Negation: No, Nunca, Nada, Nadie and Other Negative Structures
Negation in Spanish usually places 'no' directly before the verb (no como carne), but GCSE Spanish also requires the other negative words: nunca/jamás (never), nada (nothing), nadie (no one), ninguno/ninguna (none, not any), tampoco (neither, not either) and ni...ni (neither...nor). Unlike English, Spanish regularly uses a double negative: when the negative word comes after the verb, 'no' must still be placed before the verb (no como nunca carne / nunca como carne), and both orders are correct standard Spanish, not a mistake. The examiner is testing whether a student can build negative sentences accurately, use ninguno/ningún with correct agreement and apocopation before a masculine singular noun, and recognise negative structures inside reading and listening texts, where they are a common source of true/false traps.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- For a simple negative, put 'no' directly before the conjugated verb (and before any object pronoun in front of it): No fumo. No lo entiendo.
- For the other negative words (nunca, jamás, nada, nadie, tampoco), you can either put the negative word before the verb on its own (Nunca como carne) or put 'no' before the verb and the negative word after it (No como nunca carne) - both orders are correct standard Spanish, and this is the Spanish double negative.
- Ninguno agrees with the noun it describes and shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun: No tengo ningún problema, not ninguno problema; the feminine form does not shorten: No tengo ninguna idea.
- Ninguno/ninguna are almost always used in the singular in Spanish, even when English would say 'no [plural noun]': No hay ningún libro interesante aquí translates as 'there are no interesting books here', not literally 'there is no interesting book'.
- Use tampoco to mean 'neither/not either' when agreeing with a previous negative statement: No me gusta el fútbol. - A mí tampoco (Me neither).
- Combine ni...ni to mean 'neither...nor': No hablo ni francés ni alemán (I speak neither French nor German); when ni...ni comes before the verb, 'no' is dropped: Ni mi hermano ni yo comemos carne.
- In listening and reading, watch for the negative word appearing several words after the verb (no la veo nunca) rather than immediately after 'no', and do not assume a sentence is positive just because 'no' is missing if nunca, nada or nadie is present instead.
Worked example
Rewrite these positive sentences to make them negative, using the negative word given in brackets. (1) Como carne todos los días. (nunca) (2) Tengo un problema con el examen. (ningún) (3) Alguien llama a la puerta. (nadie)
- For sentence 1, place nunca either before the verb or keep no before the verb with nunca after it: Nunca como carne todos los días, or No como nunca carne todos los días.
- For sentence 2, negate with no before the verb and change un problema to ningún problema, remembering ninguno shortens before a masculine singular noun: No tengo ningún problema con el examen.
- For sentence 3, replace alguien (someone) with nadie and add no before the verb, since nadie comes after the verb here: No llama nadie a la puerta.
- Check each rewritten sentence still makes sense and that no double meaning has been introduced by the change of word order.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Translate into English: 'No veo a nadie en la calle.'Show answer
Answer: I can't see anyone in the street / There isn't anyone in the street.
Q2Complete: No tengo ___ (no) idea de la respuesta.Show answer
Answer: ninguna (No tengo ninguna idea de la respuesta).
Q3Translate into Spanish: 'I never eat fish.'Show answer
Answer: Nunca como pescado (or No como pescado nunca / No como nunca pescado).
Q4Spot the error: 'No tengo ninguno hermano.'Show answer
Answer: It should be 'No tengo ningún hermano' - ninguno shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun.
Q5Translate into Spanish: 'My brother doesn't smoke, and I don't either.'Show answer
Answer: Mi hermano no fuma, y yo tampoco.
Q6Complete with ni...ni: No hablo ___ chino ___ japonés.Show answer
Answer: ni ... ni (No hablo ni chino ni japonés).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: Según mi profesora, nadie en la clase estudia lo suficiente antes de los exámenes. Yo nunca hago los deberes el fin de semana, y mi mejor amigo tampoco los hace. No tenemos ningún interés en las asignaturas de ciencias, pero nos encanta el español.
Show mark scheme
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Translate into Spanish: 'Nobody in my family likes horror films. My father never watches the news, and my mother doesn't either. We have no free time during the week.'
Show mark scheme
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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