What types of negatives are there? German

In the German language, as well as in the Russian language, there are several main types of negations. After all, in addition to No, we also use in Russian Not ,and other types of denials.

For example: " No, I won't do that" or "This color Not yellow, etc.

So, let's look at the main types of negations: nicht, kein, doch, kein.

NICHT(“not”) is used in German when we want to express negation in relation to:

– verbs:

Ich werde das nothing essen – I won’t eat this;

Er kommt heute nothing- He won’t come today.

– personal, possessive, demonstrative pronouns:

Das bin ich! Und ich bin nothing du! - It's me! And I am not you!

Das ist nothing mein Buch is not my book;

Ich habe heute nothing diesen Mann gesehen - I did not see this man today;

– adjectives and adverbs:

– Er las diesels Buch nothing gern - He did not read this book willingly;

– Sie sind nicht gute Leute – They don’t good people.

2. KEIN applies when we deny noun. If a question uses a noun with indefinite article(ein (for masculine and neuter gender), eine – for feminine).

For example:

Question: Hast du ein Buch? – Do you have a book? Answer: Nein, ich habe kein Buch - I don't have a book.

At the same time, kein, depending on gender and case, acquires the same endings as the definite article. IN accusative case for the masculine gender kein changes to keinen, for the neuter gender it remains unchanged - kein, for the feminine gender and plural person - to keine.

For example: Ich habe keinen Vater – I have no father (same ending as the masculine article der in case – Akkusativ, that is d en) or, for example: Ich habe keine Chancen sie zu sehen - I have no chance of seeing her (here the same as the definite article die in the Akkusativ case in plural person). In this regard, it is worth remembering Declension of the definite article.

Native speakers themselves have been debating for years about which negative is correct to say the phrase: “I don’t speak German” – “Ich spreche nicht Deutsch” or “Ich spreche kein Deutsch”. The Duden spelling dictionary lists both nicht and kein as correct.

Doch is used when an answer is given to a question the essence of which does not correspond to the truth. Used in dialogue - mainly when someone asks something and the other answers.

– Gefällt dir Tee nicht? – Don’t you like tea? – Doch, der Tee gefaellt mir – Not at all, I like tea.

– Hast du ein Ticket nicht gekauft? – Doch, ich habe ein Ticket gekauft. – Not at all, I bought a ticket.

NEIN (“no”)

Cases of using negation nein, probably the easiest to understand. Nein often introduces a sentence that contains the negation of nicht. Nein as if expressing negation of the entire sentence, A nothing already in the same sentence clarifies, what exactly is being denied or what the person does not agree with.

For example:

– Hast du ihn gesehen? -Have you seen him? – Nein, ich habe ihn nicht gesehen – No, I didn’t see him

Negation in the German language has one feature that makes it fundamentally different from the Russian language. Despite the fact that any member of a German sentence and almost any part of speech can be negated, there can only be one single negation; double negation is not allowed in this language. For example:

Meine Grossmutter ist nie im Ausland gewesen. – My grandmother has never been abroad (one negative in German - two in Russian).

Gestern hast du keine Zeitungen gelesen. – Yesterday you didn’t read any newspapers (one negative in German - two in Russian).

Gestern hast du dein Abendbrot nicht gegessen. – Yesterday you didn’t eat your dinner.

Negation in German can be expressed using various words and constructions with negative value: nein, nicht, kein, niemals, nie, niemand, nichts, weder... noch, etc.

Negation in German using the particle NICHT

Verbs can be negated using the particle nicht; nouns with definite articles, possessive and demonstrative pronouns; adjectives, participles, pronouns, etc. The particle nicht can never occupy the first place in a sentence and stands before the word that it negates. The only exceptions are verbs.

If a sentence negates a simple verbal predicate without separable prefixes, then the particle nicht occupies the very last place in the sentence, for example:

Wassermelonen esse ich nicht. — I don’t eat watermelons. (Here we have a simple predicate negated).

If a predicate with a separable prefix is ​​used in a sentence, then the negation nicht occupies the penultimate place in the sentence before this prefix, for example:

Am bevorstehenden Wettkampf nimmt er nicht teil. — He will not take part in the upcoming competitions.

If a sentence uses a compound verbal predicate, constructions with modal verbs, complex tense forms, then the particle nicht again takes the penultimate place before the semantic verb in an unchangeable form (Infinitiv, Partizip II, etc.), for example:

Ich will dieses furchtbare Kleid nicht anziehen. “I don’t want to wear this terrible dress.”

Meine Schwester hat diese Nachricht noch nicht gehört. “My sister hasn’t heard this news yet.”

When negating a noun with the preposition particle nothing takes the position immediately before the preposition, for example:

Er ist nicht nach Tokio abgeflogen. Er ist nach Hongkong geflogen. – He didn’t fly to Tokyo. He flew to Hong Kong.

When negating circumstances expressed by adverbs, the particle nothing takes the position directly in front of them, for example:

Willst du ihn unbedingt heute besuchen? – Nein, ich will ihn nicht unbedingt heute besuchen. (Nein, nicht unbedingt heute). – Do you want to visit him today? - No, I don’t want to go to him today. (No, not exactly today).

If there is a need to negate any word in a sentence or part of a sentence, then the particle nothing is placed immediately before the word or part that is being negated. Often with such a negation it is necessary to indicate an existing alternative to the negated word. To indicate an alternative option, either an explanation is given in the subsequent sentence, or the construction is used“nicht..., sondern” (“not..., but”), for example:

Dein Pulli liegt nicht auf dem Stuhl. Er liegt unter deinem Bett. – Your pullover is not on the chair. It's under your bed.

Dein Pulli liegt nicht im Schrank, sondern unter dem Sofa. – Your pullover is not in the closet, but under the sofa.

If adjectives or participles are negated, then the particle nothing stands before them, for example:

Unser nicht sehr höflicher Begleiter ist plötzlich verschwunden. – Our not very polite escort suddenly disappeared.

Das Klima in eurer Gegend ist nicht schön. — The climate in your area is not good.

Warum ziehst du immer die nicht gebügelten Kleider an? - Why do you always wear unironed dresses?

Negation in German using KEIN

The negation kein replaces the indefinite or zero article before a noun and is inflected in exactly the same way as the indefinite article. Let's look at the declension kein using the example of the nouns “lie – die Lüge”, “motto – das Motto”, “thief – der Dieb”, “hedgehogs – die Igel”:

Kasus	Nominative	Genitiv	Dativ	Akkusativ
Feminine	keine Luge	keiner Luge	keiner Luge	keine Luge
Neutrum	kein Motto	keines mottos	keinem Motto	kein Motto
Maskulinum	kein Dieb	keines Diebes	keinem Dieb	keinen Dieb
Plural	keine Igel	keiner Igel	keinen Igeln	keine Igel

For example:

Zuerst habe ich gedacht, dass es eine Blume war. Das war aber keine Blume. – At first I thought it was a flower. But it was not a flower.

Wir haben keine Sauna auf der Datscha. – We don’t have a sauna at the dacha.

Trinkst du Rosewein? - Nein, ich trinke keinen Rosewein. - Do you drink rose wine? - No, I don't drink rose wine.

Negation in German using various negative words

Negative word NEIN = no serves to negate the entire sentence as a whole. A single word NEIN can serve as an independent sentence, which is a short negative answer to a question. For example:

Bist du ein Dolmetscher? —Nein. (Ich bin kein Dolmetscher). -Are you a translator? - No. (I'm not a translator).

Ist er mit einem Schnellzug angekommen? -Nein. (Er ist nicht mit einem Schnellzug angekommen). – Did he arrive on the high-speed express? - No. (He didn't arrive on the bullet train.)

Negative word NIEMAND = nobody serves to deny a person and is an antonym for jemand (someone), for example:

Hat jemand meinen neuen Kugelschreiber gesehen? – Nein, niemand hat deinen neuen Kugelschreiber gesehen. – Has anyone seen my new ballpoint pen? - No, no one has seen your new ballpoint pen.

Negative word NICHTS = nothing used to deny any object or quantity. For example:

Habt ihr wenigstens etwas behalten? – Nein, wir haben nichts behalten. – Do you remember anything? - No, we didn’t remember anything.

The negative word NIRGENDS = NIRGENDWO = nowhere is used to deny location (circumstances of place). For example:

Wo sind sie am letzten Wochenende gewesen? – Sie sind nirgends gewesen. – Where were they last weekend? – They weren’t anywhere.

Negative word NIE = NIEMALS = never used to negate time. For example:

Wir sind noch nie in Australien gewesen. – We have never been to Australia before.

Conjunctive constructions with the meaning of negation in German

“weder... noch” - “neither... nor”:

Heute habe ich weder Fenster im Kinderzimmer noch die in unserem Schlafzimmer gewaschen. “Today I didn’t wash the windows in the children’s room or the windows in the bedroom.”

“ohne... zu” - “without completing, without doing something”:

Heute habe ich Fleisch überbacken, ohne es eingespickt zu haben. – Today I baked meat without stuffing it.

The means used in the German language to deny something are not limited to just negative words. There are also all sorts of linguistic possibilities for expressing negation: suffixes and prefixes with the meaning of negation, the use of words in the lexical meaning of which negation is inherent initially, the use subjunctive mood with an unreal meaning that denies the possibility of any action. For example:

Suffixes with negative meaning:

Frei: “impeccable, impeccable - einwandfrei”

Los: “unintentional, unpremeditated - absichtslos” / “intentional, premeditated - absichtlich”

Prefixes with negative meaning:

un-: “irregular – unregelmässig” / “regular – regelmässig”

de-: “assembly, installation – die Montage” / “disassembly, dismantling – die Demontage”

miss-: “to suspect, distrust – misstrauen” / “to trust, believe – trauen”

Words with negation inherent in semantics:

"to hate - hassen"

“to listen, not to hear - überhören”, etc.

Subjunctive mood with inherent unreality of action, denying the possibility of what is happening:

Wenn ich du wäre, könnte das nicht passieren. - If I were in your place, this could not have happened.

Negation of nein

German negation nein corresponds to the Russian “no” when the answer to a question is negative and denies all offer. It is followed by a period or comma. nein does not affect word order, i.e. is not part of the sentence and does not take up space.

For example:

Gehst du heute ins Kino? - Nein(Nein, ich be suche heute meinen Schulfreund).

Please note that in Russian the word “no” has another use ( compare: In this book No pictures = not available. I have today No time = don’t have time). In these examples, "no" does not apply to the entire sentence; in German it corresponds in the first example to the impersonal phrase es gibt + negation kein; in the second example - verb haben + negation kein: In diesem Buch gibt es keine Bilder. Ich habe heute keine Zeit.

Negation of kein

German negative kein means "none", and in the examples above you can mentally add this word (There are (no) pictures in this book; I don’t have (any) time today). Therefore, if you can mentally add the word “no”, then you must before the corresponding German noun use the negation of kein.

For example:

We Not we want war. (= We Not we want no war.) Wir wollen keinen Krieg.

Denial of nothing

The German negation nicht must be used in all other cases, i.e. when it is impossible to mentally add the word “none” to the negation.

For example:

Book Not interesting. Das Buch ist nothing interessant.

My parents live now Not in Samara. Meine Eltern leben jetzt nothing in Samara.

Like the Russian negation “not”, the negation nicht must be used immediately before the word being negated (see examples above). But if the negation of nicht refers to the predicate, then nicht must be used at the very end of the sentence.

For example:

Petrov does not attend our seminar. Petrow be sucht Unser Seminar nothing.

I I'm not going to the cinema today. Ich gehe heute ins Kino nothing.

Cp.: I'm going today not to the cinema. Ich gehe heute nicht ins Kino.

Exercise 1. Indicate: a) what negation you will use in German sentences if you want to say that:

1. You no longer live in a dormitory. 2. Your friend’s name is not Nikolai. 3. You don't study English language. 4. You don't always have free time. 5. You have no brothers or sisters. 6. Your university does not have a mechanization department.

b) in which of these sentences the negation should be at the end.

Negative pronouns

The German language also has negative pronouns: niemand“nobody, nobody, nobody”; nichts"nothing, nothing"; nie“never” and some others. Unlike the Russian language, V German offer there can't be two negatives, i.e. if there is a negative pronoun, then you no longer need to use either kein or nicht.

I'm here no one I know. Ich kenne hier niemand.
There there is nothing. Dort gibt es nichts.

Answer the question with a negative

If the negation in German is contained in a question, then such a question cannot be answered with “Ja”. If you confirm the questioner’s thought and agree with him, then you must answer “Nein.” If you object to him, do not agree, then you must answer “Doch.”

Kennst du die Wörter nicht? - Nein.(= Ich kenne die Wörter nicht.)

- Doch.(= Ich kenne die Wörter.)

Exercise 2. Indicate which of the following questions can be answered: a) Doch, b) Nein:

1. Fahren Sie zum Institut mit dem Autobus? 2. Kommt Ihre Mutter nicht? 3. Ist im Labor niemand da? 4. Haben Sie heute keine Zeit? 5. Beginnt die Stunde um 9 Uhr?

Negation using the negative pronoun “kein” occurs exclusively in combination with nouns. "Kein" is used in German speech for the negation of nouns that are used within affirmative sentences with zero (no article at all) or with indefinite articles.

Declension of the negative pronoun in question in singular completely repeats the declension of the indefinite article, and in the plural - the definite article, for example:

• Barbara hat nur einen Reisenden gesehen. – Barbara saw only one traveler.
• Barbara hat keinen Reisenden gesehen. – Barbara didn’t see any traveler.
• Manfred hat Gästezimmer in seinem Sommerhaus. Manfred has guest rooms in his summer country house.
• Manfred hat keine Gästezimmer in seinem Sommerhaus. – Manfred has no guest rooms in his summer country house

Negative particle "nicht"

Most often, negation in German speech is made through the use of the particle “ nicht". Using this particle, any member of a German sentence can be negated. If a simple predicate is negated, then the negative particle goes to the very end of the sentence. If a complex predicate is negated, then the indicated particle takes place immediately before the conjugated part of the predicate used, for example:

• Sigmund wiederholt diese Regeln nicht. – Sigmund does not repeat these rules (simple predicate).
• Sigmund wird diese Regeln nicht wiederholen. – Sigmund will not repeat these rules (complex predicate).

If the negation refers to any other member of the sentence, then the negative particle “nicht” is given a place immediately before the affected member of the sentence, for example:

• Heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today Sigmund repeats these rules at home (affirmative sentence).
• Nicht heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Not today will Sigmund repeat these house rules (denial of a temporary circumstance).
• Heute wiederholt nicht Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today it is not Sigmund who repeats these rules at home (subject negation).
• Heute wiederholt Sigmund nicht diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today, Sigmund is not repeating these rules at home (negation of the direct object).
• Heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln nicht zu Hause. – Today Sigmund repeats these rules not at home (negation of the adverbial location).

In negative sentences in German, the negation nein, the negative particle nicht, and the negative pronoun kein are most often used. To express negation, the pronouns niemand, keiner, nichts, the adverbs nirgends, niemals, nie, the conjunction weder ... noch are also used.

Negation nothing in German can refer to any part of a sentence. The place of negation depends on which member of the sentence it refers to. Most often, the negation nicht comes before the word being negated:

Ich arbeite nicht hier. - I don't work here.

Nicht alle Studenten antworten heute gut. — Not all students answer well today.

Ich brauche nicht dieses Buch. - This is not the book I need.

When denied nominal predicate The negation nicht comes before the nominal part of the predicate, i.e. in the penultimate place:

Diese Übung ist nicht leicht. - This exercise is not easy.

When negating a predicate (when, as a rule, the content of the entire sentence is negated), nicht in German stands:

• in last place if the predicate is expressed by a verb in a simple tense form (Präsens or Präteritum):

Ich verstehe diese Regel nicht. — I don’t understand this rule.

• when there is a noun with a preposition in a sentence, the negation of nicht, related to the predicate, usually comes before this prepositional group:

Wir gehen heute nicht ins Theater. — We are not going to the theater today.

• in the penultimate place if the predicate is expressed by a verb in a complex tense form or a verb with a separable prefix:

Das haben sie gestern nicht gesehen. “They didn’t see this yesterday.”

Die Vorlesungen und Seminare werden morgen nicht stattfinden. — Lectures and seminars will not take place tomorrow.

If the negation of nicht in German refers to a complex predicate expressed modal verb and the infinitive of another verb, then it can also appear after a modal verb:

Ich kann heute nicht kommen. Ich kann nicht heute kommen. — I can’t come today.

Negative pronoun kein in German it refers to a noun and comes before it. Such a noun in the corresponding affirmative sentence would be used with an indefinite article or without an article:

Das ist eine Universität. — Das ist keine Universität.

Wir essen Obst. — Wir essen kein Obst.

Kein replaces the article and agrees with the noun in gender, number and case. The negative pronoun kein has the meaning “neither”, “no” and is translated into Russian by the negation of “not” with the predicate:

Dort steht kein Schrank. — There is no closet there.

Wir schreiben heute keinen Test. — We are not writing a test today.

Only one negation can be used in a German sentence:

Ich sehe dort keine Zeitung. - I don't see any newspaper there.

Kein is often used with the adversative conjunction sondern (to express opposition):

Das ist kein Fichtenbaum, sondern eine Tanne. - This is not pine, but spruce.

To express negation, in addition to nicht and kein, negative pronouns can be used in German: keiner(no one, not one), niemand(nobody), nichts(nothing, nothing) and negative adverbs: niemals, nie(never), nirgends(nowhere).

These parts of speech, acting in the sentence as various members of the sentence (subject, object, adverbial), also serve as negations. If there are negative pronouns and adverbs in a sentence, other negations are not used:

Niemand singt hier. - Nobody sings here.

Keiner hat uns davon erzählt. - Nobody told us about this.

To express negation in German, pronouns and adverbs are also used: keinmal(never, never) keinesfalls(in no way, in no way) keinerlei(no), nimmer(never):

Ich habe keinmal davon gehört. - I've never heard of this.

Wir werden das nimmer vergessen. - We will never forget this.

The negative conjunction is also used as a negation weder...noch(neither...nor). When using this conjunction in a German sentence, the presence of any other negation is also excluded:

Weder ich noch mein Freund gehen heute auf die Eisbahn. — Neither I nor my friend are going to the skating rink today.

Negation nein in German does not refer to any of the members of the sentence, has general character. It is introductory words and separated by a comma:

Lern ihr morgen? - Nein, wir lernen morgen nicht. Are you studying tomorrow? - No, we don’t study tomorrow.

Is it das ein Museum? — Nein, das ist kein Museum. Is this a museum? - No, this is not a museum.

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