Nu văd nimic în întuneric.

I can't see anything in the dark.

Breakdown of Nu văd nimic în întuneric.

• nu: not
• în: in
• a vedea: to see
• întunericul: the darkness

Questions & Answers about Nu văd nimic în întuneric.

Why is nu placed before văd?

In Romanian, nu is the normal particle used to negate a verb, and it usually goes directly before the verb:

• văd = I see
• nu văd = I do not see / I can’t see

So Nu văd nimic literally follows the Romanian pattern for a negative sentence.

What does văd mean exactly, and what form is it?

Văd is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb a vedea (to see).

So:

• eu văd = I see
• tu vezi = you see
• el/ea vede = he/she sees

In this sentence, văd means I see.

Why is nimic used here instead of a word meaning anything?

Romanian commonly uses negative concord, which means multiple negative-looking words appear together in one negative sentence.

So Romanian says:

• Nu văd nimic = literally I do not see nothing, but the real meaning is I don’t see anything

This is normal and correct in Romanian. English usually avoids this structure in standard grammar, but Romanian requires it.