Negative sentences in German and the place of negation in them. Particles “kein” and “nicht” Negation of nicht

Negation using the negative pronoun “kein” occurs exclusively in combination with nouns. "Kein" is used in German speech to negate nouns that are used within affirmative sentences with zeros (no articles at all) or with indefinite articles.

The declension of the negative pronoun in question in the singular completely repeats the declension of the indefinite article, and in the plural - the definite article, for example:

• Barbara hat nur einen Reisenden gesehen. – Barbara saw only one traveler.
• Barbara hat keinen Reisenden gesehen. – Barbara didn’t see any traveler.
• Manfred hat Gästezimmer in seinem Sommerhaus. – Manfred has guest rooms in his summer country house.
• Manfred hat keine Gästezimmer in seinem Sommerhaus. – Manfred has no guest rooms in his summer country house

Negative particle "nicht"

Most often, negation in German speech is made through the use of the particle “ nicht". Using this particle, any member of a German sentence can be negated. If a simple predicate is negated, then the negative particle goes to the very end of the sentence. If a complex predicate is negated, then the indicated particle takes place immediately before the conjugated part of the predicate used, for example:

• Sigmund wiederholt diese Regeln nicht. – Sigmund does not repeat these rules (simple predicate).
• Sigmund wird diese Regeln nicht wiederholen. – Sigmund will not repeat these rules (complex predicate).

If the negation refers to any other member of the sentence, then the negative particle “nicht” is given a place immediately before the affected member of the sentence, for example:

• Heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today Sigmund repeats these rules at home (affirmative sentence).
• Nicht heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Not today will Sigmund repeat these house rules (denial of a temporary circumstance).
• Heute wiederholt nicht Sigmund diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today it is not Sigmund who repeats these rules at home (negation of the subject).
• Heute wiederholt Sigmund nicht diese Regeln zu Hause. – Today, Sigmund is not repeating these rules at home (negation of direct object).
• Heute wiederholt Sigmund diese Regeln nicht zu Hause. – Today Sigmund repeats these rules not at home (negation of the adverbial location).

Taisiya Luchina, student at Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria, https://www.facebook.com/taisiya.luchina

I'm from Moscow, but I graduated from high school in Slovakia. I studied German since the 7th grade, but it always seemed like a rather inaccessible language and often caused panic. But I needed to get a C1 level certificate to enter the university in Vienna (Universität Wien). I realized that the school curriculum was not enough for me, so I turned to Google and came across Ekaterina Alekseevna’s website.

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As a practicing doctor, further professional growth is very important to me, so the idea of ​​moving to Germany came a long time ago. I started learning German from scratch a year ago with a tutor, but unfortunately, the tutor did not pay enough attention to my mistakes. To work as a doctor in Germany, you need to speak German at level B2.

3 months before the exam, I started looking for another tutor on the Internet and accidentally came across Ekaterina Alekseevna’s website, which offered to check my level of German. Next, we agreed on the time for the oral part of the test. My German level turned out to be B1.

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I am a resident of Ukraine. I need German to study at a professional gardening school. Since I did not have the opportunity to attend German language courses, by a lucky chance I discovered the official website of Ekaterina Kazankova on the Internet. I passed an online test to determine the level and a trial online lesson, after which I received complete information about my knowledge and chances of passing the exam at level A2.
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Natalya Sheludko, Faculty of Medicine, https://vk.com/id17127807

I'm a dental student and I'm almost I have been studying in Germany for three years at the University of Bonn. I studied German at the Goethe Institute. During intensive preparation for the C1 exam, I wanted to study with a tutor for several months. One of my teachers advised me to contact Ekaterina Alekseevna.
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Negation in the German language has one feature that makes it fundamentally different from the Russian language. There can only be one single negation; double negation is not allowed in this language.

Negation in German can be expressed using negative words nicht, kein, weder... noch, nichts, niemand and so on.

Example:

Is it das dein Fahrrad? —Nein.
Is it das dein Auto? - Ja.
Is it das dein Fahrrad? - Nein, es ist nicht meins. Mein Fahrrad steht da drüben.
Is it das dein Auto? - Ja, das ist mein Auto.
Ist das nicht dein Fahrrad? —Nein.
Ist das nicht dein Auto? - Doch. (Das ist mein Auto)

The first thing you should remember is the difference between the words nein and nicht:

nein- always means “no”, and

nothing- "Not".

When writing, you must remember to put a comma after the word “Nein”

Ist der Termin am Dienstag? Nein, der Termin ist erst am Donnerstag!

Negation with nicht. Place of nicht in a sentence

Nicht can negate an entire sentence, verb or noun with a definite article.

If there is one verb in a sentence and we negate it, then nothing stands at the very end of the sentence before the period.

Arbeitest du? - Nein, ich arbeite nicht.
Kochst du das Mittagessen? – Nein, ich koche das Mittagessen nicht.
Kommst du mit uns ins Kino heute Abend? – Nein, ich komme mit euch in Kino heute Abend nicht.

If there are 2 verbs in a sentence (verbs with separable prefixes, sentences with modal verbs, infinitive, past tense), then nothing is in second to last place.

Macht sie die Tür zu? – Nein, sie macht die Tür nicht zu.
Hast du heute die Zeitung gelesen? - Nein, die habe ich heute noch nicht gelesen.
Muss ich alle Vokabeln lesen? – Nein, du musst alle Vokabeln nicht lesen, du musst sie lernen.

If we deny the preposition, then nothing comes before a preposition.

Fährst du mit dem Zug nach Lübeck? – Nein, ich fahre nicht mit dem Zug nach Lübeck, ich fahre mit dem Auto.
Geht er morgens ins Schwimmbad? – Nein, er geht nicht ins Schwimmbad, er joggt im Park.
Kommen Sie aus Frankreich? – Nein, ich komme nicht aus Frankreich.

If the preposition is in 1st place, then nothing stands at the very end of the sentence.

Nicht cannot be at the beginning of a sentence!

Fährst du mit diesem Zug nach Lübeck? - Nein, mit diesem fahre ich nicht.
Geht er morgens ins Schwimmbad? – Nein, ins Schwimmbad geht er nicht.
Kommen Sie aus Frankreich? – Nein, aus Frankreich komme ich nicht.

Nicht stands before negated words (today, a lot, just like that, willingly, etc.).

Liest du viel? - Nein, ich lese nicht viel.
Trinkst du Mineralwasser? – Nein, ich trinke Mineralwasser nicht gern.
Ich mache diese Aufgabe nicht heute.

Denial with nicht

Often it is not necessary to deny the entire sentence, but only a certain part or one word. In this case nothing will face what we deny. Intonation strongly emphasizes negation nothing and what we deny.

In some cases it is acceptable nothing at the beginning of a sentence. If we deny some word or part of a sentence, it is necessary to introduce an alternative to the negation (not today, but tomorrow; not I, but he; not turn on, but turn off, etc.).

For this, the phrase nicht…, sondern is used.

Nicht Sonja hat das Glas gebrochen, sondern Christine.
Du liest dieses Buch jetzt, nicht morgen.
Nicht am Freitag, sondern am Samstag beginnt der Wettbewerb.
Er konnte nicht ein Stück, sondern gleich eine ganze Torte essen.
Wir gratulieren nicht nur dir, sondern deiner ganzen Familie.
Bitte, schalte das Licht in dem Zimmer nicht aus, sondern ein.

Nicht may negate an adjective, participle, or group of adjectives. In this case nothing will come before the adjective.

Mein Freund trägt oft dieses nicht gebügelte Hemd.
Die nicht lange dauernde Vorlesung hat das Interesse der Studenten geweckt.
Du hast mir ein noch nicht gelesenes Buch gegeben.

Negation with kein

A noun with a definite article is negated with nicht.

A noun with an indefinite article is negated with kein-.

A noun without an article is negated with kein-.

The negative article kein- is declined in the same way as the indefinite article.

In the plural there is no indefinite article, there is only a negative article keine .

Ist das ein Buch? – Nein, das ist kein Buch, sondern ein Heft.
Ist das ein Radiergummi? – Nein, das ist kein Radiergummi, sondern ein Spitzer.
Sind das _ Schüler? – Nein, das sind keine Schüler, sondern _ Studenten. ( Plural!)
Hat er eine Freundin? – Nein, er hat keine Freundin, er ist Single.

If there is a numeral before a noun eins, then it is inflected like the indefinite article.

Numeral eins negated with nothing.

Ich habe von meinen Eltern nicht ein Geschenk, sondern zwei.
Helga hat Deutschland nicht einen Computer zu Hause, sondern drei.
Meine Mutter hat nicht eine Bananentorte gebacken, sondern fünf.

The word KEIN is one of the most important and frequently used words in the German language. Let's get acquainted with important expressions with this word.

20 important expressions with KEIN

• kein Wunder - no wonder
• auf keinen Fall - under no circumstances
• keine Zeit - no time
• keine Ahnung haben - have no idea
• keine Arbeit haben - to be unemployed
• keinen Sinn haben - make no sense
• keinen Anschluss bekommen - can't get through by phone
• auf keine Weise - in no way
• auf ihn kein Verlass - you cannot rely on him
• du bist kein Kind mehr - you are no longer a child
• ich habe kein Auge geschlossen - I didn’t sleep a wink
• ich habe kein Geld - I have no money
• er ist kein schlechter Mensch - he is not a bad person
• keine Angst! - Don't be afraid!
• keine Ursache - you're welcome
• mach keine Witze! - don't talk nonsense!
• ohne Fleiß kein Preis - you can’t catch a fish from a pond without difficulty
• keinen Fitz wert sein - cost nothing
• ich bekomme keine Luft - I feel stuffy
• machen Sie sich keine Mühe! - do not worry!

Negative words

Constructions with negative meaning

“...neither...nor...” (“weder...noch”)

Tim kann nicht Deutsch sprechen. Er kann auch nicht Englisch sprechen.
Tim kann weder Deutsch noch Englisch sprechen. Tim can’t speak either German or English.
Meine kleine Schwester kann noch nicht lesen. Sie kann auch nicht schreiben.
Meine kleine Schwester kann weder lesen noch schreiben. – My little sister can neither read nor write.

without doing something ( ohne...zu)

Paul will reisen. Er will nicht viel Geld ausgeben.

Paul will reisen, ohne viel Geld auszugeben. – Paul wants to travel without spending a lot of money.

Sie geht weg. Sie verabschiedet sich nicht.

Sie geht weg, ohne sich zu verabschieden. – She leaves without saying goodbye.

Prepositions with negative meaning

without + case Accusative (ohne + Akkusativ)

Wir beginnen die Feier. Wir warten auf dich nicht.
Wir beginnen die Feier ohne dich.
Der junge Mann fährt im Zug. Er hat keine Fahrkarte.
Der junge Mann fährt im Zug ohne Fahrkarte.

except + case Dativ (außer + Dativ)

Die ganze Touristengruppe ist pünktlich zum Bus gekommen, nur Herr Berger nicht.
Die ganze Touristengruppe außer Herrn Berger ist pünktlich zum Bus gekommen.
Meine Freunde haben schon alles in dieser Stadt gesehen, nur das Rathaus nicht.
Meine Freunde haben alles in dieser Stadt außer dem Rathaus gesehen.

Verb sein
Verb sein considered one of the most "scary" topics in German, but in fact it couldn’t be simpler. The main thing is to immediately realize that the verb sein has two meanings- Semantic And Auxiliary. We have already touched a little on the verb sein, and now it’s worth talking about it more extensively.
Meaning:Conjugation of the verb sein:
In Russian: In German: I amich binyou aredu bisthe/she/it iser/sie/es istwe arewir sindyou (plural) areihr seidthey aresie sindYou (of) areSie sind
*Of course, in Russian we do not speak with “is”.
In Russian, all pronouns are used - EAT, and in German everyone has a different word, but it also means - EAT And together these words are called SEIN. That's the whole secret. That is, you just need to apply Sein in a certain form to a certain pronoun.

Example: I am – Ich bin / You are – Du bist / We are – Wir sind
Verb sein used for: who you are, your condition, your...

Ein junger Hase - (One) young hare
The text will be written in German with a parallel LITERAL translation into Russian.
Ein kleines Tier wohnt in einem märchenhaften Wald.
Das Tier ist ein junger Hase.
Der liebt oft in einer kleinen und schönen Stadt spazierengehen.
Dieser Hase heißt Doni und er ist sehr nett.
Seine Frau ist auch sehr schön und jung.

Aber in diesem Märchen sprechen wir über den Hase Doni.
Doni hat ein altes, schönes und gemütliches Häuschen. Auch fährt er gern mit seinem Fahrradum den Wald herum. Am Wochenende möchte er in diese Stadt fahren, um ein schönes und kleines Fahrrad für sich zu kaufen.

Er hat schon ein altes Fahrrad, trotzdem will er ein neues.
Normaleweise fährt er durch den Wald oder den Park.
Dieser Park liegt entlang den Wald.
Neben dem Parkgibt es einen großen Markt.

Auf diesem Markt kauft er viele Möhren für seine kleine Familie.
Wahrscheinlich geht er auch am Samstag auf diesen Markt zu Fuß oder mit seinem alten Fahrrad.
Aber muss er zuerst in d…

German lesson 1 - Alphabet, reading rules, verb sein, sentence construction.

First, you must decide why you need German, and then just start learning it. You can simply waste time if you start learning not from scratch, but from some level. The German language is not difficult, it is logical. If you find the right path to study. A1- Very simple. You will be able to ask something, get information, mostly confident dictionary user, short sentences, standard phrases. Vocabulary is approximately 1500 words.
Still, it is logical to start learning with the alphabet, since letters are the basis of speech.
The German alphabet consists of 26 letters, 3 umlaut and 1 eszet: A a [A]B b [Be]C c [Tse]D d [De]E e [E]F f [Eph]G g [Ge]H h [Ha]I i [I]J j [Iot]K k [Ka]L l [El]M m [Um]N n [En]O o [O]P p [Pe]Q q [Ku]R r [Er]S s [Es]T t [Te]U u [U]

German text level A1 - Mein Wochenende.
Mein Wochenende. Am Samstag waren wir im Wald. Wir sind mit dem Fahrrad gefahren und dann sind wir ins Schwimmbad gegangen. Im Schwimmbad haben wir viel gebaden. Nach dem Schwimmbad haben wir den Orangensaft getrunken. Am Abend hat meine Frau einen Kuchen gebacken. Wir haben den Kuchen gegessen. Mein Sohn liebt den Kuchen. Nach dem Abendessen haben wir mit dem Ball gespielt.
Das ist mein Wochenende!
My weekend. On Saturday we were in the forest. We rode bicycles and then we went to the pool. We swam a lot in the pool. After the pool we drank orange juice. In the evening my wife baked a pie. We ate it. My son loves pie very much. After dinner we played with a ball. It's my weekend!

Negation of nein

German negation nein corresponds to the Russian “no” when the answer to a question is negative and denies all offer. It is followed by a period or comma. nein does not affect word order, i.e. is not part of the sentence and does not take up space.

For example:

Gehst du heute ins Kino? - Nein(Nein, ich be suche heute meinen Schulfreund).

Please note that in Russian the word “no” has another use ( compare: In this book No pictures = not available. I have today No time = don’t have time). In these examples, "no" does not apply to the entire sentence; in German it corresponds in the first example to the impersonal phrase es gibt + negation kein; in the second example - verb haben + negation kein: In diesem Buch gibt es keine Bilder. Ich habe heute keine Zeit.

Negation of kein

German negative kein means "none", and in the examples above, you can mentally add this word (There are (no) pictures in this book; I don’t have (any) time today). Therefore, if you can mentally add the word “none,” then you need to use the negation kein before the corresponding German noun.

For example:

We Not we want war. (= We Not we want no war.) Wir wollen keinen Krieg.

Denial of nothing

The German negation nicht must be used in all other cases, i.e. when it is impossible to mentally add the word “none” to the negation.

For example:

Book Not interesting. Das Buch ist nothing interessant.

My parents live now Not in Samara. Meine Eltern leben jetzt nothing in Samara.

Like the Russian negation “not”, the negation nicht must be used immediately before the word being negated (see examples above). But if the negation of nicht refers to the predicate, then nicht must be used at the very end of the sentence.

For example:

Petrov does not attend our seminar. Petrow be sucht Unser Seminar nothing.

I I'm not going to the cinema today. Ich gehe heute ins Kino nothing.

Cp.: I'm going today not to the cinema. Ich gehe heute nicht ins Kino.

Exercise 1. Indicate: a) what negation you will use in German sentences if you want to say that:

1. You no longer live in a dormitory. 2. Your friend’s name is not Nikolai. 3. You are studying a language other than English. 4. You don't always have free time. 5. You have no brothers or sisters. 6. Your university does not have a mechanization department.

b) in which of these sentences the negation should be at the end.

Negative pronouns

There are also negative pronouns in German: niemand“nobody, nobody, nobody”; nichts"nothing, nothing"; nie“never” and some others. Unlike the Russian language, There cannot be two negatives in a German sentence, i.e. if there is a negative pronoun, then you no longer need to use either kein or nicht.

I'm here no one I know. Ich kenne hier niemand.
There there is nothing. Dort gibt es nichts.

Answer the question with a negative

If the negation in German is contained in a question, then such a question cannot be answered with “Ja”. If you confirm the questioner’s thought and agree with him, then you must answer “Nein.” If you object to him, do not agree, then you must answer “Doch.”

Kennst du die Wörter nicht? - Nein.(= Ich kenne die Wörter nicht.)

- Doch.(= Ich kenne die Wörter.)

Exercise 2. Indicate which of the following questions can be answered: a) Doch, b) Nein:

1. Fahren Sie zum Institut mit dem Autobus? 2. Kommt Ihre Mutter nicht? 3. Ist im Labor niemand da? 4. Haben Sie heute keine Zeit? 5. Beginnt die Stunde um 9 Uhr?