Double negatives in Italian: What are they and how to use them?

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(no), non(not), niente(nothing), mai(never), neppure(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!(I had never told anyone!) How wonderful! 😄

In Italian, a double negative (a sentence with more than one negative word), the first negative is usually non(not), which comes before the verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. The second negative will usually come after the verb, but there is a wide range of words you can put in that second slot.

Let’s take a look to some of the most common Italian negatives that can come after non(not):

• niente / nulla(nothing) and nessuno / nessuna(nobody, none)

  • Non ho niente/nulla da aggiungere.

    I don’t have anything to add.

    lit. I don’t have nothing to add.

  • Oggi non ho visto nessuno.

    I didn't see anyone today.

    lit. I didn’t see nobody today.

  • Non ho nessuna intenzione di uscire con questo temporale.

    I have no intention of going out with this storm.

    lit. I don’t have no intention of going out with this storm.

  Important

  Nessuno, nulla, and niente may sometimes be used with a positive verb (i.e. a verb without non). Whether the verb needs non depends on the word order:

  • When nessuno, nulla, or niente follows the verb, then non is required:

    • Non ho visto nessuno.

      I didn’t see anyone.

    • Non ho nulla da dire.

      I don’t have anything to say.

  • When nessuno, nulla, or nientecome before the verb, then they do not need the negative non:

    • Nessuna di loro lo ha visto.

      None of them saw it.

    • Niente ci può fermare!

      Nothing can stop us!

• neanche / nemmeno / neppure(not even)

  Non ho neanche/nemmeno/neppure un minuto di tempo.

  I don’t even have a minute of free time.

  lit. I don’t have not even a minute of free time.

• né… né…(neither... nor)

  In vacanza, non hanno portato né il computer né il telefono.

  On vacation, they brought neither a computer nor a telephone.

  lit. On vacation, they didn’t bring neither a computer nor a telephone.

• mica / affatto(at all)

  Non è mica / affatto colpa mia se il vaso si è rotto.

  It's not at all my fault that the vase broke.

• mai(never)

  Ultimamente, non guardo mai la televisione.

  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(yet)

  • Hai letto il libro che ti ho regalato?

    Did you read the book I gave you?

  • No, non ancora.

    No, not yet.

  ⤷ TIP

  Outside of a double negative, ancora means "already."

• più(more)

  • Andate al cinema stasera?

    Are you going to the movies tonight?

  • No, non andiamo più.

    No, we don't go anymore.

  ⤷ TIP

  Outside of a double negative più means "more."

And here are a couple of cases that work a little differently:

• non(not)

  Non credo di non avere pazienza.

  I don’t think I don’t have patience. (i.e. I think am patient)

  Important

  Notice that when non(not) + verb is followed by another non(not) + verb, the two negatives actually create a positive! Just like in English! Here are a couple more examples of this:

  • Non puoi non venire.

    You can’t not come (i.e. You need to come).

  • Non penso che non capisca.

    I don’t think s/he doesn’t understand (i.e. I think s/he does understand).

• che(that)

  We only use non(not) in combination with the word che(that) to form double negatives in a couple very common expressions:

  • Non c’è di che is used in alternative to Prego!(You are welcome!). So when someone tells you Grazie!(Thank you!) in Italian, you can also answer:

    Non c’è di che!

    You are welcome!

    lit. 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!(There is nothing you should thank me for!).

  • In addition, non(not) + che(that) is used to mean “nothing special,” like in the following examples:

    • Ciao, come stai? Che mi racconti?

      Hi, how are you? What's up?

    • Bene, niente di che.

      Well, nothing special.

      lit. 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!(There is nothing that is worth mentioning!).

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(not) can be combined with a variety of words (check them above);

• Usually, non(not) is the first word in double negatives constructions, and precedes the verb: Non ho niente.(I don't have anything.)

• Depending on the words, in a sentence with a compound tense like passato prossimo(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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