UNIT SIX
Negatives
You have already seen examples of the basic negative in Spanish, which is formed by
putting no in front of the verb:
No trabajamos.
We do not work.No estoy contento.
I am not happy.More complex negative ideas can be expressed by using the negative words:
nada nothing
nadie nobody
nunca never
ninguno no, none
nadie and nadanadie, meaning ‘nobody’, can be used as the subject or the object of the verb. When it is
used as the subject it is normally placed after the verb with no in front. Alternatively
nadie can be placed in front of the verb without no:
no trabaja nadie or nadie trabaja nobody works
nada ‘nothing’, can be used in the same way, although the second version is never used
in everyday language:
no tengo nada or nada tengo I have nothing
When nada is being used as direct object of the verb it is also normally placed after the
verb with no in front:
No oigo nada.
I don’t hear anything.No dice nada.
He doesn’t say anything.