Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 4

CEFR A1-A2

3 min read

Test yourself (24 questions)

Spanish Negation

To negate any Spanish sentence, put no directly before the verb. That's the entire baseline rule.

  • . (I speak Spanish.) → No . (I don't speak Spanish.)
  • . (I have time.) → No . (I don't have time.)
  • María . (Maria came.) → María no . (Maria didn't come.)

No auxiliary verb. No do, does, did. The negation just sits in front of the verb, and the verb form doesn't change.

Position with object pronouns

If there are object pronouns, the no goes before them, not between them and the verb.

  • No . (I don't see it.) - not "lo no veo"
  • No me . (He didn't tell it to me.) - not "me lo no dijo"
  • No . (He didn't wash his hands.)

The cluster no + pronouns + verb stays together as a unit.

The negative words

Spanish has a set of dedicated negative words that pair with no in double-negative constructions.

Negative wordEnglish
nothing
nobody, no one
/ never
/anone, not any
neither, nor
... neither... nor

The double-negative rule

When any of these negative words follows the verb, the verb still needs no in front of it. This is required, not optional.

  • No . (I have nothing. Literally: I don't have nothing.)
  • No . (Nobody came.)
  • No he . (I have never seen it.)
  • No . (I don't want any.)
  • No me . (I don't like it either.)

This sounds wrong to English ears, where double negation is prescribed against. In Spanish it's required - the verb and the negative word agree, and stripping the no leaves the sentence broken.

The single-negative alternative

If the negative word goes before the verb instead of after, the no drops. Both orders are grammatical; the pre-verbal version is slightly more emphatic.

  • . (Nobody came.) - emphatic, single negative
  • No . (Nobody came.) - neutral, double negative
  • he . (I have never seen it.) - emphatic
  • No he . (I have never seen it.) - neutral

Pick whichever sounds right in the moment. Native speakers use both, and the meaning is the same.

Worked examples

  • No . (I don't want anything.)
  • he París. (I have never been to Paris.)
  • No a . (I don't know anybody here.)
  • . (None of my friends speaks English.)
  • No me . (I don't like coffee or tea.)
  • Yo . (Me neither.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

The big one is dropping the no in double-negative constructions: writing instead of no . The English-trained instinct to avoid double negatives is wrong here. The second is treating and as English anybody and anything in positive sentences - they only work in negative contexts. For "is there anybody here?", you say ¿ ?, not ¿ ?.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/10

Complete each double-negative sentence with the right negative word. The no is already in place before the verb.

  1. No veo a . (nobody) (nobody, no one)

  2. No tengo . (nothing) (nothing)

  3. No lo he visto . (never) (never)

  4. No lo quiero . (either) (neither, nor)

  5. No quiero trabajo. (not any, masculine singular) (ninguno shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun)

  6. No quiero . (nothing) (nothing)

  7. No viene . (nobody) (nobody, no one)

  8. No tengo libro. (not any, masculine singular) (ninguno shortens before a masculine singular noun)

  9. No me gusta la casa el coche. (neither... nor) (ni... ni)

  10. No lo he visto . (never) (never)

Translation drill

0/7

Translate into Spanish, keeping the double negative wherever a negative word follows the verb.

  1. I don't want anything.

  2. Nobody has it.

  3. I have never been to Paris.

  4. I have neither a house nor things.

  5. I don't see anybody.

  6. I don't have any books.

  7. I don't want any work either.

Pick the right one

0/7

Pick the word that correctly negates the sentence.

  1. tengo tiempo. (general negation before the verb)

  2. No veo a aquí. (anybody, in a negative context)

  3. Yo . (me neither)

  4. No quiero . (anything, in a negative context)

  5. No lo he visto . (never)

  6. No tengo amigo aquí. (not any, masculine singular)

  7. quiero trabajo. (general negation before the verb)

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Frequently asked questions

Why does Spanish use double negatives?
Because Spanish negation is a grammatical agreement system, not a logical one. When a negative word (nada, nadie, nunca, ningún) follows the verb, the verb still needs no in front of it: no tengo nada (I have nothing, literally I do not have nothing). This is required, not optional. The double negative is only avoided when the negative word goes before the verb: nadie vino (nobody came) drops the no. English prescribes one negative per clause; Spanish prescribes agreement between the verb and any post-verbal negative word.
What is the difference between no and ninguno?
No is the general negation marker that sits before the verb (no quiero). Ninguno is a negative quantifier meaning none / not any, and it agrees with the noun it modifies. Ningún libro (no book), ninguna casa (no house). Ninguno almost always appears with no in front of the verb when it follows: no tengo ningún problema. It also shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun, the same way uno shortens to un.