Negating sounds easy, yet many waver between “nicht” and “kein”. With a clear rule you hit the right form. Here you learn when to use which.
nicht or kein: the basic rule
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The rule of thumb is short:
- kein negates a noun with an indefinite article or no article: “Ich habe ein Auto” becomes “Ich habe kein Auto.”
- nicht negates everything else, that is verbs, adjectives, whole sentences and nouns with a definite article: “Ich kenne den Mann nicht.”
What this part is about is shown in telc B2 language elements.
The position of nicht
If you negate the whole sentence, “nicht” usually goes at the end: “Ich komme heute nicht.” If you negate only one part, it goes directly before it: “Ich komme nicht heute, sondern morgen.” The matching connectors like “sondern” are also important here. Another common gap topic is the modal verbs.
In the telc exam
Negation comes up in gaps and in free writing. How to proceed with the language elements is in solving language elements strategically, and where the part sits in the procedure is shown by the page on the exam sections.
The bottom line
Remember: “kein” before nouns with an indefinite article, “nicht” for the rest. With this rule and the right position you negate confidently and naturally.
