Negative Questions and doch

Negative questions and the answer doch

A negative yes/no question contains nicht or kein- and can express an expectation or surprise.

• Kommst du heute nicht?
• Hast du keinen Termin?

Word order follows other yes/no questions: the conjugated verb is in position 1.

Nein or doch?

Use nein when the negative assumption is true: Nein, ich trinke keinen Kaffee. Use doch when you contradict it positively: Doch, ich trinke Kaffee.

Here doch means that the opposite of the negative assumption is true. A simple ja can be ambiguous after a negative question, so doch is the clear positive contradiction.

Questions with nicht and kein-

Use nicht to negate an action, quality, or phrase. Use kein- before a noun that would have an indefinite article or no article. Check gender, number, and case with kein-.

Negative questions in the perfect tense

Put haben or sein first, then the subject, while the past participle stays at the end. Nicht normally comes before the participle or directly before the phrase being negated.

• Hast du die Nachricht nicht gelesen?
• Seid ihr gestern nicht gekommen?
• Hat Amir keinen Platz reserviert?

Negation does not change the choice of auxiliary verb or the participle form: first choose both forms, then place the negation.