Negative Sentences

To form negative sentences, we simply have to place the word “não” (no) before the verb. For example, “eu sei / eu não sei” (I know / I don’t know).

The only exception is with the imperative mood, when addressing someone informally (tu). In that case, the negative command [Não vás (Don’t go)] has a different verb form from the positive command [Vai (Go)].

Double negatives

In Portuguese, double negatives are common and are formed with the adverbs ‘não’ (no), ‘nunca’ (never), ‘nada’ (nothing), ‘ninguém’ (nobody), ‘nenhum’ (none -masculine) and 'nenhuma' (none - feminine), among others used less often. Some of these words are invariable, meaning they always have the same form while others adjust to the gender.

The following words will translate differently according to the sentence they are in.

💥 Nada (nothing, anything). This word is invariable.

• Não há nada a fazer. (There’s nothing that can be done.)
• Nós nunca dissemos nada. (We never said anything.)

💥 Ninguém (no one, anyone). This word is invariable and is used to refer to people.

• Não há ninguém aqui. (There's no one here.)
• Ninguém viu nada. (No one saw anything.)
• Ela não falou com ninguém. (She didn’t speak to anyone.)

💥 Nenhum, nenhuma (none, any). This word varies in gender and number, although the plural form is rarely used. It can be used for people or things.

• Não falámos com nenhuma delas. (We didn't talk to any [feminine] of them.)
• Nenhum de nós sabia. (None [masculine] of us knew.)
• 🍰 Não há nenhum bolo na caixa. (There isn't any [masculine] cake in the box.)