⇒ It's very simple to make verb phrases negative in Spanish.
⇒ In most cases, you simply put the word no in front of whatever verb or verb phrase you want to negate.
⇒ Check out these examples:
| No me gusta este libro.I don't like this book. |
| No camines en el césped.Don’t walk on the grass. |
| Mi hermano no es alto.My brother is not tall. |
⇒ Never separate direct or indirect object pronouns from the verb. Simply place the negative word in front of the pronoun:
⇒ Negation using no is the most basic type of Spanish verb negation, but you can use other negative words and phrases in combination with no. Examples of some of these words and phrases are given below.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| nadie | nobody |
| nada | nothing |
| ni | nor |
| ni...ni | neither...nor |
| jamás | never |
| nunca | never |
| tampoco | neither, not either |
| todavía no | not yet |
| ya no | no longer |
⇒ Check out these examples with the negative words from the table above:
| No hay nadie en este club.There is nobody in this club./There isn't anybody in this club. |
| No quiero comer nada.I want to eat nothing./I don't want to eat anything. |
| No quiero ni pizza ni pasta.I want neither pizza nor pasta./I don't want pizza or pasta. |
| ¿Comes espinacas? No, no como espinacas nunca.Do you eat spinach? No, I never eat spinach./I don't ever eat spinach. |
| No hablo mucho tampoco.I don’t talk a lot either. |
| Todavía no termino.I'm not done yet. |
| Ya no vive aquí.He doesn't live here anymore. |
⇒ Each of the above sentences has two (or more) negative words; double negatives are fine in Spanish!
⇒ It's not always necessary to use the word no to negate a sentence.
⇒ You can also use a different negative word, such as nunca or nadie, in place of no.
⇒ For example:
| Nunca compro verduras aquí.I never buy vegetables here. |
| Tampoco me gustan los tacos de puerco.I don’t like pork tacos either. |
| Nadie vino.Nobody came. |