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| Nada is always used for things, not people Photo credit: Razi Marysol Machay licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 |
Nada
This is Spanish for nothing. No gimmicks here; nada means nothing and nothing else. Well, it can also translate into anything at times but that’s only when that anything actually comes paired with a no and implies nothing. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear this word used among English speakers in casual conversations, so the word isn’t as unfamiliar as the others on this list. Let’s see a couple of examples to understand how it works:
No tenemos nada ahora.
We don’t have anything right now.
¿Qué pasa? Nada mucho.
What’s going on? Nothing much.
So that’s nada for you. Now how do you make sure it sticks? Well, as always, daydreaming is your friend. Imagine a cop shop where they are interrogating a bloke they picked up from the street corner last night. They torture him real bad but the dude wouldn’t snitch. After hours of beating him black and blue, the cop asks him one last time:
“You’d better tell us all about your homies if you wanna stay alive.”
To which the dude says:
“Not a chance. I’m not sayin’ nothin’”
Respect to a partner like that! Just remember his answer and you’ll never forget nada – the rhyme between nada and not a will ensure that.
Ningún
Ningún translates into none. Not no one. Not nobody. Just none. That makes life a tad easier, doesn’t it? Oh and at times it can also translate into not one or not any but that’s not very different from none, so we’ll stick to that. The word is originally meant to be ninguno but they drop the last vowel to make it ningún when using it with a masculine noun. By itself, it stays ninguno. With feminine nouns, it becomes ninguna. Let’s see how the word works:
No me gusta ninguna película.
I don’t like any movie.
¿Tienes dinero? No, no tengo ninguno.
Do you have any money? No, I have none.
So, the application and usage is pretty straightforward and easy to grasp. But how do you ensure you remember the word and don’t get it mixed up with the others? There’s a mighty easy trick actually. You see, ningún rhymes well with Yangoon, the capital of Myanmar. Obscure as the Southeast Asian country is, chances are you’ve neither ever been there nor have any acquaintances there. So just picture yourself being asked:
“How many people do you know in Yangoon?”
And your answer:
“No, I don’t know ninguna persona in Yangoon!”
Nadie
Nadie is Spanish for nobody (or anybody if it actually implies nobody). This should perhaps be easier to remember than ningún because its spelling remains the same regardless of what it comes before or after. Just remember to pronounce it correctly; it’s not nah-dee, nor is it nah-dye. It’s nah-di-yay. Make sure you pronounce both the vowels in the last syllable discreetly. Other than that, nadie offers little challenge in the way of learning and usage. Nadie remains nadie no matter what noun you use it with – singular, plural, masculine, feminine, whatever. Here’s how it works:
Nadie vio esa película.
Nobody saw that movie.
Yo no veo nunca a nadie tampoco.
I never see anybody either.
The key here is that nadie sounds so much like nada. And they even have almost similar translations except that nada is about things and nadie is about people. Just remember that nadie is nada with an I in it and I am a person, so nadie is to be used for people. That’s how nada is nothing and nadie is nobody. Another hint is the rhyme between the -di- in nadie and -dy in nobody. Easy, wasn’t it?
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| Nunca can mean both never and ever but always implies never Photo credit: Javier Armas licensed CC BY 2.0 |
Nunca
Nunca translates into never. But just like Nadie can also be anybody when the sentence implies nobody, nunca can also mean ever when the sentence implies never. Other than this, there’s little complication with this word. Let the following contextual examples illustrate what I just said:
No compro nada nunca.
I never buy anything (literally, I don’t ever buy nothing).
Nunca te he visto estudiando.
I have never seen you studying.
Memorizing this word is no pain at all. There are way too many mnemonic ideas you can come up with to nail it. One that I can think of just off the top of my head right now is to think of a nun and how she can never marry. Or have sex. Or pretty much do anything fun. The nun- in nunca will always remind you of the things she can never do!
Jamás
This one is the oddball here for obvious reasons. The tricky bit is that both jamás and nunca translate into never. So how does one decide which one to use where? I would say do what most natives do and go with nunca in regular conversations; the two words are practically interchangeable. But if you’re looking to please the grammar police by being pedantic, use jamás when you must emphasize the never bit. Nunca is when something never happens in general context but a future possibility isn’t being ruled out. For example, “I never go shopping alone,” is an excellent candidate. Here, you’re just stating a fact of life without commenting on whether you would consider going shopping alone should you have to in future. On the other hand, a sentence like, “She’d never eat meat; she’s vegan,” rules out any likelihood of the subject changing her mind in future. That’s why jamás seems about right here. But like I said, if in doubt just go with nunca and you won’t sound weird.
Now how to memorize jamás? The word kinda rhymes with pajamas – PJs or jammies, if you will. Use this connection! Would you ever go to work in your jammies? Never! No matter what! So, can a nun marry? Never, unless she quits being a nun. Would you go to work in your jammies? Never, not even if your HR allowed it. This simple mnemonic should help you remember both words and their difference in emphasis.
Double negatives
Ever noticed how certain English speakers, especially those from certain socio-economic backgrounds, use two negatives in the same sentence? See the following examples:
I don’t know nothing (instead of “I don’t know anything”).
I didn’t lie to no one (instead of “I didn’t lie to anyone”).
You never gave her no money (instead of “You never gave her any money”).
This practice is, for obvious reasons, often frowned upon by the puritans but they’re inevitable. You can’t just do away with an entire dialect. Personally, I find it quite cool but that’s just me. That being said, if you like it too, you’ll feel a lot more at home with the Spanish negative constructs because they use it all the time. In Spanish, though, double negatives is not a matter of choice – it’s rule.
Remember when I said nada means nothing but can also mean anything when the sentence implies nothing? Well, now you know what I meant. See for yourself:
No tengo nada.
The above sentence can be translated with both nothing and anything:
I have nothing.
I don’t have anything.
Same goes with ningún, nunca, and nadie as well. But jamás is the oddball (told you that, didn’t I?). That’s because jamás does not take another negative in its sentence. That could be because it’s already emphatic enough? Take that as another cue. See an example below:
Juanita jamás me perdonará.
Juanita will never forgive me.
If you were to render the same sentence with nunca, you must use a no:
Juanita no me perdonará nunca.
See the difference?
So there you are, all the negatives in Spanish taken care of once and for all. It’s funny how mnemonics can make life a cinch when you’re learning a new language. The tricks I showed were my own, they worked for me. They will work for you too, sure, but it will be even better if you could come up with something of your own because your own visualization might be a bit easier to relate with for you than the ones given to you by someone else. And it’s easier to come up with these ideas than it might seem at first. Give it a spin and see for yourself – and do share your fun tricks with the rest of us in the comments below. It’s always fun to learn together, no?
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