Question 1

Why is there a No at the beginning of the sentence if we already use ni... ni for 'neither... nor'?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, if negative words like ni... ni come after the verb, you must put a no (or another negative word) before the verb. This double negative (No preparé ni...) is grammatically required and sounds perfectly natural.

Question 2

Could I drop the first No and just start the sentence with Ni?

Accepted Answer

You could, but you would have to rearrange the sentence to put the ni phrase before the verb, like this: Ni pollo picante ni cerdo preparé para la cena. However, keeping no before the verb and ni... ni... after it is much more common in everyday speech.

Question 3

Why do we use para instead of por to say 'for dinner'?

Accepted Answer

You use para when talking about a destination, purpose, or deadline. Here, the dinner is the intended purpose for the food being prepared. If you used por, it would sound like you prepared the food 'because of' or 'in exchange for' dinner.

Question 4

Why is the adjective after the noun in pollo picante?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like picante (spicy) almost always come after the noun they describe. So, 'spicy chicken' translates literally to 'chicken spicy' (pollo picante).

No preparé ni pollo picante ni cerdo para la cena.

Breakdown of No preparé ni pollo picante ni cerdo para la cena.

Questions & Answers about No preparé ni pollo picante ni cerdo para la cena.

Learn No preparé ni pollo picante ni cerdo para la cena and more in Spanish