Learn Hardcore Russian: Она ничего не сказала на встрече.

Russian uses negative concord: negative words like ничего (nothing), никто (no one), никогда (never) must be paired with не on the verb. So ничего не сказала is the normal, correct way to say “said nothing/didn’t say anything.”

Correct: Она ничего не сказала.
Also correct (different word order): Она не сказала ничего.
Incorrect: Она ничего сказала. (you must have не)

What is the nuance of сказала vs. говорила here?

сказала is the past tense of perfective сказать and focuses on a completed act (“to say/utter”). In the negative, it means the act never occurred: “she didn’t say (even once).”
говорила is the past tense of imperfective говорить and focuses on an ongoing process or general speaking. Она не говорила на встрече suggests she wasn’t speaking during the meeting (she remained silent throughout).
In many contexts, both are possible; сказала emphasizes “not a single utterance,” while говорила emphasizes “not speaking (as an activity).”

Why is it сказала and not сказал?

Past tense verbs in Russian agree with the subject’s gender and number. Она (she) takes feminine past: сказала.

Masculine: сказал (Он сказал)
Feminine: сказала (Она сказала)
Neuter: сказало
Plural: сказали

Can the word order change? Which versions are natural?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible; negation tends to keep ничего не сказала together. Natural options:

Она ничего не сказала на встрече. (neutral)
На встрече она ничего не сказала. (emphasis on “at the meeting”)
Она на встрече ничего не сказала. (also common)
Она не сказала ничего на встрече. (fine, a bit afterthought-like)
Avoid splitting ничего from не too far and avoid the incorrect Она ничего сказала.

What case is встрече, and why the -е ending?

Встрече is prepositional case singular (from встреча). After на in a static “location/time” sense (“at”), many feminine nouns ending in -а take -е in the prepositional: на встрече, на лекции, на конференции.

Why is it на встрече and not в встрече?

With events and activities, Russian typically uses на to mean “at (an event)”:

на встрече (at the meeting)
на уроке (in class)
на концерте (at the concert)
В is used more for enclosed physical locations (e.g., в комнате “in the room”). So на встрече is the idiomatic choice.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts? Where is the stress?

она́ (a-NA)
ничего́ (ni-che-VO). Note: the written г is pronounced like [v] here.
сказала́ (ska-za-LA)
на встре́че (na VSTRYE-che). The cluster встр- is pronounced together; the в may devoice in fast speech.
Overall rhythm: o-NA ni-che-VO ska-za-LA na VSTRYE-che.

Can I drop the subject pronoun она?

Russian isn’t strictly a “drop-subject” language, but speakers often omit pronouns when context is crystal clear, especially in dialogue. So in context you might hear Ничего не сказала на встрече. In neutral writing or out of context, keep Она.

Is Она не сказала на встрече okay without ничего?

It sounds incomplete/unnatural because сказать expects some content (“say what?”). To mean “didn’t say anything,” include a negative pronoun:

Она ничего не сказала на встрече.
Or rephrase with a verb that doesn’t need a direct object:
Она молчала на встрече. (“She was silent at the meeting.”)

How can I strongly emphasize “nothing at all”?

Add intensifiers or use set phrases:

Она вообще ничего не сказала на встрече.
Она совсем ничего не сказала.
Она ни слова не сказала на встрече. (“not a word”)
Она ни разу не выступила на встрече. (“not once spoke up”)

What’s the difference between на встрече, на встречу, and навстречу?

на встрече = “at the meeting” (location/time; prepositional)
на встречу = “to the meeting” (direction; accusative): Она пришла на встречу.
навстречу (one word) = “toward (someone/something)” or “to accommodate”: Он пошёл навстречу нам.

Are there better words than встреча for certain contexts?

Yes, choose by context:

совещание (work meeting/briefing)
собрание (gathering/assembly)
переговоры (negotiations)
встреча is general “meeting/meet-up,” often neutral or informal.

How would I say “No one said anything at the meeting”?

Use two negative words plus не (negative concord):

Никто на встрече ничего не сказал.
Note that сказал is masculine singular by default after никто.

Does ничего ever mean something else?

Yes. In colloquial replies it can mean “it’s fine/okay” or “not bad”:

Как дела? — Ничего. (“How are you?” — “Not bad.”)
That’s a different usage from the negative pronoun ничего in ничего не сказала.

What are some natural alternatives to express the same idea?

Она молчала на встрече. (She was silent at the meeting.)
Она ни слова не сказала на встрече. (She didn’t say a word.)
На встрече она не произнесла ни слова. (She didn’t utter a single word at the meeting.)