| Welcome
to Vol. 47 of the Spanish Online Newsletter! Your weekly Spanish
learning with mp3 files, as well as links to Spanish travel spots and more. This week we look at negation, or using negative pronouns. For example: No voy a ir = I am not going to go; No hay ningunos = There aren't any. You'll find that word for word translation gets a bit tricky with negatives, but forming Spanish negatives is easy once you get the hang of it.
Negation & Negative Pronouns
To make a sentence negative, place the word "no" before the verb (i.e. no me gusta = I don't like... no estoy en casa = I am not at home.). When the answer to a question is negative, the word "no" appears twice.
quieres pizza?
do you want pizza?
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no, no quiero pizza
no, I don't want pizza |
vas a ir?
are you going to go?
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no, no voy a ir
no, I am not going to go
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Here are the key Spanish negatives:
| ninguno /a/os/as |
none, not any |
| nadie |
no one, nobody |
| nada |
nothing, not anything |
| tampoco |
neither, not either |
| nunca |
never |
| ni |
neither, nor |
These negative words can be used along with the word "NO", or alone, placed before the verb.
| Nadie lo tiene |
No one has it |
| No vi a nadie |
I didn't see anyone |
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| Nada va a pasar |
Nothing is going to happen |
| No hay nada en el cuarto |
There's nothing in the room |
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| Ninguno de los niños está aquí |
None of the children are here |
| No comí ninguna de la sopa |
I didn't eat any of the soup |
You'll notice that ninguno changes to agree with the noun:
|
singular |
plural |
| masculine |
ninguno |
ningunos |
| feminine |
ninguna |
ningunas |
Alguno and ninguno drop the -o before a masculine singular noun.
¿Tienes algún libro?
No, no tengo ningún libro.
Ninguno/ninguna is usually used in the singular form.
¿Tienes algunas sillas?
No, no tengo ninguna.
¿Hay algunos cuartos disponibles?
No, no hay ninguno.
Worksheet:
Spanish Negatives
Quiz: Negative Pronouns
Travel Spot of the Week
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Andorra
About 60% of the people in this tiny mountainous country speak Spanish, even though the official language is Catalán. A wealthy little country, located in the Pyrennées mountains, it thrives on tourism and a duty free shopping environment. A bit off the beaten path, Andorra would make for a nice side trip if you plan to vsit NE Spain.
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| Spanish Learning Tool of the Week |
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