Spanish has some interesting forms of negation. This lesson explores one of them.
In a new installment of the always-passionate series Yago, Pasión Morena (yes, that's its original title), we hear the expression para nada (at all, literally "for nothing"), which can be added to any given negative expression to add more emphasis to it. The construction is simple: you add the expression para nada to any standard negation formed with the word no and a conjugated verb. Consequently, no es (it's not) becomesno es para nada (it's not at all), no salgo (I don't go out) becomes no salgo para nada (I don't go out at all), and so on. Here's an example:
Pienso que no es para nada adecuado el casamiento.
I think that the wedding is not appropriate at all.
Caption 23, Yago - 9 Recuperación - Part 5
Pretty straightforward, right? On the other hand, Spanish also allows for a different (but less common) option. You can actually get rid of the word no and place the verb afterpara nada. So, in the previous example, the expression could also be: Pienso que para nada es adecuado el casamiento (I think that the weeding isn't appropriate at all). Here's a similar example from our catalog:
Pero para nada es así.
But it isn't that way at all.
Caption 11, Club de las ideas - Pasión por el golf - Part 2
In Spanish you can also use this expression as a sort of short negative answer. You can either say no, para nada, or simply para nada:
¿Te molesta que lo haya hecho sin consultarte? -¡No, para nada!
Does it bother you that I have done it without consulting you? -No, not at all!
Caption 44, Muñeca Brava - 3 Nueva Casa - Part 7
Now, pay attention to the following example, because no... para nada can also simply mean "not... for anything:"
Esto fuera, que no lo usamos para nada.
This one out, as we don't use it for anything.
Caption 67, Cómetelo - Crema de brócoli - Part 7
Las ayudas pueden hacer muchas escuelas, pero sin profesores no sirven para nada.
The aid can make many schools, but without teachers they're not good for anything.
Caption 32, Con ánimo de lucro - Cortometraje - Part 4
Conversely, para nada alone (without using the word no) can also mean "for nothing." This usage is not very common in Spanish, but you can find it in expressions such as tú eres un bueno para nada (you are a good-for-nothing).
By the way, you should know that it's possible to combine para nada (whether it means "for nothing" or "at all") with other negative words besides no, for example: nuncaor jamas (never), tampoco (either), nadie (nobody), etc. Check out the following examples:
Las segundas partes nunca sirven para nada / Second parts are never good for anything.
Este licuado tampoco me gusta para nada / I don't like this smoothie at all either.
Sal de aquí, nadie te necesita aquí para nada / Get out of here, nobody needs you here at all.
(Depending on context, this last one may also be translated as "nobody needs you here for anything").
Speaking of nada (nothing), in previous lessons we have discussed the expression nada que ver (to have nothing to do with, literally "nothing to see"). It's generally used as part of a longer statement such as Yo no tengo nada que ver contigo (I have nothing to do with you). However, it's also possible to use nada que ver as a short, emphatic negative answer similar to para nada that is somewhat equivalent to "not at all," "nothing like that," or even "of course not," depending on the tone and context. Strictly speaking, it's really just a shortened version of the expression no, eso no tiene nada que ver (no, that has nothing to do with it). Here is an example:
No, nada que ver... Mejor no me cuentes nada. -Bueno.
No, nothing like that... On second thought, don't tell me anything. -OK.
So, how would you translate or, even more important, use the expression that makes up the title of this lesson? Can you imagine a context in which you could use it? Here's one:
Entonces estás enamorado de Sofía. -¡Para nada, nada que ver!
So you are in love with Sofia. -Not at all, of course not!