The basic rule
To negate a sentence, put no directly in front of the conjugated verb. Nothing else about the sentence changes.
This is one of the places where Spanish is much simpler than English. English cannot just add not: it has to drag in a helper verb first — I speak becomes I do not speak, she works becomes she does not work. Spanish has no equivalent of that do: whatever the English sentence looks like — I don't know, she isn't coming, they didn't call — the Spanish version is the plain verb with no in front.
Negation in action
No hablo español.
I don't speak Spanish.
No tengo tiempo.
I don't have time.
Pedro no viene.
Pedro isn't coming.
Where exactly no goes
Object and reflexive pronouns such as me, te or lo already sit in front of the verb, and no goes in front of them: no — pronoun — verb. English puts the object after the verb (I don't understand it), so this block of three words needs practice.
no before pronoun and verb
No me llamo Pedro.
My name isn't Pedro.
No me gusta la pizza.
I don't like pizza.
No lo entiendo.
I don't understand it.
The double negative is correct here
English school grammar bans the double negative: I don't have nothing is treated as a mistake, so English switches to anything, anyone, ever. Spanish works the other way round. If a negative word such as nada (nothing) or nadie (nobody) comes after the verb, no still has to stand in front of it. The two negatives do not cancel each other out — together they form one single negation.
The negative words to know
no … + negative word
No tengo nada.
I don't have anything.
No viene nadie.
Nobody is coming.
No voy nunca al cine.
I never go to the cinema.
Everyday phrases with no
You will hear these set phrases constantly — learn them as whole chunks rather than word by word.
No lo sé.
I don't know.
No hay problema.
No problem.
No pasa nada.
It's fine. / No worries.
