32.2 Limiting the scope of negation
To limit the scope of the negation, place no before the word or phrase you want to
negate.No siempre llega temprano.
He/she doesn’t always arrive early.
No porque sea barato lo voy a comprar.
The fact that it is cheap doesn’t mean I’m going to buy it.Ella se marchó, pero no sin antes rogarme que guardara su secreto.
She left, but not before asking me to keep her secret. 18.1.5 (p. 85);^15 (p. 57)
Note that the use of no before certain verbal expressions may change their meaning.
Compare for instance:
Han dejado de escribirme.
They have stopped writing to me.No dejan de escribirme todos los meses.
They write to me every month without fail.
Acabo de entenderlo.
I have just understood it.No acabo de entenderlo.
I just don’t understand it.32.3 Negating adjectives and nouns
The quality or characteristic expressed by an adjective can be negated by using negative
prefixes, in- (im- before b or p) or des-, where appropriate, or negative words such as
no, poco, nada, where a negative prefix does not exist.
In-
inadecuado‘inadequate’
incapaz‘incapable’
imbatible‘unbeatable’
impopular‘unpopular’
Des-desatento‘discourteous’
desconocido‘unknown’
desordenado‘untidy’
Nopaíses no desarrollados‘underdeveloped countries’
sueños no realizados‘unfulfilled dreams’
objetos voladores no identificados‘unidentified flying objects’NEGATING 32.2