Spanish Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE THE SPANISH NEGATION
In Spanish, negations express the falsehood of a state of affairs, or the inexistence of the actions, processes, or characteristics/properties being spoken about.
Simply said, the negative form or negación expresses the falseness or non-existence of something in particular, usually in relation to the positive sense of the term or phrase.
THE BASICS
In Spanish, the most common way to express a negation is through the word ‘no’ (no/not). Therefore, the most typical way to form a negative clause is by placing the word no before the verb.
Negative clauses can be formed by way of sentences (Él no tardará en llegar / He will not take long to arrive) or through phrases (no mucha gente / not too many people, no demasiado lejos/not too far).
The basic way to form a negation in Spanish is by placing the word ‘no’ (no/not) before the verb, like for example, No quiero (I do not want):
PATTERN
No + verb
| No hagáis tanto reuido. | Do not make so much noise. |
| No tengo ganas de ir a trabajar. | I do not feel like going to work. |
| Ella no habla despacio. | She does not speak slowly. |
| No me gusta irme a dormir tarde. | I do not like going to sleep late. |
| Nosotros no asistiremos a la reunion. | We will not attend the meeting. |
| A mi padre no le gusta la música alta. | My father does not like loud music. |
DOUBLE NEGATION
Spanish allows for the use of what is called the ‘double negation’ or doble negación, wherein other negative words such as nada (nothing), nadie (no one), nunca (never) are used in combination with the word ‘no’ to reinforce the negation.
For example, No oigo nada . (I do not hear anything.).
NOTE || While in English, double negatives tend to cancel each other out, the opposite occurs in Spanish, wherein the double negative reinforces the negation.
Typically the structure for double negation in Spanish is:
PATTERN
No + verb + negative word
Whether these negative words are indefinite pronouns (nadie/no one, nada/nothing, ninguno/none) or adverbs (nunca/never, jamás/a reinforced ‘never’, similar to saying ‘never ever’), they can be either used in combination with a no or they can stand alone, like so, Nunca te veo (I never see you).
| No haré nada más. | I will not do anything else. |
| No culpo a nadie. | I don’t blame anyone. |
| No he esquiado nunca. | I have never skied. |
| No es culpa de ninguno de vosotros. | It’s not any of your fault. |
| No digas eso jamás. | Don’t ever say that. |
| No iremos a ninguna parte. | We are not going anywhere. |
| Nadie quiere ir. | Nobody wants to go. |
| Nunca llegaremos a este paso. | We will never arrive at this rate. |
WITH PREFIXES
In Spanish, negations can also be formed by using prefixes such as in-, des-, a-, and anti-. When used, these prefixes change the meaning of the original term into the opposite sense of the word.
A morphological negation is formed by attaching prefixes such as in-, des-, a-, and anti- to adjectives, verbs, or nouns, thus changing their meaning and giving the original root word a negative connotation.
| in- |
indestructible
, indestructible insalubre , unhealthy |
| des- |
deshacer
,undo decontento ,discontent |
| a- |
apolítico
, apolitical alegal , outside of the law |
| anti- |
antinatural
unnatural antisocial , antisocial |
Let’s have a look at some examples:
| Las pirámides de Egipto parecen indestructibles. | The pyramids of Egypt seem indestructible. |
| Esta situación es la más indeseable. | This situation is the most undesirable. |
| Me cuesta mucho deshacer nudos. | I have a hard time undoing knots. |
| Es mejor no desobedecer a tus padres. | It’s better not to disobey your parents. |
| Es muy atípico que ocurra esto. | This occurring is very atypical. |
| Él es una persona apolítica y no le gusta opinar. | He is an apolitical person and doesn’t like to give his opinion. |
| El personaje principal de la película era un antihéroe. | The main character of the movie was an antihero. |
| Cuando estoy cansada me vuelvo antisocial. | When I am tired I become antisocial. |
EXPLETIVE NEGATIONS
Another form of negation in Spanish is the ‘negative expletive’ or negación expletiva, wherein a negative word does not negate and is used only for further emphasis or to express a condition for the action in the main clause.
The negative element is a semantically vacuous word, meaning it does not change the meaning of the phrase like for example, No me voy hasta que no me den una respuesta. (I am not leaving until they give me an answer.)
In the example above, the additional negative element ‘no’ does not act as a negation, rather just emphasizes the prior statement. Notice how if we remove the expletive negation ‘no’, the sense of the sentence does not change, like so:
Expletive negations are often used in subordinate clauses or in sentences expressing conditions or emphasis, frequently following this structure:
PATTERN
Main clause + Subordinate clause with an expletive negation
| No volveremos hasta que no se arregle la situación. | We will not return until the situation is settled. |
| Ella no se quedará tranquila hasta que no le digas la verdad. | She will not be at peace until you tell her the truth. |
| No puedo revelar el secreto hasta que no pase un año. | I cannot reveal the secret until a year has passed. |
| No seguiré con la clase hasta que no calléis. | I will not continue with the class until you are quiet |
| No nos iremos hasta que no estés lista | We will not leave until you are ready. |
| Hasta que no encontremos una salida, no pararemos. | Until we find a way out, we will not stop. |
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FAQs
How to form a negative sentence in Spanish?
To form a negative sentence, place no before the verb. For example, No como carne (“I don’t eat meat”).
Can you use double negatives in Spanish?
Yes, double negatives are common in Spanish and grammatically correct. For example, No veo nada (“I don’t see anything”) or No hablo con nadie (“I don’t talk to anyone”).
What are some negative words in Spanish?
Common negative words include nadie (nobody), nada (nothing), nunca (never), ningún (none), and jamás (never, ever).
Where do negative words go in Spanish sentences?
Most negative words either follow the verb or, when used with no, can come at the end of the sentence. For example, No tengo nada (“I don’t have anything”).
Can we use negative words with no in Spanish?
Yes, negative words like nunca and nadie can stand alone without no. For instance, Nunca voy (“I never go”) is a correct negative sentence.
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