Friday, 3 February 2012

¡De nada!

NOTHING, NOT...ANYTHING = lo contrario de "algo", nada de ninguna cosa en concreto, nada en términos absolutos.

NONE = nada (uncountables) / ninguno (countables), referido a algo ya citado (con un sustantivo implícito)


What did you read? NOTHING. (I read nothing, I didn't read anything). No hay referencia a nada.
How many books did you read? NONE. (I read none, I didn't read any, I read no books). La respuesta alude a "books".
How much money did you spend? NONE. (I spent none, I didn't spend any, I spent no money).
What's in the cupboard? NOTHING. (There is nothing, there isn't anything)
Are there any blankets in the cupboard? No, there are NONE. There aren't any, there are no blankets.
How many children did they have? NONE. (They had none, they didn't have any, they had no children).
What do you want? NOTHING. (I want nothing, I don't want anything).


Remember that the one-word answer to these questions can't be ANYTHING, ANY or ANYONE because these words don't carry a negative meaning. It's only when they are combined with a negative word, usually a verb, that they "become" negative.

The Spanish word "nada" (to be precise ""nada de"), can also be translated as "NO", as you can see in some of the examples above, when it is used with uncountable nouns:
Nada de dinero = no money.
No había nada de leche = there was no milk.
No queda nada de ropa limpia = there are no clean clothes left.


By the way, "de nada" is don't mention it or you're welcome or that's all right.

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