Я ничего никому не обещаю.

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Breakdown of Я ничего никому не обещаю.

• не: not
• обещать: to promise
• ничего: nothing

Questions & Answers about Я ничего никому не обещаю.

Why does Russian use so many negatives here: ничего никому не обещаю? Isn’t that “I don’t promise nothing to nobody”?

In Russian, multiple negatives do NOT cancel each other out. Instead, they reinforce one overall negation.

• Я – I
• ничего – nothing (literally “of nothing”)
• никому – to nobody
• не обещаю – do not promise

Literally: “I nothing to nobody do not promise.”
Meaning: “I don’t promise anything to anyone.”

This pattern with ни‑words (ничего, никому, никто, никогда, нигде) together with не is normal and correct in Russian. You must use не with these words in sentences like this:

• Я никого не знаю. – I don’t know anyone.
• Мы никогда туда не ходим. – We never go there.

If you remove some of the negatives, you will either sound wrong or you’ll change the meaning. Russian does not turn into a positive the way English does with “I don’t know nobody.”

What cases are ничего and никому in, and why those forms?