Usage of ‘No’ in Spanish Negative Forms

In Spanish, to make a sentence negative, place the word “no” directly before the verb, for example, “Yo como” (I eat) becomes “Yo no como” (I don’t eat).
For verbs like “gustar”, extend the negative form to both parts of the sentence as in “No me gusta” (I don’t like).
If you have an infinitive after a verb, “no” only goes in front of the first verb: “Ellos quieren comer” (They want to eat) becomes “Ellos no quieren comer” (They don’t want to eat).
When responding negatively in Spanish, use “no” twice, once for “no” and again before the verb: ¿Hablas español? No, no hablo español.

Spanish Negative Words and Their Usage

To express never, the word “nunca” is used. It can be placed before or after the verb. For example, “Nunca estudio” or “Estudio nunca” both translate to “I never study”.
“Tampoco” is used to show agreement with a negative statement. For example, if someone says “No me gusta correr” (I don’t like to run), you can respond “A mí tampoco” (Me neither).
“Nada” means nothing and is used either after the verb or at the end of the sentence: No comprendo nada (I don’t understand anything).

Note that in double negatives, Spanish does not follow the same rules as English. In Spanish, a double negative intensifies the negation, but in English, it creates a positive statement. For instance, “No tengo nada” literally translates to “I don’t have nothing”, which in English conveys a positive statement. However, in Spanish, it intensifies the negation implying “I have nothing”.

Remember sufficient practice will develop a natural instinct to correctly position these negative words in your sentences.