Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Spanish negatives with English affirmative meaning

In some cases a Spanish negative word will translate an English word that

is not itself negative, as in sin decir nada ‘without saying anything’. This

phenomenon is particularly common in the following contexts:

(a) After sin, sin que, antes de, antes que, and apenas:

sin afirmar nunca nada without ever stating anything

Antes que nada debo ver el First of all I must see the original

documento original. document.

(b) In sentences which make comparisons:

Jugó mejor que nadie. He played better than anyone.

(c) After phrases which express negative ideas such as impossibility,

improbability, doubt and denial:

Dudo que nadie viva en este lugar.

I doubt whether anyone lives in this place.

Era imposible que ninguno de ellos lo robara.

It was imposible that any of them should steal it.

(d) In questions asked in expectation of a negative answer:

¿Es que jamás le molestó a nadie?

Did it ever upset anyone?

Affirmative phrases with negative meaning

Whereas the English equivalent is always accompanied by a negative word,

there are seemingly affirmative phrases in Spanish which are used

commonly (or optionally) without a negative to convey negative meaning.

The most common of these are en mi/la vida‘never in my life’, en abso-

luto‘absolutely not’, ‘not at all’:

En mi/la vida he estado en un hotel tan malo.

Never in my life have I been in such a terrible hotel.

–¿Vas a consultarla? –En absoluto.

‘Are you going to consult her?’ ‘Absolutely not.’

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