Negation is used to express denial, refusal, absence, or contradiction of a statement, action, or idea that would otherwise be considered true or affirmed. Like most languages, Nigerian Pidgin (Naija) has a set of markers used to indicate negation and rules for how these markers should be used to convey meaning. This article examines how negation works by categorizing the markers used in Naija and providing usage examples for better understanding of the mechanics.

Types of negative markers

Negative adverbs

These are adverbs used to negate or invert the meaning of a verb, adjective, or another adverb in a sentence.

Adverb	Examples	English translations
no	– She no go school today. – I no dey go party like dat. – Ha brother no too sabi book. – Una no even sabi wetin una go watch.	– She did not go to school today. – I hardly go to parties. – Her brother is not really smart. – You don’t even know what you’re going to watch.
neva	– I neva enter plane before. – We neva chop since morning.	– I have never entered a plane before. – We haven’t eaten since morning.

Negative determiners

A negative determiner comes before a noun to indicate the absence of that noun. They are used to form negative noun phrases, showing that a noun in question doesn’t exist, or that nothing of it is being referred to.

Determiner	Examples	English translations
no	– No bags dey allowed for di bus. – No country better pass us for football.	– No bags are allowed on the bus. – No country is better than us at football.
none of	– None of di girls gree say sorry.	– None of the girls was willing to apologize.

Negative pronouns

Negative pronouns are pronouns that indicate the absence of people or things.

Pronoun	Examples	English translations
nothing	– Nothing dey inside di bag.	– There is nothing in the bag.
nobody	– Nobody show for di meeting. – Nobody sabi di answer to dat question.	– Nobody came to the meeting. – No one knows the answer to that question.
nower	– Nower safe for dis country.	– Nowhere is safe in this country.

Negation in various tenses

Past tense

Tense	Structure	Examples	English translations
Simple Past	no + verb	– I no go church on Sunday.	– I did not go to church on Sunday.
Past Perfect	bin neva + verb	– I bin neva komot office wen she call me.	– I had not left the office when she called me.
Past Continuous	bin no dey + verb	– I bin no dey read wen di light off. – My papa bin no dey house wen im friend come.	– I was not reading when the light went out. – My dad was not at home when his friend came over.
Past Perfect Continuous	bin no dey + verb	-I bin no dey well for years until I discover di miracle cure.	– I had not been well for years till I discovered the miracle cure.

Present tense

Tense	Structure	Examples	English translations
Simple Present	no dey + verb	– I no dey go office on Mondays.	– I don’t go to the office on Mondays.
Present Perfect	neva + verb	– I neva study Dutch for three years now.	– I haven’t studied Dutch in three years.
Present Continuous	no dey + verb	– We no dey cook night food for di pikin-dem.	– We are not making dinner for the kids.
Present Perfect Continuous	neva + verb	– She neva work for two days now.	– She has not been working for two days.

Future tense

Tense	Structure	Examples	English translations
Simple Future	no go + verb	– I no go travel go London next week.	– I will not travel to London next week.
Future Perfect	no go don + verb	– Di train no go don komot wen yu reach di station.	– The train will not have left when you arrive at the station.
Future Continuous	no go dey + verb	– We no go dey wait for yu for airport.	– We will not be waiting for you at the airport.
Future Perfect Continuous	no go don dey + verb	– She no go don dey prepare by di time we reach ha house.	– She will not have been preparing by the time we reach her house.