1.7: Palabras indefinidas y negativas
- Page ID
- 317223
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Indefinite and Negative Words
In Spanish, indefinite words have the opposite meaning of their corresponding negative words. Let's take a look at these common indefinite and negative words:
| Palabra Indefinida | Indefinite Word | Palabra Negativa | Negative Word |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Algo |
Something |
Nada |
Nothing |
|
Alguien |
Someone |
Nadie |
No one |
|
Siempre |
Always |
Nunca, jamás |
Never |
|
También |
Also |
Tampoco |
Neither, nor |
|
Algún, alguno, alguna, algunos, algunas |
Some |
Ningún, ninguno, ninguna (in singular only) |
None, not any |
| O... o | Either.... or | Ni... ni | Neither... nor |
There are two ways to form negative sentences in Spanish. Let us compare them:
No + verb + negative word
Review the following examples. Note that all negative words, including the word "no", are indicated in bold.
- Yo no peleo nunca con mi hermanito.
- No se acuesta nadie temprano en mi casa.
- No quiero salir tampoco.
Negative word + verb
- Nunca peleo con mi hermanito.
- Nadie se acuesta temprano en mi casa.
- Tampoco quiero salir.
The indefinite word "algún" has four different forms that will agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Its counterpart "ningún" also agrees in gender with the noun it modifies. However, in the negative form, "ningún" and "ninguna" are never used in the plural form since there is no plural of "none".
In questions using indefinite words: "algún", "algunos", "algunas", and "alguna", while there are different ways to answer, it is common to use these negative words: "ningún", "ninguno", "ninguna" and "nadie".
Note that "alguno" and "ninguno" are used as masculine pronouns. Thus, they cannot be followed by the masculine noun they refer to. There needs to be a previous context indicating what they refer to. If the masculine noun is needed after, use "algún" or "ningún" instead. The first two questions below can be responded to by using "ninguno" or "ningún" since the question provides the context needed to know what they refer to.
Ejemplos
- ¿Tienes algún diccionario de francés?
- No, no tengo ningún diccionario de francés.
- No, no tengo ninguno.
- ¿Les mandas algunos mensajes a tus amigos cuando estás trabajando?
- No, no les mando ningún mensaje a mis amigos cuando estoy trabajando;
- No, no les mando ninguno cuando estoy trabajando.
- ¿Tienes algunas pastillas en tu bolsa?
- No, no tengo ninguna pastilla en mi bolsa;
- No, no tengo ninguna en mi bolsa.
- ¿Viste a *alguna amiga en la cafetería?
- No, no vi a ninguna amiga en la cafetería.
- No, no vi a ninguna en la cafetería.
- No, no vi a nadie en la cafetería.
*Use the personal “a” before "alguna", just like with "alguien" and "nadie", when referring to people, . This is the same when using "alguno", "alguna", "algunos", "algunas", "ninguno" and "ninguna".