Affirmative expressions say something is there or happens: always, someone, something. Negative expressions say it is not: never, nobody, nothing. Below: the pairs, the one rule that surprises English speakers, real sentences, and practice you can quiz yourself on.
the "gotchas" worth memorizing early
English says I don't have anything, and teachers warn us against two negatives. Spanish does the opposite. If the negative word comes after the verb, put no in front of the verb too.
✓ No tengo nada en mi mochila.
✗ Tengo nada en mi mochila.
Both negatives stay. Do not translate "nothing" as just "anything."
Put the negative word before the verb and you do not need no. Both patterns mean the same thing.
✓ Nadie vino. = No vino nadie.
✓ Nunca como pescado. = No como pescado nunca.
Pick one pattern and stay consistent inside the sentence.
Before a masculine singular noun, alguno and ninguno drop the o. Feminine keeps its a.
algún niño, ningún planeta
alguna clase, ninguna idea
Ningún is almost always singular: No hay ningún problema.
No noun right after it? Use the full form and match the gender of what you mean.
¿Tienes un lápiz? No tengo ninguno.
¿Tienes una pluma? No tengo ninguna.
Same idea with alguno: ¿Hay alguno de ustedes?
affirmative on the left, its opposite on the right · how to say it · what it means
the same words at work, using vocabulary from our unit on customs and traditions
Every affirmative and negative word from the unit. Cover the right side and quiz yourself.
Tap a card to reveal it. For typed practice, type your answer and press Check.
Say the opposite out loud first, then tap to check.
Answer each question with a negative reply. Type the missing word or words.
Read the English, then type the missing Spanish words.
Tap the choice that completes the sentence. A wrong tap lets you try again.
Fill each blank with a word from the bank. Words can repeat.
Tap a Spanish word, then tap its English meaning.
Answer each question out loud in a full sentence with at least one affirmative or negative word. "Sí" and "no" by themselves do not count. Then tap for a model answer. Yours can be different.