A2 · Pronouns
Indefinites: alguien, nadie
One pair for people and one for things, and all four build the sentence differently depending on where they stand.
At a glance
- Remember
- After the verb with no, before the verb without.
- Form
- ¿Ha llamado alguien?person, affirmative
- Signal words
- alguien
- nadie
- algo
- nada
- ningún
- Trap
- Wrong:Vi a nadie en la calle.Right:No vi a nadie en la calle.
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Spanish.
negation question marker
| person, affirmative | ¿Ha llamado alguien? |
| person, negative | No ha llamado nadie. |
| thing, affirmative | ¿Quieres algo? |
| thing, negative | No quiero nada. |
| put in front | Nadie lo sabe. |
| before a noun | algún día, ningún problema |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After the verb the negative word needs a no in front.
No he visto nada.I have not seen anything.
Before the verb it stands alone.
Nada me sorprende ya.Nothing surprises me any more.
Before a person comes the personal a — alguien and nadie included.
No conozco a nadie aquí.I do not know anybody here.
alguno and ninguno lose their o before masculine nouns.
No hay ningún problema.There is no problem.
Example sentences
¿Hay alguien en casa?Is anybody at home?
No dijo nada en toda la tarde.He said nothing all afternoon.
Alguien ha dejado esto aquí.Somebody has left this here.
Ninguna de las dos vino.Neither of the two came.
6 more example sentences
¿Necesitas algo más?Do you need anything else?
Nunca pasa nada aquí.Nothing ever happens here.
Algunos prefieren quedarse.Some prefer to stay.
No tengo ninguna duda.I have no doubt.
Algún día volveré.One day I will come back.
Nadie sabe lo que pasó.Nobody knows what happened.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The no gets left out, because English negates once and treats a double negative as an error: Vi a nadie. If the negative word stands after the verb, Spanish demands both: No vi a nadie. Only in front does it stand alone: Nadie vino.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
For people there are alguien (somebody) and nadie (nobody), for things algo (something) and nada (nothing). None of the four ever changes.
If the negative word stands after the verb, a no has to come before it: No vi a nadie. If it stands in front, the no drops: Nadie vino. This double negative is correct Spanish, not careless speech — which is exactly the opposite of what English schooling teaches.
Along with them come alguno and ninguno, which agree and lose their ending before masculine nouns: algún día, ningún problema.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 52 · hay or está?Back to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: haber · decir · dejar