Questions & Answers about Здесь нет света и интернета.
Why do the words for light and internet end in '-а' here (света, интернета)?
Because of the word нет. When нет is used to mean 'there is no' or 'is absent', the noun that follows it must be in the Genitive case. For masculine nouns ending in a consonant like свет and интернет, you form the Genitive by adding -а.
Doesn't нет just mean 'no'?
It means 'no' when answering a question, but it also acts as a powerful negative word meaning 'there is not' or 'is absent'. When used this way, it replaces the need for a verb like 'is' and always triggers the Genitive case for the thing that is missing.
How is the letter е pronounced in интернета?
In many foreign loanwords like интернет, the consonants before the letter е stay hard. So instead of a soft 'ye' sound, both instances of е in this word sound more like a hard э (eh).
Why does the Russian sentence use и (and) when the English translation says 'and no internet'?
In Russian negative sentences, и (and) is used to link multiple things that are missing, and you do not need to repeat the word нет. While English often repeats 'no' for clarity ('no light and no internet'), Russian simply says 'there is no light and internet'.