Breakdown of Non c'è nessuno specchio nella stanza.
non
not
lo specchio
the mirror
c'è
there is / there are
nella
in the (in + la)
nessuno
no / not any (+ noun)
Questions & Answers about Non c'è nessuno specchio nella stanza.
Why do we use nessuno here instead of nessun?
Because the masculine noun that follows it, specchio, starts with an 's' followed by a consonant ('p'). Just like you must use the definite article lo before specchio (lo specchio), the adjective nessuno keeps its full 'o' ending before masculine words starting with 's + consonant', 'z', 'ps', 'gn', or 'y'. Before most other masculine words, it drops the 'o' and becomes nessun.
Why is there a non at the beginning of the sentence if nessuno already means 'no'?
Italian requires a double negative when the negative word (like nessuno, niente, or mai) comes after the verb. Since nessuno comes after the verb c'è (is there), we must put non before the verb. To an English speaker it feels like saying 'There is not no mirror', but in Italian this is perfectly correct.
Can I use the plural and say nessuni specchi to mean 'no mirrors'?
Why is it nella stanza instead of just in la stanza?
In Italian, the preposition in must combine with the definite article that follows it. Since stanza (room) is feminine singular, it takes the article la. When in and la are placed next to each other, they merge into the single word nella.
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