Questions & Answers about Я ему ничего не говорю.
Why does the sentence use both ничего and не? Doesn't that mean 'I am not telling him nothing'?
Yes! In Russian, you must use a 'double negative.' When you use a negative word like ничего (nothing/anything), you still have to put не (not) in front of the verb. So ничего не говорю literally translates to 'nothing not I-tell,' which is the completely standard way to say 'I am not telling... anything.'
Why is the word for 'him' ему here instead of его?
Ему is the Dative case form of он (he). In Russian, when you speak, tell, or give something to someone, that person must be in the Dative case because they are the receiver of the action. You use его when 'him' is a direct object, but here you are speaking to him.
Why is ничего spelled with a г but pronounced with a 'v' sound?
This is a very common Russian pronunciation rule. The letter combination -его or -ого at the end of words (or as a standalone word, like the pronoun его hidden inside ничего) is always pronounced as '-evo' or '-ovo'. Therefore, ничего sounds like 'ni-che-VO'.
Could I say Я не говорю ему ничего to match the English word order?
Yes, you can. Russian word order is very flexible, and that sentence would be perfectly understood. However, putting the negative pronoun (ничего) right before the не + verb combination is extremely common and sounds very natural to native speakers.
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