The rules for the position of nicht are in detail discussed
in the chapter 15 past
tenses. For now it should be enough to know that
the nicht is at the end
of the phrase.
Ich
sehe ihn nicht.
= I do not see
him. Ich gebe es ihm nicht
= I do not give
it to him. Er schenkt den Kindern
den Apfel nicht.
= He does not
give the apples to the children. Ich sage es ihm heute
nicht.
= I do not
tell him today.
Is the verb in a compound tense the thing get's really
a bit more complicated, the details you'll find - as
mentioned before - in the chapter
15 past tenses, here just one example:
nicht
is before the perfect participle
Ich
habe ihn heute nicht
gesehen. = I have not
seen him today. Du hast heute noch
nicht
gelacht. = You have not
laughed yet today.
nicht
is directly after the verb sein
Ich
bin nicht
reich.
= I am not
rich. Ich bin nicht
so groß
wie du. = I am not
as tall as you are.
nicht
is before the adverb
Ich
esse nicht
viel. = I do not
eat much. Ich mag es nicht
besonders.
= I do not
especially like it.
We'll come back to this later, but please be assured
that after a little bit of practice, you'll forget the
rules and just use them correctly.