Affirmative and Negative Words Lesson

Affirmative and Negative Words

Presentacion de Gramatica

Goal:

Today, we're going to learn how to use affirmative and negative words and then practice them to talk about indefinite or negative situations

English Grammar Connection

A Double Negative is the use of two negative words to express a negative idea. Double negatives are incorrect in English but are often times required in Spanish.

Ejemplo:
There's nobody at the door No hay nadie en la puerta

Affirmative Words

When are they used?

You use affirmative words when you want to talk about an indefinite (undefined) thing or situation

​Español	Inglés​
​algo	​something
alguien​	someone​
algún/alguno​	some​/any
o ... o​	either ... or​
siempre​	always​
también​	also​

Negative Words

When are they used?

You use negative words when you want to talk about a negative thing or situation

Español	Inglés​
​nada	​nothing
nadie​	no one/ nobody​
ningún​/ninguno(a)	none/not any
ni ... ni​	neither ... nor​
nunca​	never​
tampoco​	neither/not either​

Reglas (rules)

No conozco ningún restaurante bueno.
I do not know any good restaurants.

Ninguno becomes ningún

Conoces algún restaurante bueno?
Do you know any good restaurants?

Alguno becomes algun

​​Alguno(a) and ninguno(a) must match the gender of the noun they replace or modify. They have different forms when used before masculine singular nouns. “Algún” is the suppression of “alguno”. We use it before masculine nouns, for example, “algún día seré rico” = “someday I will be rich”.

Reglas (rules)

Quiero algunos pantalones
I want some pants

No compro nigunos jeans
I'm not buying any jeans

​​Algunos(as) and ningunos(as) are only used with nouns that are not typically singular, like "jeans"

Reglas (rules)

No como ninguna fruta
I do not eat any fruit

No queremos nada
We do not want anything

​​If a verb is followed by no, words that follow must be negative. A double Negative is required in Spanish when no comes before a verb.

Reglas (rules)

Nadie quiere la cucaracha
No one wants the cockroach

Mi padre nunca usa la computadora
My father never uses the computer

However, if the negative word comes before the verb, there is no need to use "no"

Multiple Choice

Quieres practicar _______ deporte?

• algún

• alguno

• alguna

• ningún

• ninguna

Multiple Choice

No, no quiero practicar _______ deporte

• algún

• ninguno

• alguna

• ningún

• ninguna