In Italian, a double negative is a sentence with two, three, or even four negative words. A negative word is something that we use to negate or reject something. In English, for instance, when you say “I do not agree,” you are using the negative “not” to negate the verb “agree.”
In English, we say that “two negatives makes a positive,” but in Italian, it is totally normal to just keep adding on negative words like no meaning no, non meaning not, niente meaning nothing, mai meaning never, neppure meaning not even in the same sentence.
In this post, we’ll talk about how to form double negatives and which negatives we usually use together. If there is something I love about Italian is that I can use as many negatives as I want in a sentence in total freedom. Actually, I just realized that Non l’avevo mai detto a nessuno! meaning I had never told anyone! How wonderful! 😄
How to build a double negative in Italian?
In Italian, a double negative (a sentence with more than one negative word), the first negative is usually non meaning not, which comes before the verb. The second negative will usually come after the verb, but there is a wide range of words you can put in that second slot.
verb
second negative
Let’s take a look to some of the most common Italian negatives that can come after non meaning not:
niente / nulla meaning nothing and nessuno / nessuna meaning nobody, none
- Non ho niente/nulla da aggiungere.Translation: I don’t have anything to add.Literally: I don’t have nothing to add.
- Oggi non ho visto nessuno.Translation: I didn't see anyone today.Literally: I didn’t see nobody today.
- Non ho nessuna intenzione di uscire con questo temporale.Translation: I have no intention of going out with this storm.Literally: I don’t have no intention of going out with this storm.
neanche / nemmeno / neppure meaning not even
Non ho neanche/nemmeno/neppure un minuto di tempo.Translation: I don’t even have a minute of free time.Literally: I don’t have not even a minute of free time.né… né… meaning neither... nor
In vacanza, non hanno portato né il computer né il telefono.Translation: On vacation, they brought neither a computer nor a telephone.Literally: On vacation, they didn’t bring neither a computer nor a telephone.mica / affatto meaning at all
Non è mica / affatto colpa mia se il vaso si è rotto.Translation: It's not at all my fault that the vase broke.mai meaning never
Ultimamente, non guardo mai la televisione.Translation: Lately, I never watch TV.
Here are a few more that aren’t always negative words, but which take on a different negative meaning when they’re used after a negative verb:
ancora meaning yet
- Hai letto il libro che ti ho regalato?Translation: Did you read the book I gave you?
- No, non ancora.Translation: No, not yet.
più meaning more
- Andate al cinema stasera?Translation: Are you going to the movies tonight?
- No, non andiamo più.Translation: No, we don't go anymore.
And here are a couple of cases that work a little differently:
non meaning not
Non credo di non avere pazienza.Translation: I don’t think I don’t have patience. (i.e. I think am patient)che meaning that
We only use non meaning not in combination with the word che meaning that to form double negatives in a couple very common expressions:
Non c’è di che is used in alternative to Prego! meaning You are welcome!. So when someone tells you Grazie! meaning Thank you! in Italian, you can also answer:
Non c’è di che!Translation: You are welcome!Literally: There is nothing that (you should thank me for)!This is an implicit double negative expression because non c’è di che! is the short, contracted version of non c’è niente di che ringraziarmi! meaning There is nothing you should thank me for!.
In addition, non meaning not + che meaning that is used to mean “nothing special,” like in the following examples:
- Ciao, come stai? Che mi racconti?Translation: Hi, how are you? What's up?
- Bene, niente di che.Translation: Well, nothing special.Literally: Well, nothing that is worth mentioning.
This is another implicit double negative because niente di che! is actually the short version of non c’è niente che valga la pena menzionare! meaning There is nothing that is worth mentioning!.
Where to put negative words in an Italian sentence?
When you form a negative sentence in Italian, non meaning not precedes the verb.
- Non ho sonno.Translation: I am not tired.
- Non ho voglia di andare al cinema.Translation: I don’t feel like going to the movies.
With two, three, or even four negatives, non meaning not still comes before the verb:
- Non ho mica sonno.Translation: I am not sleepy at all.
- Non ho nessuna intenzione di andare al cinema.Translation: I have no intention to go to the movies.
- Non ho nessuna voglia di vedere nessuno.Translation: I have no desire to see anyone.
Now, let’s look at a trickier case: compound tenses.
How to form double negatives with compound tenses?
Though the negative word non will always come before the whole verb (including auxiliaries), the placement of the second part of a double negative in a compound tense will depend on what that second negative word is. It can come before the auxiliary, between the auxiliary and the past participle, or after the past participle. Let’s have a look at what that means.
Remember that, in Italian, there are four compound tenses (tenses that form with two words):
passato prossimo meaning recent past
trapassato prossimo meaning past perfect
futuro anteriore meaning future perfect
trapassato remoto meaning past anterior
Because passato prossimo meaning recent past is the most used past tense in Italian, we’ll give our examples here using this tense.
Like all compound tenses, to form the passato prossimo you need two words: an auxiliary verb (or "helping verb") and a past participle. In the passato prossimo the auxiliary verb is in the present tense.
auxiliary verb
(essere meaning to be or avere meaning to have)
past participle
(the main verb you are using)
Now let’s talk about the placement of the second part of a double negative! We mentioned above that the double negative can fall in three locations:
Before the verb
Between the auxiliary and past participle
After the whole verb
Though it’s most common for the second part of the negative to come after the whole verb, most negative words can’t be used in all three locations. Let’s have a look at where to put different negative words relative to compound tenses!
| Position | Second Negative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| BEFORE | non Translation: not | Non penso di non essere stato educato. Translation: I don't think I was not polite. |
ancora non… Translation: not yet | Ancora non ho comprato il vestito. Translation: I haven't bought the dress yet. | |
| BETWEEN | neanche/nemmeno/neppure Translation: not even | Non sono neanche/nemmero/neppure andato al supermercato. Translation: I didn't even go to the supermarket. |
mica/affatto Translation: at all | Non è mica/affatto stato bene. Translation: He hasn’t been feeling well at all. | |
mai Translation: never | Non hanno mai letto questo libro. Translation: They have never read this book. | |
non… ancora… Translation: not yet | Non ho ancora comprato il vestito. Translation: I haven't bought the dress yet. | |
più Translation: no more, anymore, no longer | Non ho più comprato la moto. Translation: I have decided not to buy the bike after all. | |
| AFTER | niente Translation: nothing | Non ho detto niente. Translation: I didn’t say anything. |
nulla Translation: nothing | Non ho fatto nulla. Translation: I didn't do anything. | |
nessuno Translation: nobody | Non ho visto nessuno. Translation: I didn’t see anyone. | |
nessuna Translation: nobody | Non ho incontrato nessuna delle tue amiche. Translation: I didn’t meet any of your friends. | |
neanche/nemmeno/neppure Translation: not even | Non sono andato neanche/nemmero/neppure al supermercato. Translation: I didn't even go to the supermarket. | |
né… né… Translation: neither... nor... | Non hanno visitato né il museo né la chiesa. Translation: They did not visit the museum or the church. | |
amica/affatto Translation: at all | Non è stato mica/affatto bene. Translation: He hasn’t been feeling well at all. | |
non ... ancora* Translation: not yet | Non ho comprato il vestito ancora. Translation: I haven't bought the dress yet. |
Also, note that several very useful and common negatives like mai meaning never and più meaning no more, anymore, no longer can only be placed between the auxiliary and past participle, so it’s incorrect to place them elsewhere.
To sum up
Here’s what you should remember from this post:
In Italian it’s perfectly fine to have two, three, or even four negatives in one sentence;
Non meaning not can be combined with a variety of words (check them above);
Usually, non meaning not is the first word in double negatives constructions, and precedes the verb: Non ho niente. meaning I don't have anything.
Depending on the words, in a sentence with a compound tense like passato prossimo meaning recent past, negatives can go either before, between, or after the two words that form a compound tense. Some negatives are more flexible and can go either between or after the two words that make the compound verb.
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