Negation
Negation is formed by the prefix ne-. In the future tense and the passive voice it is added to the auxiliary verb být (to be).
- nedělat - not to do
- nedělám - I do not do
- nedělej! do not do!
- nedělal jsem - I did not do
- nebudu dělat - I will not do
- nedělal bych - I would not do
- byl bych neudělal or nebyl bych udělal - I would not have done
- není děláno - it is not done
Unlike English, more negative words can be in a Czech sentence:
- Nic nemám. - I have nothing. (literally I do not have nothing.)
- Nikdy to nikomu neříkej. - Never say it to anybody. (literally Do not never say it to nobody.)
Read more about this topic: Czech Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the word negation:
“Friendship, according to Proust, is the negation of that irremediable solitude to which every human being is condemned.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“I am firmly opposed to the government entering into any business the major purpose of which is competition with our citizens ... for the Federal Government deliberately to go out to build up and expand ... a power and manufacturing business is to break down the initiative and enterprise of the American people; it is the destruction of equality of opportunity amongst our people, it is the negation of the ideals upon which our civilization has been based.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“We make a mistake forsaking England and moving out into the periphery of life. After all, Taormina, Ceylon, Africa, America—as far as we go, they are only the negation of what we ourselves stand for and are: and we’re rather like Jonahs running away from the place we belong.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)