Breakdown of Тебе нужно выжить, поэтому ты ни на кого не полагаешься.
не
not
ты
you (singular)
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
тебе
to you (informal)
поэтому
so (therefore)
никто
nobody
нужно
it is necessary
выжить
to survive
полагаться
to rely
Questions & Answers about Тебе нужно выжить, поэтому ты ни на кого не полагаешься.
Why is the preposition на right in the middle of ни на кого?
This is the main rule for negative pronouns with prepositions! When a preposition is used with a negative word like никто (nobody), it splits the word in two and steps right into the middle. Instead of saying "на никого" (which is incorrect), you say ни на кого.
Why do we use кого in ни на кого?
The verb полагаться (to rely) is followed by the preposition на plus the accusative case. Since we are talking about a person (nobody), we use the accusative form of кто (who), which is кого.
Why is there a не before the verb if we already said ни на кого (on no one)?
Russian requires a double negative. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like никто (or its split forms), you must also make the verb negative with не. Literally, the sentence says "you on nobody do not rely."
Why does the sentence start with Тебе instead of Ты?
The word нужно (need / is necessary) requires the person who needs something to be in the dative case. You can't say "ты нужно" - you have to say тебе нужно, which literally translates as "to you it is necessary".
What is the difference between жить and выжить?
Жить is the imperfective verb meaning "to live." Adding the prefix вы- creates the perfective verb выжить, which specifically means "to survive" or "to make it out alive."
Learn Тебе нужно выжить, поэтому ты ни на кого не полагаешься and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free