Ni siquiera nos llamaron or No nos llamaron siquiera.
They didn’t even call us.32.4.3 Tampoco
Tampoco, ‘not... either’, ‘neither.. .’, ‘nor.. .’, the opposite of también, ‘also’, ‘too’,
serves to add a negation to a previous negative. Tampoco can either precede the verb or
it can follow it in a double negative construction.
María no estaba.
Maria wasn’t there.
Guillermo tampoco estaba or Guillermo no estaba tampoco.
Guillermo wasn’t there either.
Often the verb is omitted when the context makes it clear what we are negating:
Carmen no ha llegado. Carmen hasn’t arrived.
Alicia tampoco. Nor has Alicia.No nos parece bien. It doesn’t seem right to us.
A mí tampoco. Nor does it to me.32.4.4 Nada, nadie
Nada, ‘nothing’, refers to things, while nadie, ‘nobody’, ‘no one’, refers to people.
Nada can be used with a verb as a negative intensifier of the meaning expressed. It
normally follows the verb in a double negative construction.
No hace nada. He/she doesn’t do anything.
No sé nada. I don’t know anything.
For emphasis, it is sometimes placed in initial position, before the verb, but this use is
formal and infrequent and, unless you are sure when to use it, it is best to avoid it.
Nada tengo que temer. I have nothing to fear.
Note that nada is sometimes used with adjectives or adverbs in order to reinforce
rather than negate the characteristic expressed by the adjective or adverb. In this
context it translates into English as ‘not at all’.
No es nada fácil. It is not at all easy.
No está nada mal. It is not bad at all.
Note that by placing nada before the verb in these sentences you would change their
meaning:
Nada es fácil. Nothing is easy.
Nada está mal. Nothing is wrong.
Nadie can be used with a verb to express absence or non-existence with regard to
people. It can be used after the verb in a double negative construction or, for emphasis,
in initial position before the verb. The first construction is much more frequent than
the second, which, with certain verbs, may sound stilted or archaic.
No trabajó nadie aquel día or Nadie trabajó aquel día.
No one worked that day.NEGATING 32.4