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Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.

Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.
Today I don't want to do anything at home.
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Questions & Answers about Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.

Why does the negative no go before quiero, and can it go anywhere else?

In Spanish, the basic rule is that no goes directly before the conjugated verb: no quiero. It cannot go after the verb (quiero no hacer… sounds very odd here and changes the meaning).

If there is an infinitive, object, or adverb, those go after the conjugated verb and no, as in hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa. So the core is no quiero and everything else is built around that.

Why is it quiero hacer and not something like “I want do”, without hacer?

In Spanish, whenever you say you want to do some action, you must use querer + infinitive:

  • quiero hacer = I want to do
  • quiero comer = I want to eat
  • quiero salir = I want to go out

You can’t say quiero plus another conjugated verb. English can say “I want to do nothing”, but Spanish needs quiero hacer nada (with hacer in the infinitive).

Why do you say no quiero hacer nada with no and nada together? Isn’t that a “double negative”?

In Spanish, using no with words like nada, nadie, nunca, ningún is completely normal and required. It doesn’t “cancel out” the negation like in standard English; instead, it reinforces the negative.

So:

  • No quiero hacer nada = I don’t want to do anything
    If you said just quiero hacer nada, it would sound wrong in normal Spanish. You need the no before the verb.
Could I say Hoy quiero no hacer nada en casa instead?

You can say hoy quiero no hacer nada en casa, but it sounds more marked and less natural in everyday speech. That structure puts the focus on the not doing: “today I want not to do anything at home”, which feels a bit stiff or deliberate.

The usual, neutral way to say it is hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.

Can I move hoy or does it always have to go at the beginning?

You can move hoy. All of these are grammatically correct, with small shifts in emphasis:

  • Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa. (neutral, very common)
  • No quiero hacer nada hoy en casa. (slight focus on today)
  • No quiero hacer nada en casa hoy. (often used, focus on the whole “at home today” situation)

Spanish is flexible with adverbs like hoy; just keep no immediately before quiero.

What is the difference between en casa and en la casa here?

En casa generally means “at home”, without specifying a particular building; it’s more about your home as your place.

En la casa is more literal: “in the house” (the building). It can refer to any house, not necessarily your home, and sounds a bit more physical or specific.

In everyday Spanish from Spain, if you mean “at home”, you almost always say en casa, as in hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.

When would I use a casa instead of en casa?

Use a casa when there is movement towards home:

  • Voy a casa. = I’m going home.
  • Vuelvo a casa. = I’m returning home.

Use en casa when you’re talking about being at home or doing something there:

  • Estoy en casa. = I’m at home.
  • Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa.

So: a casa = “to home”, en casa = “at home”.

Why is there no yo in no quiero? Don’t you need the subject pronoun?

In Spanish, the verb ending already shows who the subject is, so you don’t usually need to say yo. Quiero clearly means “I want”, so yo is optional.

You can say Hoy yo no quiero hacer nada en casa, but that adds extra emphasis on yo, like “I don’t want to do anything at home (maybe others do)”. In neutral speech, Hoy no quiero hacer nada en casa is more natural.

Could I leave out en casa or hoy? Does it change the meaning a lot?

Yes, you can drop them:

  • No quiero hacer nada. → I don’t want to do anything (in general, no place or time specified).
  • Hoy no quiero hacer nada. → Today I don’t want to do anything (but not specifying where).
  • No quiero hacer nada en casa. → I don’t want to do anything at home (maybe I’ll do things elsewhere).

Adding or removing hoy and en casa just adds or removes information about when and where.

Are there more natural-sounding alternatives in Spain to say this idea?

Yes, in Spain people often use verbs and expressions that sound a bit softer or more colloquial than no quiero. For example:

  • Hoy no me apetece hacer nada en casa. (very common; “I don’t feel like doing anything at home today.”)
  • Hoy no tengo ganas de hacer nada en casa. (“I don’t feel like / I don’t have the desire to do anything at home today.”)

No quiero hacer nada en casa is perfectly correct and clear; the alternatives just sound more like everyday conversation in many contexts.