CSG306

Ind efinite and Negative Words and Expressions

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6.    Do you (Ud.) speak German too? _

7.    She eats either potatoes or rice only.

8.    Neither you nor I. _

When Are Indefinite and ]\egative Words Used in Spanish?

Here is a summary of the uses of indefinite and negative words in Spanish:

•    Alguien and nadie refer only to people.

Alguien me manda flores a la oficina Someone sends meflowers at my office euery todos los viernes.    Friday.

No veo a nadie en el salon de fiestas.    Idon’t see anyone in the ballroom.

Notę the personal a in the second example above; nadie is the direct object of the verb veo.

•    Algo and nada refer only to things or ideas.

<:Vas a hacer algo?    Areyou going to do anything (something) ?

Nada va a cambiar.    No thing is going to change.

•    The forms algun/alguna/alguno/algun as/algunos and ningun/ninguna/ninguno/ningunas/ ningunos may refer to both people and things. A spelling rule requires a written accent mark on algun/ningun when the -o ending of the adjectives alguno and ninguno is dropped, and these words (masculine, singular) precede the noun.

Algunos estudiantes no quieren    Some students do not want to study but nonę

estudiar pero ningun profesor esta    of the professors agrees.

de acuerdo.

Notę: The form alguno (a), when used as an adjective, follows the noun and may replace the negative ninguno (a). Algun always precedes the noun.

Las leyes no son respetadas por    No criminal respects the laws.

criminal alguno.

Algun dia vamos a viajar al espacio.    One day we are going to travel into space.

•    Use the negative adverb no before the conjugated verb or before the pronoun if an object pronoun precedes the verb.

No beben vino.    They do not (don’t) dńnk winę.

No los quieren aqui.    They don % want them here.

•    Two or even three negative words may be used in Spanish in the same sentence. Remember that if a negative follows a verb, the verb must also be preceded by a negative.

Nunca viene nadie a las fiestas de Mary. 1 __T    ,

_XT .. .    , ~    i ,, ' \ No one ever comes to Mary s partzes.

Nadie viene nunca a las fiestas de Mar)?. J    ^y 1

^No traes ni dinero ni tu documento    You bńng neither your money nor your ID

de identidad al trabajo?    to work?

•    Use jamas, nada, nadie, ninguno, and nunca in questions when you expect a negative answer. These words add emphasis to the message.

.jConoces a nadie mas cómico que    Do you know anyone funnier than Ramon?

Ramon?