Once you can place nicht in a plain main clause, the next step is putting it into the three clause shapes where the verb is not in its normal second slot: commands, zu-infinitive clauses, and subordinate clauses. Each has a different verb position, and since nicht anchors itself relative to the verb, each makes nicht land somewhere new. The good news: the underlying logic never changes — nicht hugs the right edge of the clause, just before whatever verbal element closes it. This page also covers the tidy aspectual pair nicht mehr ("no longer") and noch nicht ("not yet"), which English splits awkwardly into "anymore" and "yet."
Negating commands: nicht after the verb
German imperatives put the verb first, with no subject in the du- and ihr-forms. To negate a command, you simply add nicht (or kein) after the verb and any object — exactly where sentence-negating nicht sits in a statement. Crucially, there is no "don't": English builds negative commands with do-support ("Don't go!"), but German just negates the bare imperative.
Geh nicht!
Don't go! (bare imperative + nicht — no 'do')
Mach das bitte nicht!
Please don't do that. ('nicht' after the verb and object 'das')
Rauch hier bitte nicht!
Please don't smoke here. (informal du-imperative; 'nicht' at the end)
Vergiss deinen Schlüssel nicht!
Don't forget your key! ('nicht' lands at the very end, after the verb and the object 'deinen Schlüssel')
The same holds for the polite Sie-imperative, which does keep its pronoun:
Machen Sie sich bitte keine Sorgen!
Please don't worry. (formal — here 'kein' negates the noun 'Sorgen')
A frequent real-world pattern is the infinitive used as a public command — signs and announcements use the bare infinitive at the end, and nicht comes right before it:
Bitte nicht rauchen!
No smoking, please. (infinitive command on signs; 'nicht' before the infinitive)
Nicht öffnen, bevor der Zug hält!
Do not open before the train stops. (public-notice register; 'nicht' before the infinitive)
Negating zu-infinitive clauses: nicht before zu
In a zu-infinitive clause (the German equivalent of "to do something" / "doing something"), the verb cluster sits at the very end as ...zu + infinitive. Negation lands immediately before zu. Keep the three words separate: nicht zu rauchen, not one word.
Ich versuche, nicht zu lachen.
I'm trying not to laugh. ('nicht' directly before 'zu lachen')
Es ist wichtig, jetzt nicht aufzugeben.
It's important not to give up now. (separable verb: 'zu' nests inside as 'aufzugeben'; 'nicht' precedes the whole cluster)
Sie versprach, es niemandem zu sagen.
She promised not to tell anyone. (here the negation is the negative word 'niemandem'; it precedes 'zu sagen')
The logic is identical to the main clause: nicht parks just before the verbal element that closes the clause. In a zu-clause that element is zu + infinitive, so nicht sits right in front of it. Note how English reorders ("trying not to laugh") while German keeps the negator glued to the front of the infinitive cluster.
Negating subordinate clauses: nicht before the clause-final verb
In subordinate clauses introduced by a conjunction like dass, weil, wenn, or ob, the finite verb moves to the very end of the clause. nicht therefore comes right before that clause-final verb.
Ich glaube, dass ich ihn nicht kenne.
I think I don't know him. ('nicht' before the clause-final verb 'kenne')
Sie kommt nicht, weil sie keine Zeit hat.
She's not coming because she has no time. (main-clause 'nicht'; in the weil-clause 'kein' negates the noun and the verb 'hat' is last)
Es ärgert mich, dass du mir das nicht gesagt hast.
It annoys me that you didn't tell me that. ('nicht' before the verb cluster 'gesagt hast' at the end)
Wenn du nicht kommst, fange ich allein an.
If you don't come, I'll start alone. ('nicht' before the clause-final 'kommst')
Once more the rule is the same edge-hugging principle: nicht sits before whatever verb closes the clause. In a main clause that edge is near the end of the Mittelfeld; in a subordinate clause the finite verb itself is the right edge, so nicht lands directly in front of it. Learn the principle, and you never have to memorize three separate rules.
nicht mehr and noch nicht: the phase pair
German has a pair of negators that locate an action relative to a change point — a small aspectual system English renders less tidily with "anymore / no longer" and "yet."
- nicht mehr = "no longer / not anymore": the action was true, then stopped.
- noch nicht = "not yet": the action is not true now but is expected to become true.
Ich wohne nicht mehr in Berlin.
I no longer live in Berlin. (it was true before; it ended)
Der Bus ist noch nicht gekommen.
The bus hasn't come yet. (not true now, expected soon)
Wir haben leider keine Tickets mehr.
Unfortunately we have no tickets left. (the noun version: 'kein... mehr' = none remaining)
Sie ist noch nicht fertig mit dem Bericht.
She's not finished with the report yet. ('noch nicht' before the predicate adjective)
These two are mirror images on a timeline: noch nicht points forward to a change that hasn't happened; nicht mehr points back to a change that already has. With nouns, "no longer any" becomes kein... mehr (kein Geld mehr, keine Zeit mehr), and "still some" is the positive noch (noch Geld). Hold the four corners together: noch (still) / nicht mehr (no longer) / noch nicht (not yet) / schon (already).
| Phase | German | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Positive, ongoing | noch | still (it continues) |
| Positive, completed | schon | already (it has begun/happened) |
| Negative, ended | nicht mehr | no longer (it stopped) |
| Negative, pending | noch nicht | not yet (it hasn't started) |
Common Mistakes
Using English do-support in a negative command. German has no "don't."
❌ Tu nicht das machen!
Wrong — German never uses 'do'; negate the bare imperative directly.
✅ Mach das nicht!
Don't do that!
Splitting or misplacing nicht in a zu-clause. nicht comes before zu, and the three words stay separate.
❌ Ich versuche, zu nicht lachen.
Wrong order — 'nicht' precedes the whole cluster: 'nicht zu lachen.'
✅ Ich versuche, nicht zu lachen.
I'm trying not to laugh.
Leaving the verb in second position in a subordinate clause, so nicht lands wrongly.
❌ Ich glaube, dass ich kenne ihn nicht.
Wrong — the finite verb must go last; 'nicht' sits just before it: 'nicht kenne.'
✅ Ich glaube, dass ich ihn nicht kenne.
I think I don't know him.
Confusing noch nicht ('not yet') with nicht mehr ('no longer').
❌ Der Bus ist nicht mehr gekommen.
Wrong phase — if you're still waiting, it's 'noch nicht'; 'nicht mehr' would mean it stopped running.
✅ Der Bus ist noch nicht gekommen.
The bus hasn't come yet.
Forgetting that 'no X left' uses kein... mehr, not nicht... mehr.
❌ Wir haben nicht mehr Zeit.
Wrong — to negate the noun use 'kein': 'keine Zeit mehr.' ('nicht mehr Zeit' would mean 'not more time' as a quantity comparison.)
✅ Wir haben keine Zeit mehr.
We have no time left.
Key Takeaways
- One principle: nicht sits just before the verbal element that closes the clause.
- Commands: verb first, no "do"; nicht follows the verb and object (Mach das nicht!). Public signs use Bitte nicht rauchen!
- zu-infinitive clauses: nicht zu + Infinitiv, kept as separate words, nicht before zu.
- Subordinate clauses: the finite verb goes last, so nicht lands right before it (..., dass ich ihn nicht kenne).
- nicht mehr = "no longer" (action ended); noch nicht = "not yet" (action pending) — mirror images on a timeline, with positive partners noch and schon.
- "No X left" is kein... mehr (keine Zeit mehr), not nicht... mehr.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- The Position of nichtB1 — How 'nicht' fits into the wider negation toolkit, what it negates versus 'kein', and how its position marks the scope of negation.
- The Position of nichtB1 — Where 'nicht' sits decides what gets negated: late in the clause for whole-sentence negation, but right before any single element it contradicts.
- The Imperative: Giving CommandsA2 — How to form German commands for du, ihr, and Sie, with the verb in first position and the right pronoun rules.
- Infinitive Clauses (zu-clauses)B1 — A zu-clause is a compressed subordinate clause with no subject of its own — it borrows the main clause's subject, ends in zu plus the infinitive, and is the reason German cannot say 'I want you to come' with an infinitive.
- Verb-Final Order in Subordinate ClausesB1 — Why a subordinating conjunction sends the finite verb to the very end of the clause — and why in compound tenses the auxiliary lands dead last.
- Negation: Complete ReferenceB1 — A navigable map of the whole German negation system — the kein/nicht decision, nicht-position, negative words, the three answer words ja/nein/doch, reinforcement, and lexical negation — with a master decision tree.