Negation
Standard negation
Quenya has two main ways to form a negative clause:
- negation adverb
ú
- zero quantifiers, such as
úquen
nobody,úlume
never, etc.
Quenya differs significantly from English in how these two methods interact with each other.
Rule 1
If a zero quantifier follows the verb, then the verb must be preceded by ú
a
ú túle úquen hai
'nobody arrived on time'ú melden úquen ambe lá·se
'I loved nobody more than him'ú cennenye·s úlume
'I have never seen him'
Rule 2
If a zero quantifier precedes the verb, then the verb is not preceded by ú
b
úquen túle hai
'nobody arrived on time'úquen melden ambe lá·se
'nobody did I love more than him'úlume cennenye·s
'I have never seen him'
This principle applies equally where the verb is both preceded and followed by a zero quantifier:
úquen túle úlume hai
'nobody has ever arrived on time'.