We dey use negation to show sey something no true, sey we no want do am, sey e no dey happen, or sey e no fit happen. As wit most languages, Naija get markers wey we dey use indicate negation, and we get rules for haw we suppose use dese markers convey meaning. Dis article go examine haw negation dey work. E go categorize di markers wey we dey use for Naija, and e go provide usage examples to help yu sabi di mechanics well-well.

Types of negative markers

Negative adverbs

Dese na adverbs wey dey negate or invert di meaning of verb, adjective, or anoda adverb for sentence.

Adverb	Examples
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.
neva	– I neva enter plane before. – We neva chop since morning.

Negative determiners

Negative determiner na word wey dey come before noun to show sey di noun dey abscent. We dey use am form negative noun phrases, to show sey di thing wey di noun talk about no exist, or sey nothing like am dey involved.

Determiner	Examples
no	– No bags dey allowed for di bus. – No country better pass us for football.
none of	– None of di girls gree say sorry.

Negative pronoun

Negative pronoun na pronoun wey dey show sey persin or something no dey.

Naija Equivalent	Examples
nothing	– Nothing dey inside di bag.
nobody	– Nobody show for di meeting. – Nobody sabi di answer to dat question.
nower	– Nower safe for dis country.

Negation for various tenses

Past tense

Tense	Structure	Examples
Simple Past	no + verb	– I no go church on Sunday.
Past Perfect	bin neva + verb	– I bin neva komot office wen she call 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.
Past Perfect Continuous	bin no dey + verb	– I bin no dey well for years until I discover di miracle cure.

Present tense

Tense	Structure	Examples
Simple Present	no dey + verb	– I no dey go office on Mondays.
Present Perfect	neva + verb	– I neva study Dutch for three years now.
Present Continuous	no dey + verb	– We no dey cook night food for di pikin-dem.
Present Perfect Continuous	neva + verb	– She neva work for two days now.

Future tense

Tense	Structure	Examples
Simple Future	no go + verb	– I no go travel go London next week.
Future Perfect	no go don + verb	– Di train no go don komot wen yu reach di station.
Future Continuous	no go dey + verb	– We no go dey wait for yu for airport.
Future Perfect Continuous	no go don dey + verb	– She no go don dey prepare by di time we reach ha house.