Negation – Free Exercise

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Exercises

Negate the sentences.

  1. Tengo una familia muy numerosa.
      muy numerosa.place no before the verbI have a big family.
    → I don’t have a big family.
  2. En Sevilla hace mucho calor en agosto.
    → En Sevilla   en agosto.place no before the verbIn Seville it’s very hot in August.
    → In Seville it’s not very hot in August.
  3. Diego quiere ser actor.
    → Diego  .place no before the verbDiego wants to be an actor.
    → Diego doesn’t want to be an actor.
  4. Me gustaría viajar a Nepal y hacer senderismo.
     .place no before the verb|use ni to connect two negated clausesI’d like to go to Nepal and go hiking.
    → I wouldn’t like to travel to Nepal nor go hiking.
  5. Yo también iré a la fiesta de fin de curso.
    → Yo   de fin de curso.también becomes tampoco in a negated clauseI’m also going to the end-of-course party.
    → I’m not going to the end-of-course party either.

Turn the positive sentences into negative sentences. The underlined section should be negated.

  1. Mi hermana canta bien.
      We generally construct negation by placing no before the conjugated verb.My sister sings well. → My sister doesn’t sing well.
  2. El árbol tiene todavía hojas.
      Todavía becomes ya no…The tree still has leaves. → The tree doesn’t have any more leaves.
  3. El vigilante está siempre allí.
      The negation of siempre is no… nunca or no… jamás. But if nunca/jamás comes before the verb, we don’t use no.The guard is always there. → The guard is never there.
  4. Tengo una amiga.
      No/any is translated with no… ninguna.I have a friend. → I don’t have any friend.
  5. Hay algo en la nevera.
      The negation of algo is no… nada. Here it would be uncommon for nada to appear before the verb.There’s something in the refrigerator. → There’s nothing in the refrigerator.
  6. Veo a alguien en la casa.
      The negation of alguien is nadie. Here it would be uncommon for nadie to appear before the verb.I see someone in the house. → I see no one in the house.

Double negatives. Are the following sentences correct or incorrect?

  1. No he visto a nadie conocido en la fiesta.when nadie comes after the verb, we use a double negative (no + verb + nadie)I haven’t seen anyone I know at the party.
  2. Ninguna persona no quiere trabajar gratis.incorrect|when ninguna comes before the verb, we don’t need a double negative|the correct negation is: Ninguna persona quiere trabajar gratis.|→No one wants to work for free.
  3. A Susana no le gusta el sushi y a mí también.incorrect|también becomes tampoco in negated clauses|the correct negation is: A Susana no le gusta el sushi y a mí tampoco.|→Susana doesn’t like sushi and neither do I.
  4. Nada de lo que dices tiene sentido.when nada comes before the verb, we don’t need a double negativeNothing that you say makes sense.
  5. He ido nunca a Miami.incorrect|when nunca comes after the verb, we need a double negative (no + verb + nunca)|the correct negation is: No he ido nunca a Miami.|→I’ve never been to Miami.