Language/Portuguese/Grammar/Negation

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Portuguese Grammar - Negation

Hi Portuguese learners! 😊

Negation is an important part of any language, and Portuguese is no exception. In this lesson, we will look at the different ways to express negation in Portuguese. We will also look at some examples of how to use them in sentences.

Não

The most common way to express negation in Portuguese is with the word "não". This is used to negate verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and other words. For example:

Portuguese Pronunciation English Translation
Eu não sei eh-oo nown say I don't know
Ele não é alto eh-lee nown ay ahl-toh He is not tall
Ela não está feliz eh-lah nown es-tah feh-leez She is not happy
Nós não somos ricos nohs nown soh-mohs ree-kohs We are not rich
Vocês não são bons voh-sehs nown sah-oohn bohns You (plural) are not good

Nem

Another way to express negation in Portuguese is with the word "nem". This is used to negate two or more items in a sentence. For example:

Portuguese Pronunciation English Translation
Eu não sei nem entendo eh-oo nown say nem en-ten-doh I don't know nor understand
Ele não é alto nem baixo eh-lee nown ay ahl-toh nem bah-ee-shoh He is neither tall nor short
Ela não está feliz nem triste eh-lah nown es-tah feh-leez nem tree-shtay She is neither happy nor sad
Nós não somos ricos nem pobres nohs nown soh-mohs ree-kohs nem poh-brehs We are neither rich nor poor
Vocês não são bons nem ruins voh-sehs nown sah-oohn bohns nem hoo-eenz You (plural) are neither good nor bad

Nenhum

The word "nenhum" is used to express negation when talking about something that doesn't exist. For example:

Portuguese Pronunciation English Translation
Não há nenhum problema nown ah nen-yoom proh-bleh-mah There is no problem
Não há nenhuma resposta nown ah nen-yoomah res-poh-stah There is no answer
Não há nenhum livro aqui nown ah nen-yoom lee-vroh ah-kee There is no book here
Não há nenhuma pessoa aqui nown ah nen-yoomah peh-soh-ah ah-kee There is no one here
Não há nenhuma razão para isso nown ah nen-yoomah hah-zah-oohn pah-rah ees-soh There is no reason for this

Nunca

The word "nunca" is used to express negation when talking about something that has never happened. For example:

Portuguese Pronunciation English Translation
Eu nunca fui à praia eh-oo noon-kah foo-ee ah prah-ee-ah I have never been to the beach
Ele nunca comeu sushi eh-lee noon-kah koh-meh-oo soo-shee He has never eaten sushi
Ela nunca falou inglês eh-lah noon-kah fah-loh een-glehs She has never spoken English
Nós nunca viajamos para o Japão nohs noon-kah vee-ah-zhah-mohs pah-rah oh zhah-pah-oohn We have never traveled to Japan
Vocês nunca viram um filme chinês voh-sehs noon-kah veer-ah-oohm oon fee-mee sheen-ehz You (plural) have never seen a Chinese movie

Conclusion

In this lesson, we looked at the different ways to express negation in Portuguese. We saw that the most common way is with the word "não", but there are other words such as "nem", "nenhum", and "nunca" that can also be used.

Remember, the best way to improve your Portuguese Grammar is to practice with native speakers. Find native speakers and ask them any questions on the Polyglot Club website!


* If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
* Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎


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