Inklingo

How to Say "disown" in Spanish

The Spanish word fordisownis negarA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2

negar

verbA2
deny relationship with someone
A friendly cartoon character firmly shaking their head 'no' with a strong, decisive expression, their hand held up in a stopping gesture, illustrating the act of denying a statement.

Examples

Ella niega haber estado en la fiesta.

She denies having been at the party.

El banco me negó el préstamo.

The bank refused me the loan.

La empresa le negó la entrada a la fábrica.

The company denied him entry to the factory.

Stem Change Alert (e → ie)

In the present tense, the 'e' in the middle changes to 'ie' (like 'nIEgo'), except for the 'nosotros' and 'vosotros' forms, which stay regular (negamos, negáis).

Spelling Change in Preterite

To keep the 'g' sounding hard (like the 'g' in 'go') before the 'e' in the 'yo' form of the past tense, you must add a 'u': 'negué'. This is a common spelling rule for all -gar verbs.

Using Subjunctive After Denying

Mistake:Él niega que *sea* el culpable.

Correction: When denying a fact, Spanish typically uses the standard verb form (Indicative) in the second part: 'Él niega que *es* el culpable.' (He denies that he is the culprit).

Learn Spanish with Inklingo

Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.