Questions & Answers about Wir können ihn nirgendwo finden.
Why doesn't this sentence use nicht to say "cannot find"?
In English we say "cannot find anywhere", but German phrases this as "can find nowhere". German does not use nicht (not) if there is already a negative word like nirgendwo (nowhere) or niemand (nobody) in the sentence, as that would create a double negative.
How is nirgendwo related to the other indefinite words in this lesson?
The prefix irgend- is used to mean "some" or "any", like in irgendwo (somewhere or anywhere). To make it negative, you change the prefix to nirgend-. So, irgendwo becomes nirgendwo (nowhere).
Why is the word for "him" ihn and not ihm?
The verb finden (to find) acts on a direct object, which requires the accusative case. Ihn is the accusative form of er (he). You would only use ihm if the verb required the dative case.
Why does finden go at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses the modal verb können (can). When a conjugated modal verb is in the second position of a regular sentence, it pushes the main action verb (finden) to the very end in its unchanged infinitive form.