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Grammar Lesson 83:

The negative adverb

The negative adverb "no" is used when answering a question:

- “Gli hai parlato? “No.” (“Did you talk to him?” “No.”)

When introducing a doubt / an alternative:

- Vieni o no? (Are you coming or not?)

- Un giorno sì uno no. (Every other day.)

In certain cases, when preceded by the preposition di no replaces a that-clause:

- Pare di no —> Pare che non sia così. (It doesn’t look like it.)

- Direi di no —> Direi che le cose non stanno così. (I’d say things are not like that.)

- Speriamo di no —> Speriamo che non ciò non accada. (Let’s hope not.)

No can be used in rhetorical questions:

- Te l’avevo detto, no? (I told you, didn’t I?)

- Anna è simpatica, no? (Anna is nice, isn’t she?)

Note that to reinforce its meaning, no can be either repeated, or preceded / followed by another adverb:

- No, no, no, e poi no! (Absolutely not!)

- Proprio no! (No way!)

- Assolutamente no! (Absolutely not!)

- No di certo! (Certainly not, of course, not!)

No can also be used as a noun (in that case it is always preceded by an article or an adjective):

- Anna lo ha messo a tacere con un no chiaro e tondo. (Anna silenced him with a clear no.)

- Il mio no è definitivo. (No, and that’s final.)

In particular expressions no can also function as an adjective, adding a negative value to the following noun:

- Oggi è una giornata no. (Today has been an off day.)

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