Besides the simple negative form (non before the verb), the following negatives are common. Review those you already know, and learn the others.

non…più                                            no more, no longer

non…niente (or non…nulla)                 nothing, not anything

non…mai                                            never, not ever

non…nessuno                                    nobody, not anybody

non…affatto (or non…punto)               not at all

non…neanche (or non…nemmeno      not even

or non…neppure)

non…che                                            only, nothing but

non…nè…nè                                       neither…nor

Study the following examples, arranged in the order used in the preceding list.

Egli non parla più. –“He no longer talks.”

Essa non dice niente (nulla). –“She says nothing.”

Non lo vediamo mai. –“We never see him.”

Non viene nessuno. –“No one comes (is coming).”

Non li conosco affatto. –“I don’t know them at all.”

Non vuole neanche (nemmeno/neppure) mangiare. –“He doesn’t even want to eat.”

Non ne abbiamo che quattro. –“We have only four (of them).”

Non vedo nè il ragazzo nè la ragazza. –“I see neither the boy nor the girl.”

Observe that niente, nulla, mai, nessuno, and nè…nè may also precede the verb, in which case non is omitted.

Niente è impossibile. –“Nothing is impossible.”

Nulla è eterno nella vita. –“Nothing is eternal in life.”

Nulla di ciò che dice è vero. (Non dice nulla di vero.) –“Nothing (of what) he says is true” (He says nothing that is true.”)

Mai lo dirà. (Non lo dirà mai.) –“He will never tell it.”

Nessuno parla. –“No one is speaking.”

Nè Giovanni nè Roberto è venuto. –“Neither John nor Robert came (has come).”

NOTE: 1. When used after the verb (after the auxiliary, in compound tenses) and without non, mai means “ever.”

È mai stato in Italia Lei? –“Have you ever been in Italy?”

2. Non is sometimes used redundantly, particularly in comparisons of inequality.

È più ricco che non si creda. –“He is richer than you think (one thinks).”

3. Se non, “if not,” may be translated as “except.”

La terra non si conquista definitivamente se non con l’aratro. –Ferrero “The land is not definitively conquered except by the plow.”

VOCABULARY A

VOCABULARY B

VOCABULARY C

The irregular verb dovere may be translated in various ways. When it is used as a transitive verb, it means “to owe.” When it is used as a modal auxiliary, it means “to have to,” “to be (supposed) to,” “must,” “should,” or “ought.”

Present: devo (or debbo), devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete, devono (or debbono)

Stem for future and conditional: dovr-: dovrò, etc.: dovrei, etc.

Present subjunctive: deva (or debba), deva (or debba), deva (or debba), dobbiamo, dobbiate, devano (or debbano)

Alongside the regularly formed past absolute, there are alternate forms in the first and third persons singular and the third person plural: respectively, dovetti, dovette, dovettero. (Cf. page 54, footnote 1.)

Some of the various meanings of dovere in different contexts and tenses are illustrated in the following sentences.

Mi deve (mi doveva) dieci dollari. –“He owes me (owed me) ten dollars.”

Deve cantare. -:He is to (is supposed to, is expected to, has to, must) sing.”

Doveva cantare. –“He was to (was supposed to, was expected to, had to) sing.”

L’ha dovuto fare. (Ha dovuto farlo.) –“He had (has had) to do it.”

Dovrà partire. –“He will have to leave.”

Non è venuto; ha dovuto essere ammalato. –“He did not come; he must have been (probably was) ill.”

Dovrebbe pagarmi. –“He ought to (should) pay me.”

Avrebbe dovuto farlo. –“He ought to (should) have done it.”

NOTE: The conditional of dovere always means “ought to” or “should,” and the conditional perfect, “ought to have” or “should have.” Each of these tenses implies the idea of moral obligation.

VOCABULARY