3.12 Negation — Epoché
What you will be able to do Choose between the two negative words: δεν for statements, μην for commands and for anything after the particle that replaces the infinitive. Negate a statement without touching anything else in it: Δεν διαβάζω. , Δεν έχεις τίποτα. . Tell somebody not to do something: Μην μιλάς έτσι. , Μην παίζεις εδώ. . Use a double negative, which is compulsory in Greek and wrong in English: Δεν ξέρω τίποτα. , Δεν υπάρχει κανείς εκεί. . Answer a question with the free-standing word for no , which is neither of the two: Όχι, ευχαριστώ. . Prerequisites : 3.11 — the question words. Read 3.11 Grammar first; several of the negatives below appear inside questions, and a negative question in Greek behaves exactly like a positive one. Greek has two words for not and one for no , and the three are not interchangeable. English uses one word for all three jobs and lets context sort it out, so this is a distinction to build rather than to translate. The rule that separates the two not s is mechanical, which means it can be learned in five minutes and then applied without thinking. The second half of the lesson is harder, because it asks you to unlearn something. Greek requires a double negative where English forbids it. I don't know nothing is a mistake in standard English and the only correct form in Greek. This is not a dialect feature or a colloquialism; it is the grammar of the language, and every sentence in the corpus obeys it. The pattern Word Used with Example δεν a statement or a question in the indicative Δεν διαβάζω. [1] μην a command, and anything after the particle that replaces the infinitive Μην μιλάς έτσι. [2] όχι on its own, as the answer to a question Όχι, ευχαριστώ. [3] The first word has a shorter form as well, used in front of some consonants, and the corpus writes both: Δε θέλω να κάνω τίποτα. uses the short one and Δεν ξέρω τίποτα. the long one. The difference is not grammatical and it is not something you have to choose; say whichever comes out, and read both as the same word. The second word is the one to think about, because the rule that selects it is not about meaning. It is about what kind of clause follows. A command takes it; a wish takes it; anything introduced by the little particle that Greek uses instead of an infinitive takes it. Πέστε της να μην έρθει. shows the last of those: the sentence means tell her not to come , and the negative belongs to the second half, which is not a command at all. Now the double negative. When a negative word such as nothing , nobody or never appears in a Greek sentence, the verb keeps its negative too. Greek Word by word English Δεν ξέρω τίποτα. [4] not I-know nothing I don't know anything. Δεν υπάρχει κανείς εκεί. [5] not there-is nobody there There's nobody there. Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα εκεί. [6] not there-is nothing there There's nothing there. Δεν έχεις τίποτα. [7] not you-have nothing You have nothing. In every line the Greek has two negatives and the English has one. Leaving the first one out is not a milder way of saying the same thing; it is ungrammatical. French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Polish all do the same, so English is the outlier here rather than Greek. One consequence is worth predicting. Because the negative words can also be used positively in questions, the same word that means nothing in a negative statement means anything in a question, and the same word for nobody means anybody . Δεν υπάρχει κανείς; is the corpus's example: with the negative on the verb it is asking whether anyone is there, and the English translation has to decide what tone to give it. How English says it English negates with an auxiliary: do not , does not , did not . The auxiliary is there only to carry the negative and the tense, and it disappears the moment another auxiliary is present. Greek has nothing of the kind. The negative word goes in front of the verb, the verb does not change, and there is no second word to find. That is a genuine saving and it is available from the first day. The cost is in the other direction. English has one negative and Greek has two, and an English speaker will reach for the statement one everywhere, because it is the one that appears first in every course and in every phrasebook. The error is not serious — you will be understood — but it is instantly audible, and it is worth heading off with a single rule of thumb: if you are telling somebody to do something, or not to do something, use the second word. The free-standing word for no is the third piece and the easiest. English uses no both as an answer and in front of a noun: no, thank you and no water . Greek uses the free-standing word only as an answer. For no water it negates the verb instead, which is why Δεν υπάρχει νερό. says literally there is not water . Once you notice this you will stop trying to put the answer-word in front of nouns. Finally, the negative question. English changes its expectations when a question is negated: don't you speak French expects the answer yes. Greek does the same and marks it the same way, by putting the negative in front of the verb and changing nothing else. Δε μιλάτε Γαλλικά; is the corpus's example, and its English translation keeps the expectation intact. Real sentences Eighteen lines from the public corpus, arranged by which negative word they use. Greek English Which negative, and why Δεν διαβάζω. [1] I do not read. the statement negative, in front of the verb Δεν είμαι εδώ. [8] I'm not here. the same, with the verb to be Δεν έχεις τίποτα. [7] You have nothing. with a negative object as well, so two negatives in all Ο Τομ δεν έχει τίποτα. [9] Tom has nothing. the same with a named subject Δεν ξέρω τίποτα. [4] I don't know anything. two negatives; English uses anything to avoid the second Δεν υπάρχει κανείς εκεί. [5] There's nobody there. two negatives with the verb of existing Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα εκεί. [6] There's nothing there. the same with a different negative word Δεν υπάρχει νερό. [10] There's