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Ik hoop niet dat het gaat regenen. I hope it isn’t going to rain.
Ik hoop dat het niet gaat regenen. I hope it isn’t going to rain.
The examples demonstrate that it works similarly in English, the negation
is either with the verb of opinion or with the thought expressed in the second
sentence. The meaning is mostly the same.
Other negation forms
iemand someone niemand nobody
iets something niets nothing
ooit ever nooit never
ergens somewhere nergens nowhere
Heb jij iemand buiten gezien? Did you see someone outside?
Nee, ik heb niemand gezien. No, I didn’t see anyone.
Heb je al iets gegeten? Have you had anything to eat
yet?
Nee, ik heb nog niets gegeten. No, I haven’t had anything to
eat yet.
Ben jij ooit (wel eens) in Parijs Have you ever been to Paris?
geweest?
Nee, ik ben er (nog) nooit geweest. No, I have never been there.
Zie jij mijn zwarte pumps ergens? Do you see my black pumps
anywhere?
Nee, ik zie ze nergens. No, I don’t see them anywhere.
Note: The words niets, niemand, nooit and nergens often appear with
nog ‘still’, ‘yet’ or meer ‘anymore’, often to contrast with al ‘already’.
Examples:
Ben je al eens in Parijs geweest? Have you been to Paris yet?
Nee, ik ben er nog nooit geweest. No, I have not been there yet.
Zie je nog iemand van school? Are you still seeing anyone from
school?
Nee, ik zie niemand meer. No, I’m not seeing anyone
anymore.
Note that meer follows the noun or pronoun that is negated.
Other
negation
forms
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