3 Steps To Make Negation in Spanish Second Nature

When you learn Spanish, no is probably one of the first words you learned – it's the same word in English, after all!

Something as common as no should be simple. But there are some parts of negation in Spanish that can be downright tricky.

This article is going to introduce you to the basics of negation in Spanish. And some situations that can confuse you, including:

• The most common words and phrases that denote negation
• Basic negation rules, including where the negative belongs in a sentence
• Using double negatives in Spanish (and when only one negative is needed)

Why Master Negation In Spanish?

Before we jump into the technical aspects of Spanish negation, let's take a minute to answer one very important question—

Why did I dedicate an entire article to something as simple as Spanish negation?

Because it's truly a part of every level of Spanish.

Whether you're just starting out or moving from intermediate to advanced Spanish speaking, chances are good that you can learn something about negation in Spanish that will make it easier for you to understand native Spanish speakers. And to be understood by them in return.

Take a look at the following exchange between friends:

• Vamos al restaurante después del examen. ¿Vienes con nosotros? (We're going to the restaurant after the exam. Are you coming with us?)
• No, no puedo. Tengo que ir a la biblioteca. (No, I can't. I need to go to the library.)

Even this very simple conversation can't happen without negation.

If your goal is to improve your fluency, negation is a great skill to work on because it is part of just about every conversation you'll have in Spanish.

In the video below, you'll get a quick primer on negation in Spanish and hear negatives in context as part of a story. Hello StoryLearning method! Otherwise, keep scrolling to learn everything you need to know about Spanish negation.

9 Common Spanish Negatives

Let's start with what words and phrases that signal a negative in Spanish:

#1: No (No)

The simplest way to make a sentence negative in Spanish is to add no. Fueron al concierto. (They went to the concert.) becomes the exact opposite with the addition of no:

• No fueron al concierto. (They did not go to the concert.)

#2 Nada (Nothing)

Because of the way Spanish negation differs from English, nada translates to both “nothing” and “anything” (when used in a negative sentence):

• No pasa nada. (Nothing happened.)
• ¿Quieres comer? (Do you want to eat?) No, no quiero nada. (No, I don't want anything.)

#3 Nadie (No One/Nobody)

Like “nobody” is in English, nadie is a singular pronoun. Notice how the verb associated with nadie is conjugated in the singular in these examples:

• No me ha visitado nadie toda la semana. (All week, no one has visited me.)
• No habrá nadie en casa mañana. (There will be nobody at home tomorrow.)

#4 Nunca/Jamás (Never)

Spanish has two words for “never”, and they can be used more or less interchangeably:

• ¿Nunca habéis ido a Francia? (You all have never been to France?) No, no hemos ido jamás. (No, we have never been there.)

They can also be used together to express something more emphatically:

• Yo no veré esta película nunca jamás. (I will never watch that movie again!)

#5 Ningún(os)/Ninguna(s) (No One/None Of/Not Any)

Ninguno is unique because its ending changes based on the noun that follows it.

• ¿Te gustan los pepinos o los aguacates? (Do you like cucumbers or avocados?) No me gusta ninguno de los dos. (I don't like either of them.)
• Ella no toca ningún instrumento. (She doesn't play any instrument.)
• Ninguna maestra vive cerca de la escuela. (None of the teachers live near the school.)

#6 Ni…Ni (Neither…Nor)

It's relatively simple to remember “neither…nor” in Spanish, because they are both the same word: ni!

• Ni Daniel ni Adrián iban a la universidad. (Neither Daniel nor Adrián went to university.)

Just remember, any verb that appears before the first “ni” in a sentence must be negative as well:

• No iban a la universidad ni Daniel ni Adrián.

#7 Tampoco (Neither)

In some sentences, tampoco translates to “either” (when used in a negative context):

• Tu hermano no es alto. El mío tampoco. (Your brother is not tall. Mine neither.)
• Nosotros tampoco lo entendemos. (We don't understand it either.)

Ni and tampoco can also be used together to for more emphasis:

• Martín no puede comer nueces ni tampoco camarón. ¡Es alérgico! (Martin can't have nuts or shrimp. He's allergic!)

#8 Todavía No (Not Yet/Still Not)

Adding no to the Spanish word for still (todavía) turns it into “not yet” or “still not”:

• Las mujeres todavía no están listas para salir. (The women are not yet ready to leave.)
• Todavía no estoy seguro de si me voy a mudar a Perú. (I'm still not sure if I am going to move to Peru.)

#9 Ya No (Not Anymore/No Longer)

Similarly, “already” (ya) becomes “not anymore” with the addition of no:

• ¿Todavía tienes tu clarinete? (Do you still have your clarinet?) Ya no. Lo vendí. (Not anymore. I sold it.)
• No podremos visitar a sus primos este verano. Ellos ya no viven en California. (We cannot visit your cousins this summer. They no longer live in California.)

Basic Spanish Negation And Word Placement Rules

The easiest way to make a sentence in Spanish negative is to place no in front of the verb and after the subject:

Estoy cansada porque trabajé mucho (I'm tired because I worked a lot) has the opposite meaning with no: No estoy cansada porque no trabajé mucho (I am not tired because I did not work a lot).

In the case of compound tenses, such as verbs formed with haber, no comes before the first verb:

• Mi clase de biología no ha sido demasiado dificil. (My biology class has not been too stressful.)

Here's another example that might make you stop and think about the subject and verb before you know where to put the no. And can teach you a few other points about negation in Spanish:

• No conocen ni a Alex ni a Vanessa. ¿Y tú? ¿Los conoces? (They know neither Alex nor Vanessa. And you? Do you know them?)
• No, no los conozco. (No, I don't know them.)

In this case, the negative word comes before both the verb and the pronoun. Because the subject is unstated, no is the very first word in the sentence. If the subject (yo) had been stated, the no would come after that:

No, YO no los conozco.

This example also shows that no comes before a direct or indirect object pronoun and that, when answering questions, it's normal to respond with two nos:

• ¿Te gusta nadar? (Do you like to swim?) No, no me gusta nadar. (No, I do not like to swim.)

You could also answer the question more passionately with a second negative, which you can read more about in the next section:

• No, no me gusta nadar nada. (No, I do not like to swim at all.)

How To Use Double Negatives In Spanish

In English, using more than one negative in a sentence is considered poor grammar.

“I don't want any dinner” is fine, but “I don't want no dinner” is not.

In Spanish, double negatives are not only acceptable…they are often required.

In English, we say: “We didn't eat any of the food.” While in Spanish, it's correct to say: “No comimos nada de la comida.”

If you're translating word by word, the Spanish sentence literally translates to “We did not eat none of the food.”

Double negatives may sound wrong to you when you think about them in English. But it will sound normal and correct to any native Spanish speaker.

This is just one more reason why literally translating sentences is much less effective than learning Spanish with the StoryLearning® method, where you immerse yourself in stories to pick up the language naturally.

You want to become familiar with the sound and rhythm of Spanish. And not just think of something in English and translate it word for word.

While double negatives are common (and often required) in Spanish, there are some times that only one negative word is needed, such as with indefinite pronouns.

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that doesn't refer to any specific person or thing. (For example, “anything”, “something”, and “anyone” are all indefinite pronouns in English.)

Negative indefinite pronouns Spanish include nada, nadie, nunca, and tampoco. These can be used alone when the indefinite pronoun comes before the verb:

• Nunca bebo cerveza. (I never drink beer.)
• Nada falta. (Nothing is missing.)

When the indefinite pronoun comes after the verb, however, you need an additional negative (no) for the sentence to be correct:

• No bebo cerveza nunca.
• No falta nada.

Testing Your Knowledge Of Negation In Spanish

Take a look at the following affirmative example sentences and see if you can figure out how to make them negative using what you learned in this article:

• Marisol va a la playa de vacaciones. (Marisol goes to the beach on holiday.)
• Ella habla con cualquiera en la oficina. (She will talk to anyone in the office.)

What if we want to make these sentences negative? To say that she does not go to the beach on holiday or speak to anyone in the office? Where does the negation belong?

• Marisol no va a la playa de vacaciones. 
 (Marisol does not go to the beach on holiday.)
• Ella no habla con nadie en la oficina. (She does not talk to anyone in the office.)

How did you do? Did you remember that the negation always comes after the subject and before the verb?

Here's one last test—how do you make the first sentences more emphatic? To say that Marisol never goes to the beach?

• #1 Marisol nunca va a la playa de vacaciones. (Marisol never goes to the beach on vacation.)
• #2 Marisol no va a la playa de vacaciones jamás. (Marisol never goes to the beach on vacation.)

As you can see from the examples above, there are a few different ways of negating something in Spanish, often depending on how emphatically you want to make your point.

Make Spanish Negation Second Nature

With plenty of exposure to authentic Spanish through speaking regularly and listening to/reading as much Spanish as you can, the rhythm and phrasing of negation will start to be second nature to you.

In the meantime, use this guide to troubleshoot anything that confuses you about negation in Spanish.

If you really want to make Spanish negation second nature, along with other Spanish grammar that can leave you feeling confused, then make sure you check out Grammar Hero.

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Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.