabe nada de la revolución cubana.
He doesn't know anything about the Cuban revolution.

No tengo a nadie para ayudarme.
I don't have anyone to help me.

Nosotros no vimos ningún programa de televisión anoche.
We didn't watch any television program last night.

Tú no viajas a las montañas nunca.
You don't ever travel to the mountains.

Yo no disfruto mis clases tampoco.
I don't enjoy my clases either.

However, you don't always have to use that formula. You may start your sentence with a negative subject. You may also start your sentence with "nunca" or "tampoco." If your sentence starts with a negative word (i.e. a negative word comes before the verb), you will not use a "no" in the sentence.

Nada me importa ahorita.
Nothing matters to me right now.

Nadie vino a la reunion ayer.
No one came to the meeting yesterday.

Ningún programa me interesó.
Not one program interested me.

Tú nunca viajas a Las montañas.
You never travel to the mountains.

Yo tampoco disfruto mis clases .
Neither do I enjoy my clases.

Other Negative Words and Expressions

Here are some other negative words and expressions you may find useful: