To form a negating sentence, we use the Dutch equivalent of 'not': _niet_. Unlike English, we do not need an auxiliary verb: _I do not speak_ simply becomes _Ik spreek niet._ There is no need for the extra 'do' in Dutch.
The most common place for _niet_ is between the middle and the right part. By doing this, we deny the general act or event indicated by the verbs. Whenever you are in doubt, put _niet_ in this position and your sentence will almost certainly be right.
If we place _niet_ before TIME, PLACE, MANNER, or the direct object, we do this to stress that it was not yesterday (but today), that it was not in Amsterdam (but in Den Haag), that we did not do it together (but alone), that we did not give her flowers (but chocolate), etc.
Common general negations are:
niet meer | not anymore | nog niet | not yet
niet eens | not even | helemaal niet | not at all
The following negations can make up specific sentence components:
[Time](#/lesson/WordOrder.13)
nooit, nimmer | never
Hij geeft nooit op. | He never gives up.
[Place](#/lesson/WordOrder.15)
nergens | nowhere
Ik kan het nergens vinden. | (lit) I can find it nowhere.
[Subject](#/lesson/WordOrder.04), [direct object](#/lesson/WordOrder.16), et cetera
niemand | nobody
Niemand praat erover. | No one talks about it.
niets, niks | nothing
We hebben niets gezien. | (lit) We have seen nothing.
..., noch... | neither..., nor...
Hij kan horen noch praten\* | He can neither speak, nor talk
(\*) While in English, we use a double negation - using both _neither_ and _nor_ \- in Dutch, we only use a negating word before the second part.
If a sentence contains a [non-specific direct object](#/lesson/WordOrder.17), we use the word [_geen_](#/lesson/WordOrder.47) instead of _niet_. _Geen_ is the equivalent of English _no_.
On the next page, you will find examples of negating sentences.