A short word can turn an affirmative statement into a negative one. In Spanish that word is usually no.
The idea
Place no immediately before the verb: Ella no habla alemán. When an unstressed object pronoun precedes the verb, no comes before the pronoun: No lo entiendo. A standalone No, gracias politely declines an offer.
Examples
- No tengo coche.I do not have a car.
- Ella no habla alemán.She does not speak German.
- Hoy no trabajamos.We are not working today.
- El tren no llega temprano.The train does not arrive early.
- No lo entiendo.I do not understand it.
- No, gracias.No, thank you.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Spanish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
Do not put no after the conjugated verb to make this basic negative. In No lo entiendo, keep lo between no and the verb.
Try it yourself
Choose the negative: Ella ___ habla alemán. (no / sí)
Show answer or example answer
no
No before habla makes the sentence negative.
Choose the negative: Hoy ___ trabajamos. (no / sí)
Show answer or example answer
no
Before trabajamos, no states that we do not work.
___ lo entiendo. (No / Lo)
Show answer or example answer
No
No goes before the object pronoun lo.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Spanish sentences where available. We keep your score.
Choose the negative: Ella ___ habla alemán. (no / sí)
Choose the negative: Hoy ___ trabajamos. (no / sí)
___ lo entiendo. (No / Lo)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Write a negative sentence about a language you do not speak, then politely decline an offer.