Double negative
También vs. Tampoco

Tampoco tengo un Ferrari

In this lesson you are going to learn how to manage Spanish sentences with two negative elements. These are so-called double negative sentences.

They were already mentioned in some of the previous lessons with the negative pronoun nadie in the background. Here we are going to add more negative elements and explain the difference between también and tampoco.

To begin with, you should always remember, that there is a quite simple rule in Spanish, when it comes to negative sentences. There should always be only one negative element in front of a verb.

Elena no tiene trabajo – Elena doesn’t have a job

If you replace the subject (Elena) with an element that is negative itself, for example, nadie, the negative word no should be removed.

Nadie tiene trabajo – Nobody has a job

Don’t say: Nadie no tiene trabajo

These are the negative elements that can be applied to a verb instead of no:

nadie – nobody

ninguno – no + noun

nunca – never

jamás – never

tampoco – also not, either

Nunca voy al gimnasio – I never go to the gym

Nadie es perfecto – Nobody is perfect

Ninguno de mis amigos habla español – None of my friends speaks Spanish

Jamás te olvido – I won’t forget you ever

Tampoco tengo trabajo – I don’t have a job, either

Try it yourself:

Nobody wants to live in this poor city

I never eat much meat

None of these people can answer your question

We don’t know Fernando, either

As the Spanish word order is pretty flexible, you can place these negative elements after a verb. In this case, the no particle should remain before the verb.

Nunca voy al gimnasio

No voy al gimnasio nunca

Jamás te olvido

No te olvido jamás

Nadie tiene trabajo

No tiene nadie trabajo

Tampoco vivo en Brasil

No vivo en Brasil tampoco

Try it yourself:

None of these tables is available

a. …

b. …

We never buy in this shop

a. …

b. …

Nobody wants to eat this pizza

a. …

b. …

Nada is another very common negative pronoun. We haven’t mentioned it, because it’s almost always used after a verb.

No veo nada – I don’t see anything

However, less frequently, it can play the role of the main subject in a sentence, and be placed in front of a verb.

Nada es tan bonito como este paisaje – Nothing is so beautiful as this landscape

También vs. tampoco

Let’s have a closer look at two Spanish adverbs, también and tampoco. They have the same meaning, but the first one is used in affirmative sentences, and the second one is used in negative sentences.

también – also

tampoco – also not, also don’t, either

Yo también soy español – I’m also Spanish

Yo tampoco soy español – I’m also not Spanish. I’m not Spanish, either

Tampoco is like también no. The problem is that the combination también no is not used in Spanish.

Don’t say: Yo también no soy español

As the adverb tampoco is negative, the double negative rule comes into play.

Yo tampoco soy español = Yo no soy español tampoco

Tampoco queremos trabajar = No queremos trabajar tampoco

Try it yourself:

Lucia is also at home

Lucia isn’t at home, either

I also nap after lunch

I don’t nap after lunch, either

We also learn a lot

We don’t learn a lot, either

Do you live in Madrid, as well?

Don’t you live in Madrid, either?

This is pretty much it. Get used to building negative sentences, using the double negative rule right.