Russian has a series of negative existential pronouns and adverbs. The negative adverbs are: не́где “there is nowhere,” не́куда “there is nowhere to”, and не́когда “there is no time.” The negative existential pronouns and adverbs are always used with an infinitive:
| Не́где спать. | There is nowhere to sleep. |
| Не́куда идти. | There is nowhere to go. |
| Не́когда читать. | There is no time to read. |
These sentences can be put into that past or future by adding было or будет respectively:
| Не́где было спать. | There was nowhere to sleep. |
| Не́где будет спать. | There won't be anywhere to sleep. |
| Не́куда было идти. | There was nowhere to go. |
| Не́куда будет идти. | There won't be anywhere to go. |
| Не́когда было читать. | There was no time to read. |
| Не́когда будет читать. | There won't be any time to read. |
If you want to specify the individual involved, that individual goes in the dative case:
| Ивану не́где было спать. | There was nowhere for Ivan to sleep. |
| Жанне не́где спать. | There is nowhere for Zhanna to sleep. |
| Нам не́где будет спать. | There won't be anywhere for us to sleep. |
| Молодёжи не́куда идти. | There is nowhere for young folks to go. |
| Беженцам не́куда было идти. | There was nowhere for the refugees to go. |
The existential negative pronouns are:
| there is no one | there is nothing | |
| Nom | — | — |
| Acc | не́кого | не́чего |
| Gen | не́кого | не́чего |
| Pre | не́ о ком | не́ о чем |
| Dat | не́кому | не́чему |
| Ins | не́кем | не́чем |
Sample sentences with нечего and its forms.
| Acc: | В магазине не́чего купить. | There is nothing to buy in the store. |
| Gen: | Не́чего будет бояться. | There won't be anything to be afraid of. |
| Pre: | Не́ о чем было разговаривать. | There was nothing to talk about. |
| Dat: | Не́чему удивляться. | There is nothing to be surprised about. |
| Ins: | Не́чем было прибить гвозди. | There was nothing to hammer the nails in with. |
If you wish to mention the people involved, then the person appears in the dative:
| Нам не́чего купить. | There is nothing for us to buy. |
| Мише и Тане не́ о чем было разговаривать. | There was nothing for Misha and Tanya to talk about. |
| Тебе не́чего будет бояться. | There won't be anything for you to be afraid of. |
Sample sentences with некого
| Acc: | Не́кого пригласить. | There is no one to invite. |
| Gen: | Не́кого будет бояться. | There won't be anybody to be afraid of. |
| Pre: | Не́ о ком было разговаривать. | There was nobody to talk about. |
| Dat: | Не́кому звонить. | There is no one to call. |
| Ins: | Не́кем его заменить. | There is nobody to replace him with. |
As with the other negative existential pronouns and adverbs, if you can add an involved party with the dative case:
| Acc: | Мне не́кого пригласить. | There is no one for me to invite. |
| Gen: | Беженцам не́кого будет бояться. | There won't be anybody for the refugees to be afraid of. |
| Pre: | Тане не́ о ком было разговаривать. | There was nobody for Tanya to talk about. |
| Dat: | Нам не́кому звонить. | There is no one for us to call. |
| Ins: | Борису не́кем его заменить. | There is nobody for Boris to replace him with. |
You may have noticed that не́чего and не́кого do not have a nominative case form. If you want to express the idea that there is no one to do the action of the verb, then—oddly enough—the lack of a doer is indicated with некому:
| Не́кому сегодня работать. | There is no one to work today. (i.e., there is no one who can work today) |
| Не́кому понимать меня. | There is no one to understand me. |
| В этом клубе раньше танцевала молодёжь, а теперь не́кому танцевать. | Young folks used to dance at this club, but now there is nobody to dance. |
Since некому can take the place of a dative object or of the subject of an infinitive, verbs that take dative objects or indirect objects are ambiguous when used with некому:
| Не́кому звонить. | There is no one to make a call. or There is no one to give a call to. |
| Не́кому читать. | There is no one who can read. or There is no one to read to. |
| Не́кому помогать. | There is no one who can help. or There is no one to give help to. |
There are three words that look like they should be negative existenial words, but in fact are not. They are: не́кто “a certain someone” (nominative only), не́что “a certain something” (nom/acc only), and не́когда “once, a certain time.” These words are not used in infinitive constructions, but rather with ordinary conjugated verbs:
| Я не́когда был во Франции. | I was in France once. or There was a certain time I was in France. |
| Тебе звонил не́кто Косыгин. | A certain Kosygin called you. |
| Она мне сказала не́что очень интересное. | She told me a certain very interesting thing. |
| Зарплата не́когда лучшего футболиста мира сократится на 25%. (source) | The paycheck of the at-one-time best soccer player in the world has decreased by 25%. |
Rev. 1:48 PM 2/6/2011