Mastering the use of positive (affirmative) and negative words in Spanish is an integral step to becoming a more coherent, fluent-like speaker. This unit reviews many of the common words you will need.
Sí- Used as a simple “yes”. Make sure to include the accent (´) on the “i”, otherwise you’ll be saying “si”, which means “if”.
No- Used as a response to a question, just as we use “no” in English. Also placed before a verb to make that verb negative, the same way we use “don’t” or “do not” in English. We use affirmative words to talk about indefinite situations or items and negative words to talk about negative situations. For example:
Affirmative word: I need something to clean up this spill. (indefinite item needed)
Negative word: There is no one here to help me clean this spill. (negative situation)
Take a look at the Spanish affirmative and negative words below:
| Affirmative Words | Negative Words |
| algo – something | nada – nothing |
| alguien – someone | nadie – nobody |
| alguno/a/as/os, algún – a, one, any, some | ningún, ninguno/a – none |
| siempre – always | nunca, jamás – never |
| alguna vez – ever | nunca, jamás – never |
| también – also | tampoco – neither |
| o … o – either … or | ni … ni – neither … nor |
*Note: When we use the words alguno and ninguno they must agree in gender with the noun they modify, and they shorten to algún and ningún before a masculine singular noun.
When choosing between a negative and affirmative word, a helpful hint is to remember that if the word “no” has been used before the verb, a negative word must follow. In Spanish, this use of a double negative is not only permitted but required.