Not in a very agreeable mood today? There are a number of negative expressions to counteract all those smiley, happy people. Some very common negative expressions include the following: # \- k8 Z& Z% t x& o
9 ], O8 K: m1 u+ I
non cambiare una virgola (not to change a single word) 9 o' i3 V! a/ b
. ]& p8 e( ~5 s* ~
non dire una sillaba (not to say a word) H# J. S/ H& T
/ b- z% {; u6 a" u) |2 c1 u
non per la quale (not to be trusted) 3 ~# _. X1 h% d" t
" s4 }$ S" U# P! w- c% BNon vale! (That’s not fair/that’s cheating!)
# j* E: J1 T+ K( U
, H! H# p6 Z) f- q# |" ffuori dal nulla (out of the blue) + ~% N& e; b+ L% q0 s
5 I! H7 H6 C# F' O+ @9 qbuono a nulla (good for nothing) % a" i9 V0 D4 F
, \- |# X+ _0 X3 d) }Other common phrases that rely on the negatives are listed in below:
: W1 \0 U8 M& m& M( k% F s* @
' J6 g& m/ E$ }7 }$ X7 Y, C4 k' ANEGATIVE PHRASES " x( [; e& f" _& P; ]4 P
2 z9 R6 L( o! h$ v6 ?3 x
da niente not important
X1 A5 c( E% Imai never # Z, h% U/ N+ U: Y: k
nessuno no one, nobody , [) s- p- U: y' q' o3 y/ i; V/ t
niente (nulla) nothing
6 B; F6 {* V4 [2 {& Dné...né neither...nor
+ U% G: S+ e; E% d x+ Xnessun no, not...any
( _- U$ N1 M- ~6 ineanche, nemmeno, neppure not even
+ I$ _* q2 W4 j( o8 cper niente at all
; X' [0 L8 a1 |/ v" w6 M6 |# V8 ]/ a. v1 m/ Y
Note that nessun is used as an adjective, and must agree in gender and number with the thing that it describes. Moreover, nessun and niente usually follow the verb when they act as the object. When one of these words is the subject of the sentence, its position can vary: " C$ ]8 t" @" y
! W* k3 U! `- V; Y5 l0 r' J/ cNessuno parla. (No one speaks.) ( G# s! ^. N& v2 d
Q' L4 e6 a* Y1 P8 X" g9 S J* P
Neinte ci piace. (We like nothing at all.)
# O0 p# G" L8 M; k6 Z7 M
. y1 N1 P: O6 F9 T5 x7 }8 B5 qNon parla nessuno. (No one speaks.)
# u# k9 J8 O7 o# l+ e: X2 c! c! M, Q8 |0 X: d' m) r- Z, F" ?# [
To review the negatives, compare the two sets of phrases in the following table:
- X! [' w5 b, p, n
- v; R- H: l$ B8 |POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PHRASES : j& r8 `) B8 W+ x7 u
8 J' k/ l- r4 c& O6 D
POSITIVE NEGATIVE " e1 O+ x8 f: Z0 X3 X' ^3 Y
Ha fame. (She is hungry.) Non ha fame. (She isn’t hungry.) 5 D/ i+ t( l+ z5 |1 o, q1 S7 q: Z
Ho comprato qualcosa. (I bought something.) Non ho comprato niente. (I didn’t buy anything.) % t/ d' v# U5 b( B3 M' T4 H8 `( e
Ride sempre. (He always laughs.) Non ride mai. (He never laughs.)
& q6 R, h! A- J n2 [( S" `! ~# e! CVediamo qualcuno. (We see someone.) Non vediamo nessuno. (We don’t see anyone.) |