Monday, January 6, 2020

Using the Spanish Pronoun Nadie

Nadie  is an indefinite pronoun that typically means no one or nobody.  Nadie can replace a  noun  that has been mentioned previously in a conversation or is obvious from context; it is considered indefinite because it doesnt refer to a particular person. Key Takeaways: Nadie Nadie is usually a pronoun that means nobody or no one.When used as part of a double negative, nadie often is translated anybody.Unless the context demands otherwise, nadie is treated as masculine. Although it has no gender, it is typically used with masculine adjectives unless the context requires otherwise. The antonym of nadie is alguien. Nadie Used as a Subject Nadie when used as the subject of a sentence takes a singular verb. For example,  nadie lo cree  means nobody believes it or no one believes it. Nadie es perfecto. (Nobody is perfect.)Los mujeres soon tristes. Nadie està ¡ contenta. (The women are sad. Nobody is pleased. The feminine adjective is used here because the context indicates that nadie refers to women.)Nadie quiero viajar conmigo. (Nobody wants to travel with me.)Una encuesta revela que casi nadie va a comprar el new iPhone 8 si cuesta mà ¡s de 1.000 dà ³lares. (A new poll indicates that almost nobody is going to buy the new iPhone if it costs more than $1,000.) Nadie Used as Part of a Double Negative When nadie follows the verb of a sentence, typically it is used as part of a double negative. Because standard English does not use double negatives, nadie is sometimes translated into English as anybody or anyone in such sentences. For example, No conozco a nadie translates to, I dont know anybody.  ¡No lo digas a nadie! (Dont tell anyone!)Ellos jamà ¡s comprenden a nadie. (They never understand anybody.)No veo a nadie fuera de mi trabajo. (I never see anybody outside of my work.) Nadie Used in Questions When used as part of a question, nadie is used as part of a double negative. For example,  Ã‚ ¿No ha estudiado nadie?, means,​Hasnt anybody studied? Again, because nadie is being used in a double negative, the word is translated into anybody.  ¿No quiere nadie ir contigo? (Doesnt anybody want to go with you?) ¿No sale nadie para asistir a la clase? (Isnt anybody leaving to attend class?) ¿No cree nadie que Elvis todavà ­a vive? (Doesnt anybody still believe Elvis is alive?) Nadie Used as an Object Pronoun When used as an object pronoun, nadie requires the personal a. A personal a  serves as a preposition. It has no direct translation into English.  For example, No veo a nadie means I dont see anyone. A nadie me importa. (Nobody cares about me.)Estoy sola en una ciudad donde no conoce a nadie. (Im alone in a city where I dont know anybody.)Mi misià ³n no es daà ±ar a nadie. (My mission isnt to harm anyone.) Using the Phrase Nadie De In standard Spanish, the phrase nadie de, nobody from, nobody in, or nobody of, is followed by a singular noun. The Royal Spanish Academy says that nadie de should not be used to indicate one person of a group, and that ninguno should be used instead. Thus none of my friends should be translated as ninguno de mis amigos. However, in real life nadie de mis amigos is sometimes used. These examples are of standard Spanish: Nadie del equipo està ¡ feliz. (Nobody from the team is happy.)Ninguno de los jugadores està ¡ feliz. (None of the players is happy.)No hay nadie de Madrid en el foro. (There is nobody from Madrid in the forum.)No hay ninguno de los estudiantes en el foro. (There are none of students in the forum.) Nadie Used Figuratively As with nobody in the English sentence He believes hes a nobody, nadie can be used figuratively as a noun. As a noun it can be masculine or feminine as well as singular or plural depending on whom it refers to. Quiero que sea un nadie en mi mundo. (I want to be a nobody in my world.)Ahora volvà ­a a ser la doà ±a nadie que no podà ­a tener novio. (Now I would again become the Ms. Nobody that couldnt have a boyfriend.)Los sinhogares son los nadies, los olvidados. (The homeless are the nobodies, the forgotten ones.)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.