Negative Adverbs

Spanish negative adverbs
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Adverbios negativos

Negative adverbs turn affirmative statements and questions into negative statements and questions. The most common English negative adverb is the word "not," and the Spanish equivalent is no. To make a statement or question negative, just put no in front of the verb.

Por ejemplo…

Elena no está aquí.   Elena isn’t here.
No quiero trabajar.   I don’t want to work.
¿No tienes hambre?   Aren’t you hungry?

Spanish negative adverbs

Two negative adverbs must always include no (click the links for detailed lessons and more examples):

todaviá no   not yet
Todavía no he comido.   I haven’t eaten yet.
ya no   no more, not any more
Ya no quiero trabajar aquí.   I don’t want to work here any more.

The rest can be used on their own or with no:

jamás   never
nada de   none, not at all
no … más que   only
nunca   never
nunca más   never again
tampoco   neither, not either

1. One part usage: Place the negative word in front of the verb:

Juan nunca trabaja los sábados.   Juan never works on Saturday.
Tampoco tengo gato.   I don’t have a cat either.
¡Nada de asomarse!   No peeking!

2. Two part usage: For a stronger negation, place no in front of the verb and the negative adverb somewhere after it.

Juan no trabaja nunca los sábados.
Juan no trabaja los sábados nunca.
  Juan never works on Saturday.
No tengo tampoco gato.
No tengo gato tampoco.
  I don’t have a cat either.
No le gusta nada de la escuela.   He doesn’t like school at all.

Spanish quiz Negative Adverbs Quiz

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself:

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Spanish negation

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