Spanish Blog

Let’s review some ways of making negative sentences in Spanish.

1. Place the adverb no before the verbal expression.

María conoce a Carlos. (Maria knows Carlos) - María no conoce a Carlos.
He terminado mis deberes. (I have finished my homework) - No he terminado mis deberes.

2. Here are some common negative words.

Nadie – nobody, no one
Nada – nothing, anything
Nunca – never
Ni … ni … – neither … nor …

In Spanish double and even triple negatives are allowed and, in many cases, necessary:

Alguién está aqui. (Someone is here.) - No hay nadie aqui. (No one is here.)
¿Tiene alguna esperanza? (Does he have any hopes?)  No, no tiene ninguna esperanza. (No, he doesn’t have any hopes.)

3. Tampoco is the negative word equivalent to también (too, also) in the affirmative.

Ella lo sabe. (She knows it.) - Él lo sabe también. (He knows it too.)
Ella no lo sabe. (She doesn’t know it.) - Él no lo sabe tampoco. (He doesn’t know it either.)

4. Sino is used after a negative sentence to clarify the negative statement. Its English meaning is “but rather.”

Él no fue a la iglesia, sino a la escuela. - He didn´t go to church, but (rather) to school.