Double negation (ничего, никогда)

In English, double negatives are usually incorrect. In Russian, they are mandatory!

Whenever you use a negative word like ничего (nothing) or никогда (never), you must also place the negative particle не directly before the verb.

Nothing (ничего)

Never (никогда) and Nobody (никто)

This rule applies to all negative words starting with the prefix ни-.

Nowhere (нигде)

Stacking Negatives

You can stack as many ни- words in a single sentence as you need. No matter how many you use, there is always just one не directly in front of the verb.

Contributors