👉Negative Words and Expressions in Spanish! 🙄

In Spanish, there are several negative words that allow speakers to express the absence of something or to negate an action or statement. These words are essential for forming negative sentences and can vary depending on the context. For instance, words like “nada” (nothing) and “nadie” (nobody) help express complete negation, while “ni … ni …” (neither … nor …) excludes multiple elements. Additionally, phrases like “ya no” (no longer) and “en mi vida” (never in my life) add nuance by indicating changes in time or personal experience. Understanding these negative words is key to improving your fluency and avoiding common mistakes when speaking or writing in Spanish.

Let’s see some examples! 🤗

1. Nada (nothing)
   • No quiero nada de comer.
     I want nothing to eat.
2. Nadie (nobody, no-one)
   • Nadie vino a la fiesta.
     No one came to the party.
3. Nunca (never)
   • Nunca he viajado a Europa.
     I have never traveled to Europe.
4. Jamás (never)
   • Jamás olvidaré ese día.
     I will never forget that day.
5. Ninguno (no, not any, none)
   • No tengo ningún libro sobre ese tema.
     I don’t have any book on that topic.
6. Ni … ni … (neither … nor …)
   • Ni María ni Juan quisieron venir.
     Neither María nor Juan wanted to come.
7. Tampoco (not either, neither)
   • Yo tampoco tengo tiempo para eso.
     I don’t have time for that either.
8. En mi vida (never in my life)
   • En mi vida había visto algo así.
     Never in my life had I seen something like that.
9. A/en ninguna parte (nowhere)
   • No quiero ir a ninguna parte.
     I don’t want to go anywhere (nowhere).
10. Ya no (no longer, not any more)
    • Ya no vivimos en esa ciudad.
      We no longer live in that city.

Let us now practice these words in a story! 📚✨

👋 Click below to listen to the story 👇🙂

Un día, Marta se levantó y pensó que no tenía ganas de hacer nada. Sin embargo, rápidamente cambió de opinión. “No puedo quedarme en casa todo el día”, pensó. Aunque sentía que nadie la había llamado en días, decidió que nunca es tarde para tener un buen día, y jamás dejaría que la tristeza ganara. One day, Marta woke up thinking she didn’t feel like doing anything. However, she quickly changed her mind. “I can’t stay home all day,” she thought. Even though it seemed like nobody had called her in days, she decided that it’s never too late to have a good day, and she would never let sadness win.
Buscó un libro en su estantería, pero no encontró ninguno que le apeteciera leer. “Bueno, hoy no es día de libros”, se dijo. Decidió salir a caminar, aunque no tenía un destino claro. “Voy a salir aunque no tenga ganas de ir a ninguna parte en particular, ni al parque ni al centro”, pensó. She looked for a book on her shelf but didn’t find any that caught her interest. “Well, today’s not a book day,” she told herself. She decided to go for a walk, even though she didn’t have a clear destination. “I’m going out even if I don’t feel like going anywhere specific, neither to the park nor downtown,” she thought.
Al cruzar la calle, se encontró con su amiga Clara, que casualmente también estaba dando un paseo. “¡Qué sorpresa verte! ¿Tomamos un café?” preguntó Clara. Marta, sonriendo, respondió: “¡Claro! No tenía planes y tampoco pensaba quedarme en casa todo el día.” As she crossed the street, she bumped into her friend Clara, who was also out for a walk. “What a surprise to see you! Shall we grab a coffee?” Clara asked. Smiling, Marta replied: “Of course! I didn’t have any plans, and I wasn’t planning to stay home all day either.”

Las dos se sentaron en un café cercano y hablaron durante horas. Marta pensó: “Qué raro, ya no me siento tan mal como esta mañana. Este día resultó ser mucho mejor de lo que esperaba.”The two sat down at a nearby café and talked for hours. Marta thought: “How strange, I no longer feel as bad as I did this morning. This day turned out to be much better than I expected.”

Now, read the story out loud again! 📖🎤✨ Keep practicing your Spanish! Join us for a free trial lesson on Zoom! 💻😃 @spanish.in.scene 🎬 😊