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Ninguém atendeu o telefone ontem.

Ninguém atendeu o telefone ontem.
Nobody answered the telephone yesterday.
From Lesson 65:Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Ninguém atendeu o telefone ontem.

Why does atendeu end in -eu?
Atendeu comes from the regular verb atender (to answer). In the simple past tense (pretérito perfeito), we conjugate it for Ninguém (Nobody), which takes the same third-person singular endings as ele or ela. For regular -er verbs in the past tense, you drop the -er and add -eu.
How would I change this to say "I answered the phone yesterday"?
You would need to change the verb to the first-person singular (eu) form. For regular -er verbs in the past tense, you drop the -er and add -i. So the sentence becomes: (Eu) atendi o telefone ontem.
Why is the verb atender used here instead of responder for "answered"?
In Portuguese, you use atender for picking up a phone call, opening the door for someone, or serving a customer. The verb responder means "to answer" in the sense of replying to a question or a message.
Do I need to use a double negative with Ninguém in this sentence?
Not here! Because Ninguém (Nobody) comes right before the verb, no extra negative word is needed. If you wanted to put it after the verb, you would have to add não before the verb to make Não atendeu ninguém. But putting Ninguém first is simpler and very common.

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