Negative words and double negation (non... mai, niente, nessuno, più)

Level A2 · Say that something never happens, or that there is no one, nothing or no more of something, using Italian negative word order.

Non vedo nessuno e non sento niente.I can't see anyone and I can't hear anything.

In English, two negatives in one sentence cancel each other out. In Italian they don't: non goes before the verb, and the negative word (mai, niente, nessuno, più) goes after it. When the negative word follows the verb, Italian normally uses non before it as well, and the sentence is still just one negative statement.

Quick shortcut: negative word after the verb → keep non before it: Non parlo mai. As a subject before the verb, nessuno and niente take no non: Nessuno parla.

1. The four common negative words

Word	Meaning	Example
mai	never	Non mangio mai* carne.* (I never eat meat.)
niente / nulla	nothing, not anything	Non ho niente* da fare.* (I have nothing to do.)
nessuno	no one, nobody	Non conosco nessuno* qui.* (I don't know anyone here.)
più	no longer, no more	Non abito più* a Roma.* (I don't live in Rome any more.)

Niente and nulla mean the same thing; nulla is slightly more formal or written, and both are common.

In English we say "I don't know anyone", with anyone rather than no one. Italian says the same thing with non + nessuno.

2. Non + verb + negative word

In a simple present-tense sentence, the order is fixed: non + verb + negative word.

Non parli mai. (You never speak.)
Non mangia niente. (He/She doesn't eat anything.)
Non lavoro più. (I don't work any more.)

You can also combine two negative words after the verb: Non dice mai niente. (He never says anything.) Non vedo mai nessuno. (I never see anyone.) For the basics of non, see Negation with non.

3. When the negative word comes first

When nessuno or niente comes before the verb as its subject, Italian drops non:

Nessuno parla. (Nobody speaks.)
Niente è impossibile. (Nothing is impossible.)

The same idea can also be said with the negative word after the verb, with non:

Nessuno viene. = Non viene nessuno. (Nobody comes.)
Niente funziona. = Non funziona niente. (Nothing works.)

Mai can also stand before the verb, but that is emphatic or literary. In everyday Italian use non ... mai: Non dimentico mai il tuo compleanno.

4. Compound tenses

In the passato prossimo, non goes before the auxiliary, and short words like mai and più usually go between the auxiliary and the participle:

Non ho mai visto quel film. (I've never seen that film.)
Non ho più visto Marco. (I haven't seen Marco any more.)
Non è mai stato a Roma. (He has never been to Rome.)

Niente and nessuno normally come after the participle:

Non ho capito niente. (I didn't understand anything.)
Non ho visto nessuno. (I didn't see anyone.)

For the passato prossimo, see Passato prossimo with avere.

5. Nessuno before a noun

Nessuno can also go in front of a noun, meaning "no" or "not any". It then follows the pattern of the indefinite article un / uno / una / un':

Noun	Form	Example
masculine	nessun (nessuno before the same sounds as uno: s+consonant, z, gn…)	Non ho nessun* problema.* / Non ho nessuno* zaino.*
feminine	nessuna (nessun' before a vowel)	Non ho nessuna* idea.* / Non ho nessun'amica a Milano.

The noun that follows is singular: nessun amico, not ❌ nessun amici. For these forms, see Indefinite articles.

6. Short answers

In a short answer, the negative word stands on its own, without non:

Chi c'è? — Nessuno. (Who is there? — No one.)
Cosa fai? — Niente. (What are you doing? — Nothing.)
Vai spesso al cinema? — Mai. (Do you go to the cinema often? — Never.)

Notice that mai in a question can also mean "ever": Sei mai stato a Napoli? (Have you ever been to Naples?). For other words about frequency, see Adverbs of frequency. For related words such as qualcuno and qualcosa, see Indefinite words (basic).

Common mistakes

❌ Vedo nessuno. → ✅ Non vedo nessuno. (after the verb, nessuno needs non)
❌ Non nessuno parla. → ✅ Nessuno parla. or ✅ Non parla nessuno. (one non, in the right place)
❌ Ho non mai visto Roma. → ✅ Non ho mai visto Roma. (non goes before the auxiliary)
❌ Non ho nessun amici. → ✅ Non ho nessun amico. (the noun is singular)
❌ Non ho capito niente nulla. → ✅ Non ho capito niente. (use niente or nulla, not both)

Quick check

Try making each sentence negative with the word in brackets.

Mangio carne. (mai)
Vedo qualcuno. (nessuno)
Capisco tutto. (niente)
Abito a Torino. (più)
Ho visto il film. (mai)
Viene qualcuno. (nessuno, with non)

Show answers

Non mangio mai carne. 2. Non vedo nessuno. 3. Non capisco niente. 4. Non abito più a Torino. 5. Non ho mai visto il film. 6. Non viene nessuno. (or Nessuno viene.)

Key takeaways

A negative word after the verb needs non before the verb: Non vedo nessuno.
As a subject before the verb, nessuno and niente take no non: Nessuno parla.
The four common ones are mai (never), niente / nulla (nothing), nessuno (no one) and più (no longer).
In compound tenses, non goes before the auxiliary, and mai and più usually sit before the participle: Non ho mai visto.
Nessun / nessuna go before a singular noun: Non ho nessun problema.
In Italian the double negation is correct; it doesn't turn into a positive.