Today, we’ll talk about something a bit simpler – positive and negative words in Spanish.

Let’s start with the negative words. As the name implies, there are words that have a negative meaning, but we will also see that sometimes can give a positive idea, so let’s see some examples.

Negative words in Spanish

No – no, not

Nadie / ninguno – nobody, no one

Nada – nothing, not anything

Nunca / jamás – never

Ningún / ninguna – none, not any

Tampoco – neither

Ni… ni – neither …. nor

Ni – not even

The words nadie / ninguno relate to people, both have the same meaning.

For example:

Nadie vino a la fiesta. – No one came to the party.

– No one came to the party. Ninguno quiere ir al mercado, todos están cansados. – No one wants to go to the market, everyone is tired.

– No one wants to go to the market, everyone is tired. Nadie tiene tiempo para hacer la carta. – No one has time to make the letter.

– No one has time to make the letter. Ninguno en está habitación puede escribir en alemán. – No one in this room can write in German.

The words ningún / ninguna means the same but are divided in this way to make a difference in gender, that is to say male, female, for the words refer to people, things, countries, etc.

For example:

Ningún hombre ha llegado a Marte. – No man has reached Mars.

– No man has reached Mars. Ninguna de las chicas ha perdido su celular . – None of the girls lost their cell phone.

. – None of the girls lost their cell phone. ¿Cuál de estos zapatos te gustan? Ninguno todos son del mismo estilo. – Which of these shoes do you like? Neither, are all the same styles.

– Which of these shoes do you like? Neither, are all the same styles. Ningún país es completamente rico. – No country is very rich.

You can use the word ninguno instead of “ni+noun….ni+noun”, as in “neither” when there is multiple nouns that are specific and known. For example:

¿Quieres un suéter o un abrigo? No quiero ninguno de los dos. – Do you want a sweater or coat? Neither of them. (This is in lieu of saying, “No quiero un suéter ni un abrigo”)

– Do you want a sweater or coat? Neither of them. (This is in lieu of saying, “No quiero un suéter ni un abrigo”) Ninguno ha dicho lo contrario. – No one (neither one of them) has said otherwise.

Nadie is better used when it is more general, as in “no one around” or “no one in the world”

Nadie quiere ir a Siberia en invierno. No one wants to go to Siberia in the winter.

Keep in mind that the negative word usually comes before the verb. Here are some other examples:

No me gusta comer pollo. – I do not like eating chicken.

– I do not like eating chicken. No tengo hambre. – I’m not hungry.

– I’m not hungry. Nadie está de acuerdo con tu decisión. – No one agrees with your decision.

– No one agrees with your decision. Ninguno quiere hacer la tarea. – No one wants to do the homework.

– No one wants to do the homework. Nada de lo que digas me hará cambiar de opinión. – Nothing you say will make me change my mind.

– Nothing you say will make me change my mind. Ella nunca se casará con él. – She will never marry him.

– She will never marry him. Jamás compraremos esa casa, es muy vieja. – We will never buy that house, it is very old.

– We will never buy that house, it is very old. Ningún carro vuela todavía. – No cars fly yet.

– No cars fly yet. Ninguna de mis amigas está en la fiesta. – None of my friends are at the party.

– None of my friends are at the party. A mí no me gusta la carne y tampoco el pollo. – I do not like meat or chicken. (I neither like meat nor chicken)

– I do not like meat or chicken. (I neither like meat nor chicken) Ella no quiere comer y los niños tampoco . – She doesn’t want to eat, and neither the children.

– She doesn’t want to eat, and neither the children. Cuando llegamos no había nadie , ni el doctor ni la secretaria. – When we arrived there was no one, neither the doctor nor the secretary.

– When we arrived there was no one, neither the doctor nor the secretary. Yo no comí ni un solo pedazo de pastel. – I did not eat a single piece of cake.

When negative words are used after: más que, mejor que, it express an affirmative idea.

For example:

Para mí, él es mejor que nadie . – To me he is better than anyone.

– To me he is better than anyone. Te necesito más que nunca . – I need you more than ever.

– I need you more than ever. Ahora más que nunca es bueno que él esté presente. – Now more than ever it is good that he is present.

Negative Idioms:

Ni yo tampoco – me neither

Ya no – no longer, not any more

Todavia no – not yet

Aún no – not yet

De ninguna manera – no way, by no means

De ningún modo – no way, by no means

Ni siquiera – not even

Para nada – not at all

(en / por) ninguna parte – nowhere

(en / por) ninguna lado – nowhere

(en / por) ninguna lugar – nowhere

Por nada del mundo – never, not for all the world

Now let’s stop being so negative, and learn about positive words!

Positive words in Spanish

Algo – something

Alguien / alguno – someone

Algún / alguna / algunos / algunas – some

Siempre – always

También – also

Aún – still

Todavía – still

Ya – already

The words alguien / alguno refer to people, both have the same meaning.

For example:

¿ Alguien tiene hambre? – Is someone hungry?

– Is someone hungry? Alguno de los chicos tiene el libro, vamos a preguntar . – Some of the guys have the book, let’s ask.

. – Some of the guys have the book, let’s ask. ¿Cómo pretendes que alguien te ayude si tú no ayudas nunca? – How do you expect someone to help you if you never help?

– How do you expect someone to help you if you never help? Alguno va a venir, no lo dudes. – Someone will come, no doubt.

With the words algún / alguna / algunos / algunas mean the same but are each used to agree with the gender and number (singular/plural).

For example:

Algún programa de español tiene que ser fácil. – Some Spanish program has to be easy

– Some Spanish program has to be easy Algunas de las chicas tiene que trabajar tarde. – Some of the girls have to work later.

– Some of the girls have to work later. Algunos de estos carros van a terminar en chatarra. – Some of these cars will end up as junk.

– Some of these cars will end up as junk. Algunas de las familias del programa van a recibir ayuda. – Some of the families in the program will get help.

Here are some more examples with positive words:

Algo de todo esto debe ser bueno. – Some of this should be good.

– Some of this should be good. Quiero algo que realmente me guste. – I want something that I really like.

– I want something that I really like. Alguien debe de hablar con ella. – Someone needs to talk to her.

– Someone needs to talk to her. ¿ Alguno de nosotros podrá ayudarla? – Can any of us can help her?

– Can any of us can help her? Algún lugar debe ser divertido. – Some place should be fun.

– Some place should be fun. Alguna casa tiene lo que necesitamos. – Some house has what we need.

– Some house has what we need. Algunos perros sufren cuando hace calor. – Some dogs suffer when it is hot.

– Some dogs suffer when it is hot. Algunas cosas son indispensables en la vida. – Some things are essential in life.

– Some things are essential in life. Siempre estaré a tu lado. – I will always be by your side.

– I will always be by your side. Viviremos en esta ciudad siempre . – We will live in this city forever.

– We will live in this city forever. Ella quiere un refresco también . – She wants a drink too.

– She wants a drink too. Todos irán a la fiesta conmigo también . – Everyone will go to the party with me too.

– Everyone will go to the party with me too. Ella está feliz aún por su premio. – She is still happy for her award.

– She is still happy for her award. Aún hay pastel para mi novio. – There is still cake for my boyfriend.

– There is still cake for my boyfriend. Todavía quiero ese suéter tan lindo. – I still want that very cute sweater.

– I still want that very cute sweater. Ella todavía está enamorada de él. – She is still in love with him.

– She is still in love with him. Ya hemos visitado todas las ciudades importantes. – We have visited every major city.

– We have visited every major city. Ellos ya hicieron la tarea como dijo su mama. – They already did the job as her mom said.

See y’all later – and don’t forget to stay positive!

photo credit: mcfcrandall via photopin