Apuntes: Negation and Indefinite Words Voces 1 Capítulo 8

Negation In addition to the word “no” in Spanish, you can also use the following words to express negation. nunca (never) tampoco (neither, not either) nada (nothing, not anything) nadie (nobody, not anybody)

Nunca y tampoco Nunca (never) and tampoco (neither, not either) can take the place of “no” at the beginning of a sentence. Nunca and tampoco can also be placed at the end of the sentence that already has “no” at the beginning.

Ejemplos con nunca No voy a la playa. I don’t go to the beach. Nunca voy a la playa. I never go to the beach. No voy a la playa nunca. I don’t go to the beach ever.

Ejemplos con tampoco Tampoco voy a la piscina. I don’t go to the pool either. No voy a la piscina tampoco.

Nada When it is the subject of a sentence, nada means nothing and comes at the beginning of the sentence. When it comes after the verb, nada means nothing or not anything and comes at the end of the sentence. The word “no” must come at the beginning of the sentence before the verb.

Ejemplos con nada Nada es fácil. Nothing is easy. No quiero nada hoy. I don’t want to do anything today.

Nadie Nadie means nobody or not anybody. Nadie can be used at the beginning of a sentence. It can also be used after a verb with “no” at the beginning of the sentence.

Ejemplos con nadie Nadie quiere lavar los platos. Nobody wants to wash the dishes. No hay nadie aquí. There isn’t anybody here.

Ningún, ninguno/a Ningún or ninguno/a means no or not any. It is almost always used in the singular form. Ningún or ninguno/a can be used at the beginning of a sentence. It can also be used after a verb with “no” at the beginning of the sentence.

Ejemplos con ningún, ninguno/a Ningún estudiante quiere hacer la presentación. No student wants to do the presentation. No hay ningún estudiante que quiere hacer la presentación. There is not any student that wants to do the presentation.

To summarize… Negative words can be used at the beginning of a sentence in front of the verb. Negative words can come after a verb as long as the word NO is before the verb.

Indefinite Words Indefinite words do not specify a particular person, thing or idea. They can be placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence. Indefinite words include: algo (something, anything) alguien (someone, anyone) algún, alguno/a/os/as (some, any) siempre (always) también (also)