Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Er merkt nichts.
Why is it nichts with an 's' at the end, rather than just nicht?
Nicht means "not", while nichts means "nothing" or "not anything". Because he literally notices "nothing" as the object of the sentence, we must use the pronoun nichts.
Does merken mean "to mark"?
No, this is a common "false friend" for English speakers! Merken usually means "to notice", "to realize", or "to perceive". If you want to say "to mark" (like marking a spot on a map or a test), you would use markieren.
In English, I'd probably say "He doesn't notice anything." Why isn't there a translation for "doesn't" here?
German is much more direct and uses the equivalent of "He notices nothing." English often requires a helper verb like "does" paired with "not" and "anything", but German simply pairs the main verb directly with nichts.
If I want to add a dass (that) clause to say what he doesn't notice, do I still use nichts?
Usually, you would switch to nicht ("not"). The dass clause tells us exactly what he is failing to notice, so you don't need the word "nothing" anymore. For example, you would say: Er merkt nicht, dass wir hier sind (He doesn't notice that we are here).