Negation: Complete Guide

Spanish negation is simpler in some ways than English — one little word no does most of the work — but more intricate in others. Double negation is not only allowed but required. Words like nada, nadie, nunca, and ninguno play two roles at once. And negative commands shift into the subjunctive. This page brings together everything you need to negate a Spanish sentence correctly.

The Basic Word: No

To negate any verb, place no directly before it. Nothing else is needed.

Unlike English, Spanish does not use an auxiliary verb like do to form negatives. There is no "don't" construction; you simply insert no before the conjugated verb.

Nothing can come between no and the verb except object and reflexive pronouns.

See Basic Negation for examples across tenses.

The Negative Words

Spanish has a small set of high-frequency negative words, each paired with an affirmative counterpart.

Each negative word can stand on its own as a full response or appear inside a clause.

See Negative Words for more examples.

The Double Negation Rule

This is the defining feature of Spanish negation: when a negative word appears after the verb, you must still keep no before the verb. Two negatives in the same clause do not cancel out — they reinforce each other.

The Escape Hatch: Negative Word Before the Verb

If the negative word precedes the verb, you drop the no. One negative word is enough.

Notice that Nadie me dijo nada has two negative words but only one counts as preceding the verb (nadie), so no no is needed. The second one (nada) follows the verb but the first negative already "covers" the clause.

See Double Negation for more detail.

Ninguno / Ninguna

Ninguno means none, no, not any. It functions both as a pronoun and as an adjective.

Shortens to Ningún Before a Masculine Singular Noun

Just like uno → un and alguno → algún, the form ninguno becomes ningún before a masculine singular noun.

Almost Always Singular

Although English none can take plural agreement, Spanish ninguno/ninguna is nearly always singular — even when the intended meaning is "not a single one of the many."

The plural ningunos/ningunas exists only with nouns that are inherently plural (e.g., ningunas tijeras, "no pair of scissors"), and even this is rare in modern usage.

See Ninguno.

Ni…ni — Neither…Nor

The construction ni…ni pairs two negated items: neither X nor Y.

When ni…ni follows the verb, the no before the verb is required (standard double negation). When it precedes the verb, no no is needed.

A single ni can also mean not even, equivalent to ni siquiera.

See Ni…ni.

Tampoco — Neither, Not Either

Tampoco is the negative counterpart of también. It means neither, not either, and expresses agreement with a previous negative statement.

If tampoco follows the verb, no is required before the verb (double negation):

If tampoco precedes the verb, no disappears:

See Tampoco.

Ni Siquiera — Not Even

Ni siquiera emphasizes that even the smallest possibility is negated. It is equivalent to English not even.

In speech, siquiera is sometimes dropped: No tengo ni un peso.

Negative Commands

To give a negative command in Spanish, you cannot simply add no to the affirmative command. You must use the present subjunctive. This is true for all persons, not just tú.

Notice how object and reflexive pronouns come before the verb in negative commands (they attach to the end in affirmative commands):

See Negation in Commands.

Responding Negatively

There are several standard ways to respond negatively in Spanish, ranging from polite to emphatic.

See Responding Negatively.

Position of No With Compound Tenses and Modals

No always precedes the finite verb — never the participle, infinitive, or gerund.

When the negation is "small scope" — meaning, not the main verb but only an embedded element — no can sit closer to what it modifies:

Here the infinitive is negated, not the main verb, so no goes with the infinitive.

Negative Words in Questions and Comparisons

A peculiarity worth noting: negative words can appear in affirmative questions and comparisons, acting like English any.

Here alguna vez is the affirmative (ever); this is a genuine yes/no question.

Here nadie appears in a comparison and means anyone — a survival of the old dual meaning of nadie.

After sin, the negative form nada is used but means anything.

Summary

1. Use no immediately before the verb to negate it. No auxiliary like English do.
2. The only things that can come between no and the verb are object pronouns.
3. Double negation is required when a negative word follows the verb: No veo nada.
4. If the negative word precedes the verb, drop the no: Nunca voy.
5. Ninguno shortens to ningún before a masculine singular noun and is almost always singular.
6. Ni…ni pairs two negated items (neither…nor); ni alone or ni siquiera means not even.
7. Tampoco is the negative of también — it means neither, not either.
8. Negative commands use the present subjunctive, and object pronouns move in front of the verb: No me lo digas.
9. Standard negative responses include no, no gracias, para nada, de ninguna manera, ni hablar, en absoluto.

For more on each topic see Negative Words, Double Negation, Ninguno, Tampoco, Ni…ni, Negation in Commands, and Responding Negatively.