Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Ninguno Usually Used in Singular Form

Ninguno Usually Used in Singular Form Ninguno (as well as the feminine form, ninguna), usually meaning none or not one, is almost always used in the singular form. But ninguno (or the noun it refers to when ninguno is used as an adjective) can often be translated to English as either singular or plural without a change in meaning. Heres  an example: Él tiene lo que ninguna mujer puede resistir. In English, either He has what no woman can resist and He has what no women can resist mean essentially the same thing. But in Spanish, the singular form would almost always be used. Similarly, a sentence such as No he tenido ningà ºn problema could be translated as either I havent had any problem or I havent had any problems, with any difference in meaning being very slight. But ningunos problemas is hardly ever used. Some examples showing how English equivalents can be singular or plural: Ninguna persona debe morir en la crcel. (Nobody should die in jail. No persons should die in jail.) No hay ninguna diferencia entre darle dinero al gobierno y quermarlo. (Theres no difference between giving money to the government and burning it. There are no differences between burning money and giving it to the government.) No tengo ninguna pregunta ms. (I dont have another question. I dont have any more quesitons.) It wouldnt be a grammatical crime to use the plural in Spanish sentence like those two, and indeed you may sometimes hear similar constructions. But as a general rule, the main time ningunos or ningunas is used is when referring to nouns that are grammatically plural although singular in meaning: No veo ningunas tijeras. I dont see any scissors. No necesito ningunas gafas. I dont need any glasses. No tengo ningunas ganas de estudiar. I dont have any desire to study. By the way, theres a reason many of the sentences about use both no and ninguno: Double negatives are common in Spanish. In fact, theyre required in many cases where theyd be wrong in English.

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