Nadie, nada and nunca with no

The idea

When nadie, nada or nunca follows the verb, put no before the verb: no veo a nadie. When one starts the clause, no is normally omitted: nadie viene.

Examples

• No veo a nadie en la sala.I see nobody in the room.
• Nadie viene a la reunión.Nobody is coming to the meeting.
• No escucho nada desde aquí.I cannot hear anything from here.
• Nunca tomo té por la noche.I never drink tea at night.
• No comemos nunca en el tren.We never eat on the train.
• Nada falta en la caja.Nothing is missing from the box.

Watch out

The combination no plus a negative word expresses one negative meaning; it does not automatically turn the statement positive.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the word before the verb. ___ veo a nadie en la sala. (No / Sí)

   Show answer or example answer

   No

   No is needed before veo when a nadie follows.

2. Choose the form after sentence-initial nadie. Nadie ___ a la reunión. (viene / no viene)

   Show answer or example answer

   viene

   Nadie begins the clause, so no is not needed before viene.

3. Choose the negative word after the verb. No comemos ___ en el tren. (nunca / siempre)

   Show answer or example answer

   nunca

   Nunca following the verb combines with no.

Use it today

Say that nobody is coming, that you see nothing and that you never drink coffee.