Negation in Spanish: No, Nada, Nadie and Nunca

Making a Spanish sentence negative starts with one small word: put no right before the verb. The part that surprises English speakers comes next — when nada, nadie or nunca follows the verb, Spanish keeps the no as well. That “double negative” is not a mistake; it's the normal way to say it. These rules are the same in Spain and Latin America.

No goes before the verb

No helper verb. English often uses don’t or doesn’t; Spanish simply puts no before the verb. If you put the subject first, no comes after it.

Pronouns stay with the verb. Short pronouns like lo, me and te sit right before the verb, so no goes in front of the whole group.

Double negatives are correct

When nada, nadie or nunca comes after the verb, use no before it if no other negative word is already there. The negatives do not cancel out: together they form one negative sentence. English “I don’t have anything” and “I have nothing” are both No tengo nada.

With verbs such as ver and conocer, put the “personal a” before nadie: No veo a nadie (“I don’t see anybody”), just as in Veo a Ana.

Bonus: nada can also mean “not at all.” No me gusta nada el frío means “I don't like the cold at all.” On its own, No me gusta nada can mean “I don't like it at all” or “I don't like anything” — context tells you which.

Negative word first? Then drop no

Nadie, nunca and nada can also go before the verb. Then they make the sentence negative on their own, and there is no no. One negative word before the verb is enough.

Both orders are correct. If a negative word already comes before the verb, do not add no. Otherwise, use no before the verb with a negative word after it. You can combine negative words too: Nadie dice nada means “Nobody says anything.”

Short answers

A plain No. or a polite No, gracias. is often enough. If the sentence that follows is also negative, you get two no’s: the first answers the question, the second makes the verb negative. You can also follow No with an affirmative explanation: No, soy de Chile.

A negative word can also be the whole answer, with no verb at all:

Common mistakes

Algo for “nothing.” To say that you have nothing, use No tengo nada. Algo means “something”; it is not restricted to affirmative sentences — you can ask ¿Quieres algo? (“Do you want something?”).

Leaving out no. In Tengo nada, there is no negative word before the verb, so you need no: No tengo nada.

No and nunca both before the verb. When the negative word comes first, it already does the job — drop no, or move the negative word after the verb.

No in the wrong place. No goes before the verb and before any pronoun attached to it — not after the verb, and not between the pronoun and the verb.

Quick exercise

Fill in each gap with no, nada, nadie or nunca. The English line gives the meaning.

1. ___ hablo alemán. (I don't speak German.)
2. No quiero ___, gracias. (I don't want anything, thanks.)
3. No viene ___ a la reunión. (Nobody is coming to the meeting.)
4. ___ como carne. (I never eat meat.)
5. ___ me gusta el ruido. (I don't like noise.)
6. No conozco a ___ aquí. (I don't know anybody here.)
7. Mi hermano no llama ___. (My brother never calls.)
8. ¿Qué haces? — ___. (Nothing.)