Hi,
I didn't get a reply to my question below, wondering if it fell through the cracks...
Thank you, Niocle
In Spanish, to make a sentence negative simply put no before the verb:
If the sentence has me, te, se, le, nos, os, les then no goes in front of these:
No me levanto antes de las ocho.
I don't get up before eight.
Tú no te lavas los dientes todos los días.
You don't brush your teeth every day.
No se visten antes de las siete.
They don't get dressed before seven.
Nosotros no nos duchamos por la mañana.
We don't have a shower in the morning.
In Spanish, the adverb no is often repeated to emphasise the negation.
¿Vas al médico? – No, no voy al médico.
Are you going to the doctor? - No, I am not going to the doctor.
See also Oración negativa and Forming negative sentences using no (negation) with complex verbal structures.
No hago deporte.
I don't exercise.
Elena no quiere café.
Elena doesn't want any coffee.
No se visten antes de las siete.
They don't get dressed before seven.
Ella no se despierta temprano.
She doesn't wake up early.
¿Vas al médico? – No, no voy al médico.
Are you going to the doctor? - No, I am not going to the doctor.
Vosotros no sois altos.
You are not tall.
No me levanto antes de las ocho.
I don't get up before eight.
Tú no te lavas los dientes todos los días.
You don't brush your teeth every day.
Nosotros no bebemos y conducimos.
We don't drink and drive.
No duermes mucho.
You don't sleep much.
Nosotros no nos duchamos por la mañana.
We don't have a shower in the morning.
Yo no hablo alemán.
I don't speak German.
Fernanda no compra pan.
Fernanda does not buy bread.
Javier y Mario no juegan al fútbol.
Javier and Mario don't play football.
Tú no estudias mucho.
You don't study a lot.
Hi,
I didn't get a reply to my question below, wondering if it fell through the cracks...
Thank you, Niocle
Hola Nicole
Sorry about the delay.
We haven't got a lesson about this specific difference between the English and the Spanish. The reason why we cannot make it a lesson is because there is no specific pattern. This happens with some verbs, which in my opinion tend to be "verbs of perception", i.e. oir, escuchar, ver, oler... See these sentence and notice how in Spanish we don't need any modal verb, we simply use the verb directly:
1. No sé dónde está Laura. No la veo.
I don't know where Laura is. I cannot see her.
2. Habla más alto, no te oigo.
Speak louder, I can't hear you.
You can see that in the Spanish sentence we don't need to add "cannot". This is implicit.
Saludos
Inma
Hi,
I didn't get a reply to my question below, wondering if it fell through the cracks...
Thank you, Niocle
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