Уро́к 4
4.1 Грамма́тика – Double Negatives
Грамма́тика
Ни-, Не…
Double Negatives
In Russian the word for no one is никто́, nothing is ничего́, and nowhere is нигде́. To say, ‘No one lives in this building,’ you must use both the negative pronoun никто́ and the negated form of the verb ‘live’ – не жить, such as in the following sentence:
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Никто́ не рабо́тает.
No one works. |
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Никто́ не говори́т!
No one is speaking. |
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В до́ме никто́ не живёт.
‘No one lives in the house / building.’ |
In Russian the negative pronoun (ни) is not enough to negate the sentence; the verb itself must also be negative.
Consider some more examples:
Где рабо́тает ва́ша ма́ма?
‘Where does your mom work?’
Она́ нигде не рабо́тает. Она на пе́нсии.
‘She doesn’t work anywhere. She’s retired.’
‘What are you doing?’
Я ничего́ не де́лаю.
‘I’m not doing anything.’
When used with a preposition, the negative pronouns break apart, such as in the following example. As always, the preposition forms a phonological word with its object. In this case, the stress falls on the initial ‘ни’.
О ком вы говори́те?
‘Who are you talking about?’
Мы ни́ о ком не говори́м.
‘We are not talking about anyone.’
О чём вы говори́те?
‘What are you talking about?’
Я ни́ о чём не говорю́.
‘I’m not talking about anything.’
*Note that in ни о чём both ни and чём are stressed.
