Negation (Negation)
Negation (Negation)
Negation in simple words means “denial of something”. When we deny or contradict something is called negation. Basically, in grammar negation refers to making a negative statement. In German we have two words to deny.
- Nicht – not
- Kein – no/not
First, we will discuss “nicht”
Nicht can be used both with verbs and adjectives. Nicht is used mainly before the word to negate that particular word, but if it is placed at the last then it negates the entire sentence. We will understand this, with the help of few examples:
- Bitte nicht schnell fahren. (Please, do not drive fast)
- Ich brauche dieses Fach nicht. (I don’t need this subject.)
(Here, nicht has come at the end of the sentence, so it has negated the entire sentence.)
- Nicht ich mag diese Schokolade. (I don’t like this chocolate.)
- John fährt nicht BMW, sondern Audi. (John don’t drive BMW, rather Audi.)
- Unsere Familie macht den Urlaub nicht in Mallorca. (Our family doesn’t take a vacation in Mallorca.)
- Das ist nicht schön. (This is not beautiful)
Now we will understand “kein”
Kein is used with nouns only. We have already studied about the negative article “kein”, in Introduction to articles worksheet. It means ‘no’ or ‘not’ , depending upon the sentence formation. “Kein” follows the same declination as the indefinite article “ein”. We will see how it declines through this table.
Now we will understand “kein” with the help of these examples:
- Er braucht kein Auto. (He doesn’t need a car.)
- Wir schreiben keinen Brief. (We are not writing any letter.)
- Gib ihm keinen Käse. (Don’t give him cheese.)
- Er hilft keinem Menschen. (He doesn’t help people)
- Kein Problem! (No Problem!)
- Ich habe keinen Kuchen gegessen. (I did not eat (any) cake.)
