Breakdown of Спасатель работает быстрее, но он ни на кого не полагается.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
работать
to work
быстро
fast, quickly
Questions & Answers about Спасатель работает быстрее, но он ни на кого не полагается.
Why is it split into ни на кого instead of saying на никого?
When a negative pronoun like никто (nobody) is used with a preposition like на (on), the preposition steps right into the middle of the word. It splits into three separate words: ни + на + кого. You will never see "на никого" in Russian!
Why is there a не before полагается if the sentence already says ни на кого (on no one)?
Russian strictly uses a double negative. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like ни на кого, the main verb must also be made negative with не. Literally, this translates to "he on no one does not rely."
Why do we use the form кого here instead of another case?
The verb полагаться (to rely) requires the preposition на followed by the accusative case (to rely on someone). Since the negative pronoun represents a living person (nobody), its accusative form looks exactly like its genitive form: кого.
How did быстро (fast) become быстрее (faster)?
To say "faster" or "more quickly," Russian simply takes the stem of the adverb быстро and adds the comparative ending -ее. This is the standard way to form comparatives for many adjectives and adverbs in Russian.