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Il ladro non ha scoperto niente.

Il ladro non ha scoperto niente.
The thief did not discover anything.
From Lesson 83:Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)·Italian

Breakdown of Il ladro non ha scoperto niente.

non
not
avere
to have
niente
nothing
il ladro
the thief
scoprire
to discover

Questions & Answers about Il ladro non ha scoperto niente.

Why does this sentence use both non and niente? Doesn't that make a double negative?
In Italian, double negatives are perfectly correct and actually required here. When a negative word like niente (nothing/anything) comes after the verb, you must put non before the verb. So, non ha scoperto niente literally translates to 'did not discover nothing', but means 'did not discover anything'.
Could I drop the non and just say Il ladro ha scoperto niente?
No, that would be incorrect. If niente comes after the verb, the verb must have non in front of it. You only drop the non if niente is the subject at the very beginning of the sentence, for example: Niente è facile (Nothing is easy).
Is scoperto an irregular verb form?
Yes! It is the irregular past participle of scoprire (to discover). Since it is an -ire verb, you might expect it to end in -ito, but it follows an irregular pattern similar to aprire (to open), which becomes aperto.
Can I use nulla instead of niente in this sentence?
Absolutely. Niente and nulla both mean 'nothing' or 'anything' and are interchangeable. Saying Il ladro non ha scoperto nulla means exactly the same thing.

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