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Negation |
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Negation is the contradiction or denial of what is said in a sentence or a clause. There are different linguistic means to negate a sentence or clause. One of these means is the use of negation words such as nein, nicht, kein, nie, niemand, etc.
There are different kinds of negation words:
Some negation words can be the equivalent of a sentence, e.g. when they answer a question:
Willst du ein Eis? – Nein.
Other negation words are used like pronouns or adverbs:
Ich habe niemanden gesehen.
Ich habe ihn nie getroffen.
Negation words can negate the whole content of a sentence:
Ich habe ihn nicht gesehen.
By means of intonation, word order and context a certain part of a negated sentence can be emphasized. The emphasized element is contrasted with a corresponding element in an affirmative statement:
Ich habe nicht ihn gesehen (sondern ich habe jemand anderen gesehen)
This kind of negation is called contrastive negation.
Negation is described under the following topics:
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