32 Negating
Negation in Spanish, as in English, can be expressed in a number of ways, ranging
from the simple word no, ‘no’, ‘not’, added to the positive sentence, for example No
lo sé, ‘I do not know’, to the use of prefixes such as in-, for instance inapropiado,
‘inappropriate’, and other devices more specific to each language. In the sections below
you will find all the main constructions used by Spanish speakers to negate something.^15 (p. 57)
32.1No+ verb/auxiliary
Negation in Spanish is normally expressed by placing no before the verb or auxiliary of
a positive statement or interrogative sentence.
No hablan español. They don’t speak Spanish.
No podemos hacerlo. We can’t do it.
¿No hablan español? Don’t they speak Spanish?
¿No pueden hacerlo? Can’t they do it?
If the verb or auxiliary is preceded by an object pronoun, no will be placed before the
pronoun:
No me lo quiso decir.
He/she didn’t want to tell me.
No la conozco.
I don’t know her.
The negation may be the response to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, in which case the negative
particle is usually repeated, as it is in English:
¿Te queda dinero? Do you have money left?
No, no me queda. No, I don’t have any left.For emphasis, the first negation is sometimes repeated in Spanish more than once:
¿Tú tienes mi bolígrafo?
Have you got my ballpoint pen?
No no, yo no lo tengo.
No, I haven’t got it.