A1 · Section 9

Negation

How a German sentence is denied: nicht at the end, in front of a complement or a place, or in front of the one element it contradicts; kein for a noun that would carry ein or no article, with the endings of ein and a plural of its own; and which of the two the noun's own article decides on.

nicht negates the sentence

89.nicht denies what the sentence says. In a simple sentence it stands at the end, after the finite verb and after any object.

Ich arbeite nicht.: I am not working.
Ich kaufe das Buch nicht.: I am not buying the book.
Ich sehe ihn nicht.: I do not see him.
Wir kennen den Studenten nicht.: We do not know the student.

[1] nicht never stands between the subject and the finite verb: the verb holds second place whatever else moves (¶66).

nicht before a predicative complement

90.nicht stands in front of a predicative adjective or noun rather than after it, because the complement belongs with the verb (¶67, ¶68).

Der Film ist nicht langweilig.: The film is not boring.
Das Zimmer ist nicht klein.: The room is not small.
Er ist nicht Lehrer.: He is not a teacher. — The profession stands with no article (¶45), and *nicht* goes in front of it.

nicht before an expression of place

91.Where the verb requires a place to complete it, nicht stands in front of that place.

Sie wohnt nicht hier.: She does not live here.
Der Student wohnt nicht hier.: The student does not live here.

nicht before a single element

92.nicht placed immediately in front of one element denies that element alone rather than the whole sentence.

Nicht ich kaufe das Buch.: It is not I who is buying the book. — The subject is denied, not the buying.
Ich arbeite nicht heute.: It is not today that I am working.

kein negates a noun that has ein or no article

93.A noun standing with ein, or with no article at all, is denied by kein rather than by nicht. German has no nicht ein.

Ich habe kein Auto.: I have no car. — For *ein Auto*.
Ich habe kein Geld.: I have no money. — For the mass noun *Geld*, which stands with no article (¶46).
Er ist kein Lehrer.: He is not a teacher. — Beside *Er ist nicht Lehrer* (¶90); both are current.

kein declines like ein

94.kein takes the endings of ein (¶48), so it becomes keinen before a masculine singular in the accusative (¶79).

Ich habe keinen Apfel.: I have no apple.
Ich habe keine Katze.: I have no cat.
Ich kenne keinen Studenten.: I know no student. — The weak masculine keeps its **-en** as well (¶80).

kein has a plural

95.kein has a plural keine, where ein has no plural at all (¶50). It is the same in the nominative and the accusative.

Wir haben keine Bücher.: We have no books.
Hier sind keine Kinder.: There are no children here.
Es gibt keine Äpfel.: There are no apples.

Which of the two negates

96.A noun with the definite article, a possessive or a pronoun is denied by nicht; a noun with ein or with no article is denied by kein. The article the noun already carries decides it.

Ich kaufe das Buch nicht.: I am not buying the book. — Definite article, so *nicht*.
Ich kaufe kein Buch.: I am not buying a book. — Would have been *ein Buch*, so *kein*.
Ich trinke keinen Kaffee.: I do not drink coffee. — Mass noun with no article, so *kein*.

doch

97.doch answers a negatively put question by contradicting it, where ja would leave the denial standing.

Trinkst du keinen Kaffee? — Doch!: Don't you drink coffee? — Yes, I do.
Ist das Zimmer nicht klein? — Doch, es ist klein.: Isn't the room small? — Yes, it is small.

Vocabulary

nicht: not · adverb; Denies the sentence, or the one element it stands in front of (¶89, ¶92).
kein: no, not a · pronoun; Declines like *ein* and has a plural: *keinen, keine, kein, keine* (¶94, ¶95).
doch: yes (contradicting) · particle; Answers a negative question by denying the denial (¶97).
Tee: tea · noun; der Tee, den Tee, dem Tee, des Tees, die Tees; As a substance the plural is not used; *die Tees* counts cups or sorts.
Problem: problem · noun; das Problem, das Problem, dem Problem, des Problems, die Probleme

Drill this section Next: Checkpoint: Questions, the Accusative, and Negation