Breakdown of Мне не нужна ничья помощь, и у меня нет никаких претензий.
и
and
не
not
я
I
у
at, by
нет
there is no / is not present
нужен
needed (нужен, нужна, нужны)
помощь
the help
никакой
not any / no kind of
ничей
nobody's
претензия
claim / complaint
Questions & Answers about Мне не нужна ничья помощь, и у меня нет никаких претензий.
Why do we use ничья here instead of a form of никто (nobody)?
Ничей (nobody's) is an adjectival pronoun, meaning it changes its ending to match the noun it describes. Since помощь (help) is a feminine noun in the nominative case, we use the feminine nominative form ничья. You are literally saying 'nobody's help'.
Why are there two negative words in each half of this sentence?
Russian strictly requires double negatives. Whenever you use a ни- word like ничья (nobody's) or никаких (not any), the main verb or predicate must also be negative. That is why we pair them with не (not) and нет (there is no).
Why are никаких and претензий in the genitive plural case?
The word нет (meaning 'there is not' or 'does not exist') always forces the thing that is missing into the genitive case. Because the speaker is talking about claims in the plural, we use the genitive plural for the noun (претензий) and the negative adjective must match it (никаких).
Why does the sentence start with Мне не нужна instead of using Я (I)?
The Russian construction for 'I need' literally translates to 'to me is necessary'. The person who needs something is put in the dative case (Мне). The word for 'necessary' is a short adjective that must agree with the thing needed. Since помощь (help) is feminine, we use the feminine form нужна.
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