Enrique
"no hice nada" in English? How would you express the idea of the Spanish phrase "no hice nada" in English. It's kind of confusing because there is a double negation on the phrase which strictly would result in an affirmation but we use it as a negation anyway. How could it be? "I did not do anything" "I did not do nothing" "I did nothing" "I did not did anything" "I did not did nothing" Which one is the used one?
Jul 21, 2015 2:40 AM
Answers · 5
1
no hice nada = I did not do anything. English doesn't have double negatives the way Spanish does.
July 21, 2015
1. "I did not do anything" : Yes, this is fine 2 "I did not do nothing" : This is not a correct translation of "no hice nada". If you say 'I did not do nothing', strictly speaking, this means 'I did something'. Two negative make a positive. That said, many native speakers use this form colloquially. If you go to an English-speaking country, you will hear many less educated people say 'I didn't do nothing'. Don't copy them, and don't use this form yourself. If you, as a non-native, were to use this form, people would presume you were making a mistake. 3. "I did nothing" : This is also fine. It means the same as #1 4. "I did not did anything" and 5. "I did not did nothing": These are simply ungrammatical. The verb form 'I did not did' doesn't exist.
July 21, 2015
Gracias! Qué tal la tercera?
July 21, 2015
La segunda como doble negación tendría el sentido de que si hizo algo. La cuarta y quinta están mal. Gramaticalmente non es posible decir eso.
July 21, 2015
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