Other negative phrases - NEGATIVES - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

NEGATIVES

2. Other negative phrases

In English you only use one negative word in a sentence: I haven’t ever seen him. In Italian you use non followed by another negative word such as niente(meaning nothing), or mai (meaning never).

Non succede mai.	It never happens.
Non ha detto niente.	She didn’t say anything.

The following are the most common phrases of this kind.

non … mai	never or not ever
Non la vedo mai.	I never see her.

Tip

you put mai between the two parts of the perfect tense.

Non l’ho mai vista.	I’ve never seen her.
Non ci siamo mai stati.	We’ve never been there.
non … niente		nothing or not …anything
Non hanno fatto niente.		They didn’t do anything.
non … nessuno		nobody or not … anybody
Non ho visto nessuno.		I didn’t see anybody.
non … da nessuna parte		nowhere or not … anywhere
Non riuscivo a trovarlo da nessuna parte.		I couldn’t find it anywhere.
non … nessuno/nessuna + noun		no or not … any
Non c’è nessun bisogno di andare.		There’s no need to go. or There isn’t any need to go.
non … più		no longer or not … any more
Non escono più insieme.		They’re not going out together any more.
non …né … né …		neither … nor
Non verranno né Chiara né Donatella.		Neither Chiara nor Donatella are coming.

If you begin a sentence with a negative word such as nessuno or niente, do not use non with the verb that comes after it.

Nessuno è venuto.	Nobody came.
Niente è cambiato.	Nothing has changed.
BUT
Non è venuto nessuno.
Non è cambiato niente.

In Italian you can have more than one negative word following a negative verb.

Non fanno mai niente.	They never do anything.
Non si confida mai con nessuno.	He never confides in anyone.

As in English, negative words can be used on their own to answer a question.

Cos’hai comprato? – Niente.	What did you buy? – Nothing.
Chi ti accompagna? – Nessuno.	Who’s going with you? – Nobody.

Key points

To make a verb negative put non in front of it.

Unlike English, in Italian it is good grammar to follow non with another negative word.