3.1 Negation

3.1.1 Negation of Terms

To negate terms – nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. – the negation word no is placed before the word to be negated. Any part of speech can be negated in Ayola.

Myo amats le lingo. I love languages.

Myo no amats le lingo. I do not love languages.

Moy cantantits rapide coe felitce. We were singing rapidly but happily.

Moy cantantits rapide coe no felitce. We were singing rapidly but not happily.

La torto gemandjats byu moy. The pie was eaten by us.

La torto gemandjats no byu moy The pie was eaten not by us, but by them.

coe byu dyay.

Cakyo vidits la filmo. Everyone saw the movie.

No cakyo vidits la filmo. Not everyone saw the movie.

Dyaza frato estats stanka ce trista. Her brother is tired and sad.

Dyaza frato estats stanka coe no trista. Her brother is tired but not sad.

3.1.2 Negation of Sentences

In order to negate an entire sentence, place the sentence negation word Nio at the beginning of the sentence.

Dya spendits mutca moneo. She spent a lot of money.

Nio dya spendits mutca moneo. It is not the case that she spent a lot of

money.

The need for both negation words arises in cases such as the one below:

Myo no ludits dumu una semano. I did not play during one week.

Nio myo ludits dumu una semano. It is not the case that I played during one

week.

where in the first sentence the word no negates only the verb ludits and the speaker means that he/she did not play for a whole week (took the week off), whereas in the second sentence the word Nio negates the entire sentence so the speaker means that it is not the case that he/she played for one whole week.

Exercise 1

Translate the following English sentences into Ayola. Pay attention to the placement of the negation word no and the fact that ‘no’ in English is not equivalent to no in Ayola.

1. You can take the dog, but not the cat.

2. I don’t like to clean the house.

3. The sign said, “No Children.”

4. Don’t eat that!

5. They cannot listen to the music.

6. It is not necessary to stay here.

7. There is no parking available.

8. I brought the car not to the garage, but to the house.

9. She doesn’t study every night.

10. It’s not difficult to learn a new language.

Exercise 2

Your obstina psitaciformo (‘obstinate parrot’) has been so negative lately! He will negate everything you say. You say “Myo vwelats mandjare.” He says “Myo no vwelats mandjare.” or “No myo vwelats mandjare.” He could even say “Myo vwelats no mandjare” or “Myo vwelats no mandjare coe bibare!” First, write the parrot’s responses and negate the underlined words. Next, translate the parrot’s sentences into English.

1. You say: Myo vwelats prezentare vu cwe myoza sestro.

He says: _______________________________

2. You say: Myo fondats kaminare enu la parko.

He says: _______________________________

3. You say: Dya vwelats estihare mediko.

He says: _______________________________

4. You say: Matron amats kukare furu moy.

He says: ________________________________

5. You say: Dya instruktits alu moy lingoy.

He says: ________________________________

6. You say: Dya kumprits biciklo ce toyoy.

He says: ________________________________

7. You say: Dya rakontits alu myo multa storioy.

He says: ________________________________

8. You say: Dya adestats ayolway klaseo.

He says: ________________________________

9. You say: Myoza granparentoy vivats enu Pwerto Riko.

He says: ________________________________

10. You say: Myo havats djemela frato.

He says: ___________________________________

Exercise 3

Pierre and Dorothea have been dating for one year, and Dorothea is quizzing Pierre on how much he knows about her. However, he is wrong about everything. Write Dorothea’s responses to Pierre’s statements by first translating the sentences into Ayola and then by using the sentence negation word Nio.

1. You listen to loud music.  Nio myo awskultats lawta muziko.

2. You love to eat chocolate every day.

3. You talk to your friends for three hours every night.

4. You don’t like to run.

5. You prefer pears to bananas.

6. You studied literature in college.

7. You want to have three children.

8. You hate it when I tell bad jokes.

9. You like to shop on the weekends.

10. You are allergic to cats.

11. You are scared of the dark.