Negation

One word, in front of the verb.

Não falo português. — I don't speak Portuguese.

There is no do to insert and nothing else to move. Não is also the word for "no", so Não, não sei is "No, I don't know" with the same word twice.

Double negatives are required

If a negative word follows the verb, não still has to come first.

• Não vi nada. — I saw nothing. (literally "I didn't see nothing")
• Não veio ninguém. — Nobody came.
• Não vou nunca. — I'm never going.

Two negatives make the sentence more negative, not less. Dropping não is a mistake, though the negative word alone can come first instead: Ninguém veio.

The useful negatives

Ainda não and já não are worth memorising as pairs — they mirror each other exactly.

Softening

Portuguese rarely refuses flatly. Não é preciso — "it isn't necessary" — and acho que não — "I think not" — do most of the work that a bare não would do too harshly.

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