Breakdown of Der Roboter tut nichts Schlechtes.
schlecht
bad
tun
to do
nichts
nothing
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
Questions & Answers about Der Roboter tut nichts Schlechtes.
Why is Schlechtes capitalized and why does it end in "-es"?
After indefinite pronouns like nichts (nothing) or etwas (something), adjectives are turned into nouns to represent abstract ideas. Because it now acts as a noun meaning "anything bad", Schlechtes is capitalized. It takes the strong neuter ending -es because nichts doesn't have a grammatical ending of its own to show the case.
Could I use macht instead of tut here?
Yes, Der Roboter macht nichts Schlechtes is also correct and means the same thing. However, tun is very frequently used with abstract pronouns like nichts or etwas. While machen often implies actively producing or creating a result, tun focuses purely on the action or behavior itself.
What case is nichts Schlechtes in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb tut. For neuter nominalized adjectives like this, the accusative ending is exactly the same as the nominative: it gets the -es ending.
Does the word nichts ever change its ending?