Negative pronouns with obligatory verb negation

In English one negative word is enough: I know nobody here. Say I don't know nobody and a teacher corrects you. Serbian works the other way round. A word like nobody or nothing cannot stand with a positive verb: the verb has to be negated as well, every time. Ne znam nikoga ovde is the only correct way to say it, and dropping the ne is not casual speech but simply wrong.

The four negative words

Each one is a question word you already have with ni- in front of it.

The verb is always negated too

Whatever the negative word, the verb takes its ordinary negation: ne before a normal verb, or the fused forms you know already — nisam, nemam, neću. The negative word can stand before the verb or after it; the negation on the verb stays either way.

• Niko ne odgovara. — Nobody answers.
• Ništa ne radi. — Nothing works.
• Nigde ne mogu da nađem ključeve. — I can't find the keys anywhere.
• Nikad nisam bio tamo. — I have never been there.
• Nemam ništa. — I have nothing.

Two, three or four negative words in one sentence are fine and still take one negated verb: Niko nikad ništa ne kaže — nobody ever says anything. Do not add a second ne, and do not translate the English ever or anything with a positive word: in a negative sentence anything is ništa and ever is nikad.

niko and ništa change for case

nigde and nikad never change. niko and ništa are pronouns and take the same endings as ko and šta, in the cases you already use.

• Ne poznajem nikoga u zgradi. — I don't know anyone in the building. (accusative)
• Nikome nisam rekla za problem. — I haven't told anyone about the problem. (dative)
• Ničega se ne plašim. — I am not afraid of anything. (genitive)

A preposition splits the word in two

When niko or ništa needs a preposition, the preposition does not go in front of the whole word. It goes between ni and the case form: ni + preposition + form of ko or šta. Written as three separate words.

• Ni sa kim nisam razgovarao o kvaru. — I haven't talked to anyone about the breakdown.
• Ne žalim se ni na šta. — I am not complaining about anything.

The verb stays negated in the split version too: Ni od koga nisam dobio odgovor. If you catch yourself writing sa nikim or o ničemu, move the preposition inside.