Take 2: Affirmative and Negative words

Words that can only refer to a person or to people Affirmative Alguien = Someone Negative Nadie = no one; nobody; anyone; anybody Note: both alguien and nadie can function as the subject of a sentence or as an object (direct or indirect) of a sentence

as a subject (who or what the sentence is about)… Alguien sabe la respuesta. Someone knows the answer. Nadie sabe la respuesta. No one knows the answer Note the parallel word order (to English) for the sentences.

as a direct object (receives the action of the verb)… Yo conozco a alguien en Florida. I know someone in Florida. Yo no conozco a nadie en Florida. I do not know anyone in Florida. Note the parallel word order (to English) for the sentences. Because the direct object is a person, note the use of the PERSONAL A.

as an indirect object (to whom, or for whom the action of the verb is being done )… El profesor le da un libro a alguien. The teacher gives a book to someone. El profesor no le da un libro a nadie. The teacher does not give a book to anyone. Note the parallel word order (to English) for the sentences. Because the indirect object is a person, note the use of the PERSONAL A.

Words that can only refer to a thing or things Affirmative Algo = something Negative Nada = nothing Note the parallel word order (to English) for the affirmative sentence. Yo tengo algo en mi mano. I have something in my hand. Yo no tengo nada en mi mano. I do not have anything in my hand.

Words that can only refer to when / how frequently something happens (adverbs) Affirmative Siempre = always Negative nunca = never jamás = never nunca jamás = never ever Note: adverbs describe verbs

Los estudiantes siempre hacen la tarea. The students always do the homework. Los estudiantes nunca hacen la tarea. The students never do the homework. Examples Note the parallel word order (to English) for the sentences.

Words that can be used to describe (adjectives) both how many people or how many things Affirmative alguno alguna algunos algunas algún = a; any; some Negative: ninguno ninguna ningunos ningunas ningún = not a; not any; not one

Examples To describe people… Hay alguna chica de mi clase en la biblioteca. There is a girl from my class in the library. No hay ninguna chica de mi clase en la biblioteca. There is not any girl from my class in the library. Note: adjectives that describe quantity are placed before the noun they modify.

More examples (people) Hay algún chico en el parque. There is a boy in the park. No hay ningún chico en el parque. There is not any boy in the park. Hay algunos hombres en el parque. There are some men in the park. No hay ningunos hombres en el parque. There are not any men in the park. Note that alguno and ninguno become algún and ningún in front of a singular masculine noun.

Examples To describe things… Yo tengo algún diccionario en mi mochila. I have a dictionary in my backpack. Yo no tengo ningún diccionario en mi mochila. I do not have any dictionary in my backpack. Note that alguno and ninguno become algún and ningún in front of a singular masculine noun.

More examples (things) Yo tengo algunas carpetas en mi mochila. I have some folders in my backpack. Yo no tengo ningunas carpetas en mi mochila. I don’t have any folders in my backpack. Note: adjective noun agreement between algunas and ningunas and the noun, carpetas.

Yo tengo algunos lápices amarillos. OR Yo tengo algunos de los lápices amarillos. I have some (of the) yellow pencils. Yo no tengo ningunos lápices amarillos. OR Yo no tengo ninguno de los lápices amarillos. I do not have any (one of the) yellow pencils. More examples (things) Note: adjective noun agreement between algunos and ningunos and the noun, lapices. Note the use of algunos de for the affirmative sentence, BUT ninguno de for the negative one