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Questions & Answers about Здесь нет никакой проблемы.
What does the word order and structure with нет mean here?
This is an existential sentence: есть = “there is,” нет = “there is no/there are no.” So Здесь есть проблема = “There is a problem here,” while Здесь нет ... = “There is no ... here.” After нет, the noun goes in the genitive case, which is why you see проблемы (genitive singular) rather than nominative проблема.
Why is it проблемы and not проблема?
Because нет requires the genitive. The feminine noun проблема in the genitive singular becomes проблемы (ending -ы). Rule of thumb: feminine -а nouns typically take -ы in the genitive singular, except after the “spelling-rule” consonants (к, г, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, ц), where -и is used (e.g., книга → книги). Here, проблема → проблемы is regular.
What does никакой add? Could we just say Здесь нет проблемы?
никакой means “no, not any,” and with нет it strengthens the negation: “no problem whatsoever.” Without it, Здесь нет проблемы is still correct, but it often sounds like you’re denying the existence of some specific problem previously mentioned. Здесь нет никакой проблемы is a broad, emphatic denial of any problem at all.
Why does никакой look masculine when проблема is feminine?
Form overlap. никакой is both:
- masculine nominative singular (никакой)
- feminine genitive singular (никакой) Here it’s feminine genitive singular agreeing with проблемы. In nominative feminine it would be никакая (e.g., никакая проблема — a different structure/meaning).
Singular vs plural: when do I use никакой проблемы vs никаких проблем?
Both are fine.
- нет никакой проблемы (sg.) = “no problem at all” (often a little more formal or argumentative).
- нет никаких проблем (pl.) = “no problems at all” (extremely common and neutral).
You will also hear short answers like Нет проблем (“No problem(s)”).
How else can I say this naturally?
Common variants:
- Здесь нет проблем.
- Здесь нет никаких проблем.
- Проблемы здесь нет. (fronting “problem” for emphasis)
- Stronger emphasis: Здесь вообще/совсем нет никаких проблем. All keep the same core meaning; the differences are nuance and emphasis.
What’s the difference between Здесь нет никакой проблемы and Это не проблема?
- Здесь нет никакой проблемы is existential: it states non-existence in this place/situation.
- Это не проблема is predicative: “This is not a problem.” It’s used when talking about a particular thing (this/that matter).
Don’t say Здесь не проблема; instead say Проблема не здесь (“The problem is not here”) if that’s your intended contrast.
Can I change the word order?
Yes, Russian is flexible with word order for emphasis:
- Здесь нет никакой проблемы (neutral).
- Здесь никакой проблемы нет (slightly stronger focus on the negation).
- Никакой проблемы здесь нет (fronted emphasis on “no problem whatsoever”).
All are grammatical; choose based on what you want to highlight.
Is this “double negation” grammatical in Russian?
Yes. Russian uses negative concord: нет often co-occurs with ни- words (никакой, никто, ничто, никогда) to strengthen negation. It doesn’t cancel out like in standard English; it intensifies: Здесь нет никакой проблемы = “There is absolutely no problem here.”
How is the sentence pronounced and where is the stress?
- Здесь = [zʲdʲesʲ] (don’t drop the “d” sound; it’s a soft cluster).
- нет = [nʲet].
- никакой = [nʲɪkɐˈkoj] (stress on the last syllable).
- пробле́мы = [prɐˈblʲemɨ] (stress on “ле́”).
So: zdyes’ nyet nikakói problémy.
Why not use ничего instead of никакой?
ничего is a pronoun meaning “nothing/anything (neg.)” and cannot modify nouns the way an adjective does. You need an adjectival form that agrees with the noun: никакой agrees with проблемы in gender, number, and case (feminine, singular, genitive): никакой проблемы.
What about synonyms like “not a single problem”?
You can say:
- Здесь нет ни одной проблемы = “There isn’t a single problem here.” (very emphatic; fem. gen. sg.)
- Здесь совсем/вообще нет проблем = “There are absolutely no problems here.”
These are natural and often used for stronger emphasis.
Could I say нет проблемы on its own as a reply?
Yes. As a short elliptical answer, Проблемы нет or simply Нет проблем are both very common and natural in conversation to mean “No problem.” They’re just condensed forms of the full existential sentence.