9. Negation
In German, there is more than one word for forming negations. However, these cannot be used interchangeably.
Three common negation forms are: nein, nicht and kein.
Nein simply means “no” and is undeclinable. It can either begin a sentence, as in the example below, or alternatively it can occur independently:
Hast du eine neue Jacke an? – Nein, ich habe sie letztes Jahr gekauft.
Are you wearing a new jacket? – No, I bought it last year.
Nicht, which translates to “not” in English, is also undeclinable. Nicht can negate single clause members (nouns with definite articles, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, etc.), or an entire sentence as in the example below:
Er hat für die Deutschprüfung nicht gelernt.
He did not study for the German test.
NB! Except with verbs, nicht always comes before the word it negates.
Kein, which also translates most accurately to “not” in English, can be inflected. In fact, kein is inflected the same way as the indefinite article ein.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | kein | keine | kein | keine |
| Accusative | keinen | keine | kein | keine |
| Dative | keinem | keiner | keinem | keinen |
| Genitive | keines | keiner | keines | keiner |
Kein is used to negate nouns. More specifically, it is used when the noun to be negated is preceded by the indefinite article, or when the noun does not have an article at all:
Er will einen Apfel essen. ⇒ Er will keinen Apfel essen.
He wants to eat an apple. ⇒ He does not want to eat an apple.
Sie hat Hunger. ⇒ Sie hat keinen Hunger.
She is hungry. ⇒ She is not hungry.
Other words that can be said to have a negating function are the following: niemand, nichts, niemals, nie and nirgendwo(hin):
Er hat heute niemanden gesehen.
He did not see anyone today.
Das würde ich nie machen!
I would never do that!
Ich gehe morgen nirgendwohin.
I will not go anywhere tomorrow.