Introduction
This
post is about the practical use of the negatives in general
and more specifically the use of “ninguno”/
“ninguna”.
SCENARIO
Imagine
you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are going
over the things you need for your Spanish lesson tomorrow. As you
finish listing them, the other person says to you something like:
"don't you need anything else?".
In
Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime,
¿no necesitas nada más?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame,
¿no necesita(usted) nada más?
OUR
TIP
The
question is an invitation for you to say whether or not you need
anything else. When saying what you
alone need, you do
not need
to consider different levels of formality for you reply. Here are
some examples of how you could reply:
- No, no necesito nada más (no, I don't need anything else);
- No, no necesito ninguna* cosa más (no, I don't need anything else);
- Creo que no necesito ninguna* cosa más (I believe I don't need anything else);
- No, para mañana no es necesaria ninguna* cosa más (no, nothing else is needed for tomorrow);
- Ninguna* cosa más es necesaria para mañana (no, nothing else is needed for tomorrow);
Now you should
practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿no necesitas nada más?
*Please
see grammar topic below, the negatives- Nada/ Ninguno/ Ninguna
Grammar-
Negatives
Forming negatives in Spanish is fairly
straightforward. The following notes are aimed at outlining some of
the options available to form negatives.
1.
No
Placing
the word 'no'
in front of the verb is the easiest way of forming negatives in
Spanish. Some examples of this simple method of forming negatives
are:
- No puedo ir (I can't go);
- No llamaste a Pedro, ¿verdad? (you didn't call Pedro, did you?);
- No hemos visto tu foto (we haven't seen your photo);
- John y Ann no son hermanos (John and Ann are not brother and sister);
2.
Nunca/
Jamás
The
Spanish terms 'nunca'
and
'jamás'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish. They can be used
individually or together and alongside 'no'
to give an emphasis to negatives. Alternatively, they may also be
used on their own to form negatives. Typical arrangements are as
follows:
- The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may be used on their own to form negatives. In this arrangement, 'nunca'/ 'jamás' usually stand before the verb. The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may again be used individually or together. However, when used together, they should always be expressed as, 'nunca jamás'. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- Jamás he dicho eso (I have never said that);
- Nunca voy a hablar de eso (I am never going to talk about that);
- Nunca jamás voy a hablar de eso (I am never ever going to talk about that);
- En jamás de los jamases voy a hablar de eso (I am never ever going to talk about that);
- The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may also be used in conjunction with 'no' to qualify or further emphasise negatives. In this arrangement, 'no' usually stands before the verb and 'nunca'/ 'jamás' follow the verb. The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may be used individually or together. However, when used together, they should always be expressed as, 'nunca jamás'. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- No he dicho eso nunca (I have never said that);
- No he dicho nunca eso (I have never said that);
- No voy a hablar de eso jamás (I am never going to talk about that);
- No voy a hablar jamás de eso (I am never going to talk about that);
- No voy a hablar nunca jamás de eso (I am never ever going to talk about that);
- No voy a hablar de eso nunca jamás (I am never ever going to talk about that);
- No voy a hablar de eso en jamás de los jamases (I am never ever, ever going to talk at all about that);
Notes
3.
Nadie
The
Spanish term 'nadie'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish. It may also be used on its
own or in conjunction with 'no'
in negatives. Typical arrangements are as follows:
- The term 'nadie' may be used on its own to form negatives. In this case, 'nadie' is placed before the verb. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- Nadie viaja (nobody travels);
- Nadie me ha llamado (nobody has called me);
- Nadie va a venir (nobody is going to come);
- The term 'no' is placed before the verb with 'nadie' following the verb. This is perhaps the more common arrangement. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- No viaja nadie (nobody travels);
- No me ha llamado nadie (nobody has called me);
- No va a venir nadie (nobody is going to come);
- The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may also be used in conjunction with 'nadie' to qualify or further emphasise negatives. These terms are often used as replacements for 'no' as shown in the examples below:
- Nunca viaja nadie (nobody ever travels);
- Jamás me ha llamado nadie (nobody has ever called me);
- Nunca jamás va a venir nadie (nobody is ever going to come);
- Jamás de los jamases va a venir nadie (nobody is ever going to come at all);
4.
Nada
The
term 'nada'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish. It may also be used on its
own or in conjunction with 'no'
in negatives. Typical arrangements are as follows:
- The term 'nada' may be used on its own to form negatives. In this case, 'nada' is placed before the verb. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- Nada veo (I see nothing);
- Nada me ha llegado (nothing has arrived for me);
- Nada me han regalado (I have been given nothing -I had to work hard for what I have);
- The term 'no' is placed before the verb with 'nada' following the verb. This is perhaps the more common arrangement. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- No veo nada (I don't see anything/ I see nothing);
- No me ha llegado nada (nothing has arrived for me);
- No me han regalado nada (I have been given nothing);
- The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may also be used in conjunction with 'nada' to qualify or further emphasise negatives. These terms are often used as replacements for 'no' as shown in the examples below:
- Nunca veo nada (I never see anything);
- Jamás me ha llegado nada (never has anything arrived for me);
- Nunca jamás me han regalado nada (I have never ever been given anything -I had to work hard for what I have);
- Jamás de los jamases me han regalado nada (I have never ever been given anything at all);
5.
Ni
The
Spanish term 'ni'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish. It is commonly use to link
together two negatives. As such, it is commonly used as follows:
- In pairs as shown in the examples below:
- Ni te veo ni te oigo (I neither see you nor hear you);
- Ni me has llamado ni me has escrito (you have neither called me nor written to me);
- Ni vamos a ir al cine ni al teatro (we are neither going to go to the cinema nor the theatre);
- Paired up with 'no' as shown in the examples below:
- No te veo ni te oigo (I neither see you nor hear you);
- No me has llamado ni me has escrito (you have neither called me nor written to me);
- No vamos a ir al cine ni al teatro (we are neither going to go to the cinema nor the theatre);
6.
Tampoco
The
Spanish term 'tampoco'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish*. It is commonly use to link
together negatives. As such, it is commonly used paired up with 'no'
as shown in the examples below:
- No te veo y tampoco te oigo (I don't see you and can't hear you either);
- No me has llamado y yo tampoco te he escrito (you have not called me and I have not written to you either);
- Si no voy al cine, ¿tú tampoco vas? (if I am not going to go to the cinema are you not going either?);
Notes
*In Spanish, 'tampoco' ('neither') is only used in negative expressions. Its opposite, 'también' ('also') is never used in negative expressions
7.
Ninguno/ Ninguna
The
term 'ninguno'/'ninguna'
may be used to form negatives in Spanish. Typical situations are as
follows:
- The terms 'ninguno'/ 'ninguna' may be used on their own to form negatives. When used in this way, they are placed before the verb. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- Ningún* documento adicional era necesario (no additional document was needed);
- Ninguno de mis amigos va a venir (none of my friends will come);
- Ninguna de aquellas personas se sentó (none of those people sat down);
- The term 'no' is placed before the verb with 'ninguno'/ 'ninguna' following the verb. This is perhaps the more common arrangement. Examples of this form of negatives are:
- No teníamos ningún* documento adicional (we had no additional documents);
- No va a venir ninguno de mis amigos (none of my friends will come);
- No se sentó ninguna de aquellas personas (none of those people sat down);
- The terms 'nunca'/ 'jamás' may also be used in conjunction with 'ninguno'/ 'ninguna' to qualify or further emphasise negatives. These terms are often used as replacements for 'no' as shown in the examples below:
- Nunca fue necesario ningún* documento adicional (no additional documents were ever necessary);
- Jamás vino ninguno de mis amigos (none of my friends ever came);
- Nunca jamás se sentó ninguna de aquellas personas (none of those people ever sat down);
- Jamás de los jamases vino ninguno de mis amigos (none of my friends ever came);
Notes
*When placing the masculine form “ninguno” before a noun, the ending -o should be omitted and an accent placed above the last -u (i.e. “ningún”).
*When placing the masculine form “ninguno” before a noun, the ending -o should be omitted and an accent placed above the last -u (i.e. “ningún”).
Now
you should practise the use of the negatives with some
examples of your own.
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