Spanish has several words and structures for connecting negative ideas. Two of the most useful are
Although both express negative ideas, they perform different functions.
Ni… Ni and Tampoco in Spanish
The main difference is simple:
Learning to use
Ni… Ni in Spanish
When
No vimos ni a Marta ni a Pedro durante toda la celebración del sábado por la noche.
We saw neither Marta nor Pedro during the entire celebration on Saturday night.
El nuevo empleado no habla ni francés ni alemán, pero está empezando a estudiar ambos idiomas.
The new employee speaks neither French nor German, but he is beginning to study both languages.
The structure can also connect two actions:
No llamaron ni enviaron ningún mensaje durante las horas posteriores a la reunión.
They neither called nor sent any message during the hours following the meeting.
Understanding this word order is an important part of learning how to use
When
Ni Marta ni Pedro dijeron nada cuando el profesor les pidió una explicación.
Neither Marta nor Pedro said anything when the teacher asked them for an explanation.
Please note the sentence can still contain another negative word after the verb, such as
Ni los vecinos ni el administrador sabían nada sobre el ruido que escuchamos anoche.
Neither the neighbors nor the building manager knew anything about the noise we heard last night.
Although
When two singular subjects are connected by
Ni el director ni la secretaria estaban disponibles cuando llamamos para solicitar información.
Neither the director nor the secretary was available when we called to request information.
Using Tampoco in Spanish
A simple way to understand how to use
When
Tampoco encontramos ninguna solución práctica después de hablar con varios expertos.
We did not find any practical solution either after speaking with several experts.
Ana no asistió a la reunión y yo tampoco pude participar por problemas de conexión.
Ana did not attend the meeting, and I could not participate either because of connection problems.
When
No quiero cambiar mis planes tampoco, porque ya he organizado varias reuniones con antelación.
I do not want to change my plans either because I have already arranged several meetings in advance.
This word order is grammatically possible, but placing
No entendió las instrucciones tampoco, aunque el profesor había explicado cada paso.
Tampoco entendió las instrucciones, aunque el profesor había explicado cada paso.
He did not understand the instructions either, although the teacher had explained every step.
In everyday Spanish, speakers frequently prefer
Cuando Laura dijo que no quería salir, Marcos respondió que él tampoco tenía ganas.
When Laura said that she did not want to go out, Marcos replied that he did not feel like it either.
A very common expression is
Cuando mis amigos confesaron que no habían entendido la película, respondí que yo tampoco había comprendido el final.
When my friends admitted that they had not understood the film, I replied that I had not understood the ending either.
Ni… ni or Tampoco ?
Knowing how to use
1. Use
No compraremos ni este sofá ni esta mesa porque ambos muebles resultan demasiado grandes.
We will buy neither this sofa nor this table because both pieces of furniture are too large.
2. Use
No compraremos este sofá y tampoco elegiremos esta mesa porque ambos muebles ocupan demasiado espacio.
We will not buy this sofa, and we will not choose this table either because both pieces occupy too much space.
The meanings are similar, but the grammatical structures are different. The first sentence connects two objects of the same verb. The second sentence coordinates two complete negative actions.
Exercises
Once you understand this position rule, learning how to use