Learn Hardcore Russian: Никто никуда не идёт вечером.

Russian uses negative concord: multiple negative words in the same clause are normal and required. With negative pronouns/adverbs like никто (no one) and никуда (to nowhere), the verb must also be negated with не. The sentence doesn’t become “positive” from multiple negatives; they work together to express a single, strong negation: Nobody is going anywhere. Saying Никто никуда идёт (without не) is ungrammatical.

Do I have to use both никто and никуда? What changes if I use only one?

You don’t have to use both. Any one negative element plus не is enough to make a correct negative sentence:

Никто не идёт вечером. = No one is going (this evening).
Он никуда не идёт вечером. = He isn’t going anywhere in the evening. Using both (Никто никуда не идёт) makes the statement more sweeping: nobody is going anywhere. Don’t drop не on the verb in any of these.

What’s the difference between не and ни here?

не negates verbs and other predicates: не идёт = is not going.
ни forms negative pronouns/adverbs and reinforces negation: никто (no one), никуда (to nowhere), нигде (nowhere, location), никогда (never). It doesn’t negate the verb by itself; it must occur in a negative context with не.

What case is никто, and what is никуда?

никто is a pronoun in the nominative singular (it’s the subject).
никуда is a negative adverb meaning “to nowhere,” derived from куда (“to where?”). It doesn’t decline for case.

Why is it идёт and not ходит?

Russian motion verbs distinguish single/directed motion vs. habitual/multidirectional motion:

идти (here: идёт) = going (on foot) in one direction, a specific trip; also commonly used for planned near-future trips.
ходить (here: ходит) = go habitually, back and forth, in general. So:
If you mean “Nobody is going anywhere this evening (a specific plan/occasion),” Никто никуда не идёт вечером fits.
If you mean a general habit, prefer По вечерам никто никуда не ходит = Nobody goes anywhere in the evenings.

How do I say “Nobody will go anywhere this evening”?

Use the perfective future of a motion verb:

On foot: Никто никуда не пойдёт сегодня вечером.
By transport: Никто никуда не поедет сегодня вечером.

What if the going is by car/bus/train—should I use ехать/ездить instead of идти/ходить?

Yes. Use:

ехать/поехать (unidirectional/perfective future: не едет / не поедет) for a specific trip by transport.
ездить (multidirectional/habitual: не ездит) for general habits. Examples: Никто никуда не едет вечером. / По вечерам никто никуда не ездит.

Why is the verb singular if “nobody” really means “no people”?

никто is grammatically singular, so the verb is 3rd person singular: никто не идёт. In the past, the verb is also singular, masculine by default: никто не пошёл. Don’t switch to plural, and don’t change to feminine even if the people are women; the default agreement after кто/никто is singular masculine in the past.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible and used for emphasis:

Вечером никто никуда не идёт. (emphasizes the time frame)
Никто вечером никуда не идёт.
Никто никуда вечером не идёт. All are correct; the most neutral is often subject/negatives early and new/focused info later.

What exactly does вечером mean here—“this evening” or “in the evening” in general?

It can mean either, depending on context:

Specific: “this evening/tonight,” especially when used like a plan (present-for-future).
General time of day: “in the evening.” To be explicit:
This evening: сегодня вечером or этим вечером
Habitually: по вечерам

Why is there no preposition with вечером?

Words for times of day often use an adverbial instrumental with no preposition: утром, днём, вечером, ночью. So вечером = “in the evening.” For a specific evening with a demonstrative, you can say в этот вечер, but plain вечером is the default way to express “in the evening.”

What’s the difference between никуда and нигде?

никуда answers куда? (to where?) and is used with motion verbs: Никто никуда не идёт = Nobody is going anywhere.
нигде answers где? (where?) and is used for location: Никого нигде нет = There is nobody anywhere.

How would I ask “Is anyone going anywhere this evening?”

Use the indefinite pronouns with -нибудь in a positive clause:

Кто‑нибудь куда‑нибудь идёт сегодня вечером? You don’t negate the verb in such questions.

How do I pronounce and stress the words?

Никто́ (nik-TO)
никуда́ (nee-koo-DA)
не идёт (nye ee-DYOT) — note ё is always pronounced “yo”; in print it may appear as е.
ве́чером (VE-che-rum) Marking ё with dots is optional in many texts, but the sound stays “yo.”