Basic sentences and negation (no)

Basic Sentence Structure

Basic Spanish sentences follow the same Subject-Verb-Object order as English: the subject (who is doing the action), the verb (the action), and the object (what is receiving the action).

I eat the bread.
Yo como el pan.
The boy has the dog.
El niño tiene el perro.
You read the book.
Tú lees el libro.

Making Sentences Negative

Making a sentence negative is easy. Unlike English, there are no extra helper words like "don't" or "doesn't." Simply place no directly before the verb.

He does not eat the apple.
Él no come la manzana.
The girl does not have the cat.
La niña no tiene el gato.
I am not the teacher.
Yo no soy el profesor.

Combining Ideas

You can connect affirmative and negative ideas using words like y (and) or pero (but). Just remember that no always stays right in front of the verb it negates.

The friend reads the letter but does not have the book.
La amiga lee la carta pero no tiene el libro.