Spanish negation: no, nunca, nada and double negatives
To make a Spanish sentence negative, put no directly in front of the verb: No hablo francés (I don’t speak French). There is no helper like English “do/does” — just no + verb.
When you add a negative word like nunca (never) or nada (nothing), Spanish keeps both words negative. No como nada literally reads “I don’t eat nothing”, and that double negative is correct, not a mistake. The only rule to remember is that the negative word can come before the verb on its own, or after the verb if no is already there.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
no + verb |
basic negative | No hablo francés.I don’t speak French. |
negative word before verb (no extra no) |
“never / nobody / nothing” up front | Nunca como carne.I never eat meat. |
no + verb + negative word after |
same meaning, two negatives | No como nada.I don’t eat anything. |
Simple negation: no before the verb
For a plain negative, drop no right before the verb. Nothing else changes, and there is no auxiliary like English “do”.
No quiero.
I don’t want to.No tengo tiempo.
I don’t have time.
Negative words and the double negative
The common negative words are nunca / jamás (never), nada (nothing), nadie (nobody), ninguno / ningún / ninguna (none, no), tampoco (neither — see también vs tampoco), and ni… ni (neither… nor).
Each one works in two ways. Put it before the verb and you need no extra no. Put it after the verb and you must keep no in front. Both versions mean exactly the same thing.
Nunca voy. = No voy nunca.
I never go.Nadie vino. = No vino nadie.
Nobody came.Nada me importa. = No me importa nada.
Nothing matters to me.
What is wrong is leaving no out when the negative word follows the verb: Como nada is broken — it has to be No como nada.
Keep it all negative
Once a Spanish sentence is negative, every related word stays negative too. Use nada and nadie, not the positive algo (something) or alguien (someone).
No hay nada en la mesa.
There is nothing on the table.No conozco a nadie aquí.
I don’t know anyone here.
English flips to a positive word (“anything”, “anyone”), but Spanish does not — it would never say No conozco a alguien in this meaning.
Ninguno / ningún
Ninguno means “none” or “not any”. Before a masculine singular noun it shortens to ningún, and it is normally used in the singular even where English would say a plural.
No tengo ningún plan para hoy.
I don’t have any plans for today.No hay ninguna razón para preocuparse.
There is no reason to worry.
Common mistakes
Dropping no when the negative word follows the verb
If the negative word comes after the verb, you still need no in front of it.
Como nada.→ No como nada.
I don’t eat anything.
Without no, the sentence is simply ungrammatical.
Using a positive word in a negative sentence
In a negative sentence, use nadie / nada, not alguien / algo.
No veo a alguien.→ No veo a nadie.
I don’t see anyone.
Spanish keeps the whole sentence negative, so alguien here does not work.
Thinking the double negative is a mistake
Two negatives are correct in Spanish, so do not “fix” no… nunca by deleting no.
Voy nunca.→ No voy nunca.
I never go.
The no + nunca pair is the standard pattern, not an error to be cleaned up.
Building negatives well is mostly muscle memory: deciding whether the negative word leads or follows, and never dropping no by accident. In Fluera these choices come up inside short, spoken sentences, so you hear where no, nunca, and nada belong instead of memorizing a chart. Try it when you practice Spanish and the double negative starts to feel automatic.
Practice
Negate it in Spanish
Question 1 of 10
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a sentence negative in Spanish?
no directly before the verb, with no helper word: Hablo francés (I speak French) becomes No hablo francés (I don't speak French). There is nothing like English "do/does"; just no + verb.