A2 · Questions and negation
Two negatives, one statement
The sentence English teachers strike out is the correct one here.
If a negative word stands after the verb, non must stand in front of it: Non ho niente, Non vedo nessuno, Non ci vado mai.
Word for word, non ho niente is I don't have nothing — which is exactly the sentence English schooling spends years removing. Every English speaker has been told that two negatives make a positive, and in Italian they do not: the two parts form one single statement, and leaving either out breaks it. This is not a licence to be sloppy; it is a different rule, and it is compulsory.
If the negative word stands *before* the verb, non drops: Nessuno lo sa, Niente è cambiato, Mai più. So the rule has two halves, and getting the first one right makes it tempting to apply it everywhere.
The main words: niente/nulla (nothing), nessuno (nobody, no), mai (never), più (no longer), ancora in non … ancora (not yet), né … né (neither … nor).
non … più is the trap inside the trap: più otherwise means more, and here it means no longer. Non lavoro più is I do not work any more — and any more is where the English mind goes, which at least puts the word in the right place.
Die Form
| I have nothing | non ho niente |
| I see nobody | non vedo nessuno |
| I never go there | non ci vado mai |
| I do not work any more | non lavoro più |
| nobody knows | nessuno lo sa |
| he has not arrived yet | non è ancora arrivato |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
After the verb, every negative word needs a non in front.
Non conosco nessuno qui.I do not know anybody here.
If it stands before the verb, non drops.
Nessuno mi ha detto niente.Nobody told me anything.
non … più means not any more.
Non abito più a Milano.I do not live in Milan any more.
né … né also requires a non.
Non bevo né caffè né tè.I drink neither coffee nor tea.
Woran man es erkennt
- niente
- nessuno
- mai
- più
- né … né
Beispielsätze
Non ho ancora mangiato.I have not eaten yet.
In agosto non c’è nessuno in città.In August there is nobody in town.
Non ci sono mai stato.I have never been there.
Niente è cambiato dall’anno scorso.Nothing has changed since last year.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English forbids the double negative and Italian requires it. Ho niente is not a sentence — the non is missing. And the other way round: as soon as the negative word comes first, the non is one too many. Nessuno non lo sa is wrong; it is nessuno lo sa. Both halves have to be learnt, because the English instinct is wrong in one direction and then overcorrects in the other.
If it comes after, it needs non in front.
Jetzt selbst
6 Aufgaben zu diesem Thema. Die Antworten werden im Browser geprüft; nichts davon verlässt Ihr Gerät.