Negative adverbs are the words Spanish uses to deny, restrict, or cancel a verb: no, nunca, jamás, nada, nadie, ningún, tampoco, ni... ni, ni siquiera, sin, apenas. They are the engine of negative concord — the deep rule that lets (and forces) Spanish to stack negatives where English insists on stripping them down to one. This page gives you each member of the family, with the position rules that govern them and the standalone expressions every native uses but no textbook teaches.
If you have not yet met the double-negation rule, read the double-negation overview first. This page assumes you accept that no tengo nada (literally "I don't have nothing") is the standard, grammatical, required way to say "I don't have anything" in Spanish.
The cornerstone: no
No is the everyday negator. It sits immediately before the conjugated verb, with nothing allowed between them except clitic pronouns (me, te, se, lo, la, le, nos, os, los, las).
No vengo a cenar esta noche, tengo trabajo.
I'm not coming to dinner tonight — I've got work.
No me lo ha dicho todavía, espero que lo haga pronto.
He hasn't told me yet — I hope he does soon. — clitics me and lo sit between no and the verb.
In short answers, no stands alone — and is repeated for emphasis: No, no quiero ("No, I don't want to"). The first no is the answer; the second is the verbal negation.
—¿Vienes? —No, no puedo, lo siento.
'Are you coming?' 'No, I can't, sorry.' — Standalone no + sentential no, both required.
Nunca and jamás — never
Nunca is the everyday "never." Jamás is more emphatic and more literary — the difference is roughly never vs never ever. Both follow the standard double-negation pattern: post-verb they need no; pre-verb they drop it.
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| no + verb + nunca | No voy nunca al gimnasio. |
| nunca + verb | Nunca voy al gimnasio. |
| no + verb + jamás (emphatic) | No lo haré jamás. |
| jamás + verb | Jamás lo haré. |
| nunca jamás (intensified) | Nunca jamás vuelvo a comer ahí. |
The two positions are equivalent in meaning but not in feel. Pre-verb nunca sounds slightly more emphatic — you have led with the negation, putting it in focus. Post-verb nunca is the neutral default. Native Spaniards use both fluidly.
Nunca he estado en Asturias, pero me encantaría ir.
I've never been to Asturias, but I'd love to go.
No te he mentido jamás, te lo juro.
I have never lied to you, I swear. — Jamás emphasises the never; more dramatic than nunca.
Nunca jamás voy a perdonarle eso.
I will never ever forgive him for that. — Stacked for maximum emphasis.
After a comparative que, nunca flips to emphatic positive: más que nunca means more than ever, not more than never. Same for nadie and nada. See double-negation for the full pattern.
Hoy te necesito más que nunca.
Today I need you more than ever. — Not 'more than never'.
Nada and nadie — nothing / nobody
Nada (nothing) and nadie (nobody) work like nunca — post-verb with no, pre-verb without it. They can also function as objects, subjects, or even adverbs in idiomatic uses.
No hay nada en la nevera, hay que bajar a comprar.
There's nothing in the fridge — we need to go down and shop.
Nadie me lo dijo, me enteré por casualidad.
Nobody told me — I found out by chance.
Nada also doubles as an intensifier meaning not at all: no me gusta nada (I don't like it at all), no es nada fácil (it's not at all easy). In this adverbial use it is no longer the noun "nothing" — it is modifying a verb or adjective with the sense of at all. This is a small idiomatic extension that English learners often miss.
No me apetece nada salir esta noche, prefiero quedarme.
I don't feel like going out at all tonight, I'd rather stay in. — nada = at all.
El examen no fue nada difícil, lo aprobé enseguida.
The exam wasn't difficult at all — I passed it straight away.
Ningún, ninguno, ninguna — none / no
Ninguno is the negative determiner ("no" + noun) and pronoun ("none"). Before a masculine singular noun it shortens to ningún, like bueno → buen and primero → primer.
| Form | Use |
|---|---|
| ningún | before a masculine singular noun: ningún coche, ningún amigo |
| ninguno | masculine pronoun, standing alone: ninguno de ellos |
| ninguna | feminine singular, determiner or pronoun: ninguna idea, ninguna de ellas |
Native Spanish almost always uses the singular even where English would use a plural. No tengo ningún amigo aquí ("I don't have any friends here") sounds completely natural; the plural ningunos amigos sounds forced and unidiomatic.
No tengo ningún plan para este fin de semana, ¿hacemos algo?
I have no plans for this weekend — shall we do something?
Ninguna de las opciones me convence, voy a seguir buscando.
None of the options convince me — I'll keep looking.
Tampoco — (not) either / neither
Tampoco is the negative twin of también. Where también says "also/too," tampoco says "neither/not either." Mixing them up — using también in a negative context — is one of the most persistent A2 errors for English speakers.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Yo también. (Me too.) | Yo tampoco. (Me neither.) |
| A mí también. | A mí tampoco. |
| También quiero ir. | Tampoco quiero ir. |
—No me gusta el queso azul. —A mí tampoco, qué asco.
'I don't like blue cheese.' 'Me neither, it's gross.' (informal)
No he visto esa serie, y mi novio tampoco la ha visto.
I haven't seen that series, and my boyfriend hasn't seen it either.
The English instinct of saying yo también no (literally "I also not") is wrong. Spanish has one dedicated word for the negative version of also, and it is tampoco. Use it.
Ni... ni — neither... nor
When you want to negate two (or more) options together, Spanish uses ni... ni — never o... o in a negative context. O... o is for affirmative choices ("either... or"); ni... ni is for the negative version.
No quiero ni café ni té, solo agua, por favor.
I want neither coffee nor tea — just water, please.
Ni mi hermano ni yo sabíamos qué hacer en ese momento.
Neither my brother nor I knew what to do at that moment.
No tengo ni tiempo ni ganas de discutir esto ahora.
I have neither the time nor the desire to argue about this now.
The first ni can be dropped when both items follow the verb: no quiero café ni té is also valid, slightly less emphatic. With pre-verb subjects (or to mark formal contrast), both ni stay.
Ni siquiera — not even
Ni siquiera is the negative of incluso / hasta ("even"). It raises the stakes — you are negating something so basic that even that didn't happen.
No me llamó. Ni siquiera me mandó un mensaje.
He didn't call me. He didn't even send me a message.
Ni siquiera sabe cómo se llama mi madre, y llevamos un año juntos.
He doesn't even know my mother's name, and we've been together a year.
In rapid speech, ni siquiera often shortens to just ni: No me mandó ni un mensaje — He didn't even send me a message. This is fully natural Peninsular usage.
No tengo ni un euro encima, ¿me invitas tú?
I don't have a single euro on me — will you pay? (informal)
Standalone emphatic expressions
Spanish has a rich set of negative interjections that you will hear constantly but that rarely make it into textbooks. They function as complete responses — full negation packed into a fixed phrase.
| Expression | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| ¡Ni hablar! | No way! / Out of the question! | informal, emphatic |
| ¡Ni en sueños! | Not in your dreams! / No chance! | informal |
| ¡Para nada! | Not at all! / Not in the slightest! | informal, very common |
| ¡Qué va! | No way! / Nope! | informal (very Peninsular) |
| ¡Ni de coña! | No bloody way! | vulgar (Peninsular) |
| En absoluto. | Absolutely not. | formal |
| De ninguna manera. | By no means / In no way. | formal |
—¿Te vienes a esquiar? —¡Ni hablar! Hace un frío horrible.
'Want to come skiing?' 'No way! It's freezing.' (informal)
—¿Te molesta si fumo? —Para nada, abre la ventana.
'Does it bother you if I smoke?' 'Not at all, open the window.' (informal)
—¿Crees que va a llover? —¡Qué va, mira el cielo!
'Do you think it'll rain?' 'No way, look at the sky!' (informal, very Peninsular)
—¿Está usted de acuerdo con la propuesta? —En absoluto, señoría.
'Do you agree with the proposal?' 'Absolutely not, Your Honour.' (formal)
Pay special attention to qué va — it is one of the most distinctive Peninsular markers. A Spaniard saying ¡qué va! is the equivalent of an English speaker saying nah or not at all; it is constant in everyday speech and almost absent in Latin America.
Sin + infinitive — without doing
Sin (without) is a preposition, not strictly an adverb, but it belongs in this family because it negates the action that follows. Followed by an infinitive, it means without [verb]ing.
Se fue sin despedirse, qué mal educado.
He left without saying goodbye — how rude.
Llevo dos días sin dormir, estoy hecho polvo.
I haven't slept for two days — I'm shattered. (informal)
Sin already carries the negation, so you do not add no. And like sin, the negative words inside its scope stay negative: sin decir nada a nadie (without telling anyone anything) — see the double-negation page for that pattern.
Salió sin decir nada a nadie, como siempre.
He left without saying anything to anyone, as always.
Apenas — barely / hardly
Apenas sits on the border of negation. It is not a pure negator — it allows some of the action, just very little — but functionally it behaves like a near-negative.
Apenas conozco a tu hermano, lo he visto dos veces.
I barely know your brother — I've seen him twice.
Apenas tengo tiempo para comer entre clase y clase.
I have barely any time to eat between classes.
Unlike the pure negatives, apenas does not require no before the verb when it appears post-verb. You can say Lo conozco apenas or Apenas lo conozco — both work; the first is slightly more literary. With no apenas... no, that combination doesn't exist.
Apenas can also mean as soon as in temporal contexts: Apenas llegó, empezó a llover — as soon as he arrived, it started to rain. That use is unrelated to negation.
Position freedom: NUNCA voy vs no voy NUNCA
You will have noticed that almost every negative adverb has two slots: before the verb (no no needed) or after the verb (with no). The meanings are equivalent; the choice is stylistic. As a rough rule:
- Pre-verb position puts the negation in focus. Nunca lo haría foregrounds the never.
- Post-verb position with no is the neutral default. No lo haría nunca is the everyday phrasing.
Nada me importa más que mi familia.
Nothing matters to me more than my family. — Pre-verb nada, emphatic, slightly literary.
No me importa nada más que mi familia.
Nothing matters to me more than my family. — Post-verb nada with no, the everyday phrasing.
Both versions appear constantly. Aim to recognise and produce both; choose pre-verb when you want to emphasise the negation, post-verb when you don't.
Common Mistakes
❌ No tengo algo en casa.
Algo (something) is wrong in a negative context — the post-verb partner for no is nada.
✅ No tengo nada en casa.
I don't have anything at home.
❌ Yo también no quiero ir.
También is for affirmative contexts. For the negative 'me neither/I don't want to either,' Spanish has a dedicated word: tampoco.
✅ Yo tampoco quiero ir. / No quiero ir yo tampoco.
I don't want to go either.
❌ No quiero o café o té, solo agua.
To negate both options, Spanish uses ni... ni..., not o... o... (o... o is for affirmative either/or choices).
✅ No quiero ni café ni té, solo agua.
I want neither coffee nor tea — just water.
❌ No nunca voy a esos sitios.
You cannot stack 'no' AND a pre-verb negative. Pick one.
✅ Nunca voy a esos sitios. / No voy nunca a esos sitios.
I never go to those places.
❌ No tengo ningunos amigos en Madrid.
Ninguno strongly prefers the singular even when English uses a plural.
✅ No tengo ningún amigo en Madrid.
I don't have any friends in Madrid.
❌ Salió sin no decir nada.
Sin already carries the negation — don't add no. (The nada inside is correct.)
✅ Salió sin decir nada.
He left without saying anything.
Key takeaways
- No glues to the verb; only clitic pronouns can fit between them.
- Nunca is the everyday "never"; jamás is its emphatic, slightly literary cousin. Both follow the double-negation rule: post-verb needs no, pre-verb drops it.
- Nada and nadie also double as intensifiers (no me gusta nada — I don't like it at all).
- Ningún / ninguno / ninguna prefers the singular even when English uses a plural.
- Tampoco is the dedicated negative of también — never combine también with negation.
- Ni... ni replaces o... o in negative contexts; ni siquiera = not even, often shortened to just ni in speech.
- The Peninsular standalone negators ¡qué va!, ¡para nada!, ¡ni hablar!, en absoluto are everywhere in real spoken Spanish — learn them now.
- Sin carries its own negation; no extra no needed, but other negative words inside its scope stay negative.
- Apenas = barely / hardly; sits between affirmative and negative and does not require no.
- The two slots — pre-verb (no no) and post-verb (with no) — are equivalent. Pre-verb sounds slightly more emphatic.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Adverbios: visión generalA1 — Spanish adverbs at a glance — what they modify, why they don't agree with anything, where they sit in the sentence, and the seven main categories with their key members.
- Negación básica: 'no'A1 — How to make any Spanish sentence negative — drop 'no' immediately before the verb. No auxiliary needed, no word order shuffle, no special form. The position rules for clitics, compound tenses, and short answers.
- Doble negación: la regla obligatoriaA2 — Spanish requires double negation when the negative word comes after the verb — 'no tengo nada' literally means 'I don't have nothing' and is the only correct form. The position rule that lets you drop the first 'no.'
- Ni…ni…: ni Pedro ni MaríaA2 — The correlative ni…ni… (neither…nor…) for negating two or more items together, plus the rich family of standalone 'ni' expressions — ¡ni hablar!, ¡ni en sueños!, ni siquiera — that fill everyday Peninsular speech.
- Tampoco: also-notA2 — Tampoco is the negative mirror of también — 'neither, also not, me neither.' It's how Spanish chains a second negative statement onto a previous one, and it follows the same placement rules as nunca and nadie.
- Errores: doble negaciónA2 — Spanish REQUIRES double negation. 'No tengo nada' (literally 'I don't have nothing') is correct and standard — 'no tengo algo' is wrong. The complete logic, with all the negative words and the special word-order rule that lets you drop the first 'no'.