Language/Esperanto/Grammar/Negation

Esperanto Grammar - Negation

Hi Esperanto learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Esperanto. Negation refers to the expression of negative statements, such as "I can't speak Esperanto" or "I don't understand."

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Gender, Prepositions, THE ACCUSATIVE & SUFFIXES.

Basic Negation

In Esperanto, negation is expressed by adding the prefix "ne-" before the verb. For example, "mi parolas" means "I speak," while "mi ne parolas" means "I don't speak."

Let's see some examples of basic negation in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
mi parolas	mee pah-roh-lahs	I speak
mi ne parolas	mee neh pah-roh-lahs	I don't speak
ŝi estas bela	shee eh-stahs beh-lah	She is beautiful
ŝi ne estas bela	shee neh eh-stahs beh-lah	She is not beautiful
li manĝas pomojn	lee mahn-jahs poh-moy-n	He eats apples
li ne manĝas pomojn	lee neh mahn-jahs poh-moy-n	He doesn't eat apples

Negation in Compound Tenses

When negating compound tenses (such as past tense), the negation is placed before the auxiliary verb "esti" (to be). For example, "Mi estas parolinta" means "I have spoken," while "Mi ne estas parolinta" means "I have not spoken."

Let's see some examples of negation in compound tenses in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
mi estas parolinta	mee eh-stahs pah-roh-lin-tah	I have spoken
mi ne estas parolinta	mee neh eh-stahs pah-roh-lin-tah	I have not spoken
li estis manĝinta pomojn	lee eh-stis mahn-jin-tah poh-moy-n	He had eaten apples
li ne estis manĝinta pomojn	lee neh eh-stis mahn-jin-tah poh-moy-n	He had not eaten apples

The Word "Neniam"

"Neniam" means "never" in Esperanto, and is used to express negation of an action that has not been, and will not be performed. For example, "I have never been to Paris" can be translated as "Mi neniam estis en Parizo."

Let's see some examples of using "neniam" in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
Mi neniam trinkas kafon.	mee neh-nee-ahm trin-kahs kah-fohn	I never drink coffee.
Li neniam vidis viron kun tiu ĉapelo.	lee neh-nee-ahm vi-dis veer-ohn koon tee-oo cha-peh-loh	He never saw a man with that hat.
Ni ne havas neniun tempon por ĉi tio.	nee neh hah-vahs nehn-yoon tehm-pohn pohr chee tee-oh	We don't have any time for this.

Double Negation

In Esperanto, double negation is allowed and has the same effect as a single negation. For example, "Mi ne manĝas nenion" means "I don't eat anything," and has the same effect as "Mi ne manĝas io" (I don't eat anything).

Let's see some examples of double negation in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
Mi ne trovis neniun libron.	mee neh troh-vees nehn-yoon lee-brohn	I didn't find any book.
Li neniam havas neniun ideon.	lee neh-nee-ahm hah-vahs nehn-yoon ee-deh-ohn	He never has any idea.
Mi ne ŝatas neniun manĝaĵon.	mee neh shah-tahs nehn-yoon mahn-jah-zhohn	I don't like any food.

Dialogue

Person 1: Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? (Do you speak Esperanto?) Person 2: Ne, mi ne parolas Esperanton. (No, I don't speak Esperanto.) Person 1: Ĉu vi ne povas lerni Esperanton? (Can't you learn Esperanto?) Person 2: Jes, mi povas lerni Esperanton, sed mi ne havas tempon nun. (Yes, I can learn Esperanto, but I don't have time now.)

Practice

To practice negation in Esperanto, find native speakers on Polyglot Club and ask them any questions! You can also refer to the Grammar section on the Polyglot Club website.

Sources

• Esperanto grammar - Wikipedia
• The Sixteen Rules of Esperanto Grammar

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Other Lessons

• Personal pronouns
• Possesive Adjectives
• THE PARTICIPLES
• PREFIXES
• ADVERBS
• Present Tense
• Verbs
• Possessive pronouns
• THE NEGATIVE
• THE CORRELATIVES