Negation with examples
Slovenian ⋙
Slovenian A1
Welcome to our Slovenian grammar course for beginners! Today we're going to talk about Negation in Slovenian.
Negation is a very important aspect of any language. Let's explore how negation works in Slovenian in detail.
Basic negation with "ne"
In Slovenian, the most common way to create a negative sentence is by using the word "
ne," which is similar to "not" in English. You typically place "
ne" in front of the verb. Here are some examples:
Ne maram. (I don't like.)
Ne vidim. (I don't see.)
Ne razumem. (I don't understand.)
Double negative
Unlike some languages, Slovenian often uses double negatives for emphasis. This means you use "
ne" in front of the verb and another negative word (usually "
nič (nothing)," "
nikoli (never)," "
niti (not)," etc.) elsewhere in the sentence. For instance:
Ne vidim ničesar. (I don't see anything.)
On nikoli ne prihaja. (He never comes.)
Niti ena knjiga ni zanimiva. (Not a single book is interesting.)
Negating nouns and pronouns
To negate nouns and pronouns, you can use the word "
ni" before them. For example:
Nič ni resnica. (Nothing is true.)
Nič ni pomembno. (Nothing is important.)
Nihče ni tukaj. (Nobody is here.)
Questions and negation
In questions, "
ne" is typically placed before the verb, just like in declarative sentences. For instance:
Ne razumeš? (Don't you understand?)
Ne govoriš angleško? (Don't you speak English?)
Negation with adjectives
When negating adjectives, you typically use "
ni (is not)" or "
niso (are not)" before the adjective. For example:
Ta film ni dolgočasen. (This movie is not boring.)
Tvoja sestra ni prijazna. (Your sister is not friendly.)
Negative adverbs
Slovenian also has negative adverbs like "
ne" (not), "
nikoli" (never), "
nič" (nothing), and "
niti" (neither/not), which are used to negate various elements in a sentence. For instance:
Nikoli ne bom pozabil. (I will never forget.)
Niti ena oseba ni prišla. (Not a single person came.)
Negation of "Biti" in the present tense
Negation with the
verb "biti" (to be) in Slovenian is an important aspect of grammar. Let's explore how to use negation with "biti".
In the present tense, to form a negative sentence with "biti," you typically place "ni" in front of the verb. Here are some examples:
Jaz nisem - I am not
Ti nisi - You are not (singular, informal)
On/Ona/Ono ni - He/She/It is not
Midva/Midve/Medve nisva - We are not (dual)
Vidva/Vidve/Vedve nista - You are not (dual)
Onadva/Onidve/Onedve nista - they are not (dual)
Mi/Me nismo - We are not
Vi/Ve niste - You are not (plural or singular formal)
Oni/One/Ona niso - They are not
Negation of "Biti" in other tenses
Negating "
biti" in other tenses (past, future, etc.) is similar to the present tense. You use "
ne" in front of the appropriate form of "biti" for that tense. For example:
Jaz nisem bil / bila. (I was not.)
Jaz ne bom. (I will not be.)
Jaz nisem prišel / prišla. (I had not come.)
Double negatives with "Biti"
As mentioned earlier, Slovenian often uses double negatives for emphasis. So, you can use "ne" with "biti" and another negative word like "nikoli" (never), "nič" (nothing), or "niti" (neither/nor) elsewhere in the sentence. For example:
On nikoli ni bil tukaj. (He was never here.)
Niti eden od njih ni prišel. (Not a single one of them came.)
Summary
In this lesson, we studied the use of negation in Slovenian. Practice your Slovenian, and use negative expressions using the examples given above.
We are waiting for you in the next lesson, where we will talk about
numbers in Slovenian. Good luck!
