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Ni… ni… and no… ni…: two similar structures that do not mean the same
Dieser Beitrag erklärt ein wichtiges Thema der spanischen Grammatik (Text auf Englisch).
They look very similar but they are not the same
🔎 Case 1: ni… ni…
Ni Juan ni María vinieron. Neither Juan nor María came.
Ni mi hermana ni mi hermano son médicos. Neither my sister nor my brother are doctors.
Here, the structure ni… ni… coordinates two elements, and it is the negative counterpart of y:
Vinieron Juan y María. Ni Juan ni María vinieron.
Mi hermana y mi hermano son médicos. Ni mi hermana ni mi hermano son médicos.
ni… ni… is a negative coordinating structure. It links two elements and denies both of them simultaneously.
🔎 Case 2 (same meaning, different order): no… ni… ni…
1. No vinieron ni Juan ni María. Neither Juan nor María came.
(Same as: Ni Juan ni María vinieron)
2. No son médicos ni mi hermana ni mi hermano. Neither my sister nor my brother are doctors.
(Same as: Ni mi hermana ni mi hermano son médicos)
When the sentence begins with ni, the negation is already expressed at the beginning of the clause. However, when the coordinated elements appear after the verb, Spanish requires the clause to be explicitly marked as negative before the verb. For this reason, the negative particle no is required. In Spanish, a negative sentence must be overtly marked as negative in preverbal position, unless the negation has already been introduced earlier in the clause.
🔎 Case 3 (different meaning): no… ni…
No vino ni Juan. Not even Juan came.
No entendí ni la primera parte. I didn’t even understand the first part.
no… ni… is a structure where no carries the main negation, and ni marks a focused element inside that negation. Rather than coordinating two items, ni highlights something that might normally be expected to occur, stressing that not even that element is included. That’s why we can use the form ni siquiera, which means exactly not even:
No vino ni Juan. No vino ni siquiera Juan.
No entendí ni la primera parte. No entendí ni siquiera la primera parte.
Negative words
To know more about negative structures, you can read this blog:
Example from the episode
One of the characters in our story says:
“Ni tú ni yo somos buenos con los silencios.”
Read the full episode here →
Episode 13
Bachelor’s degree in Literature (University of Buenos Aires). Spanish and Literature teacher. Researcher and author of Los premios Nobel de literatura. Una lectura crítica (University of Seville). More than 30 years’ experience teaching Spanish to international students.
One-to-one lessons via Zoom.
Contact: laura@spanishforlondon.com
Abschluss in Literaturwissenschaft (Universität Buenos Aires). Lehrerin für Spanisch und Literatur. Forscherin und Autorin des Buches Los premios Nobel de literatura. Eine lectura crítica (Universität Sevilla). Über 30 Jahre Erfahrung im Unterricht von Spanisch als Fremdsprache.
Einzelunterricht über Zoom.
Kontakt: laura@spanishforlondon.com
