Breakdown of Рой покинул улей, так что теперь не о ком заботиться.
о
about (о, об, обо)
теперь
now (as opposed to before)
заботиться
to care
некого
no one
покинуть
to abandon (perfective)
так что
so / with the result that (conjunction)
улей
hive
рой
swarm
Questions & Answers about Рой покинул улей, так что теперь не о ком заботиться.
Why is the negative pronoun split into three words as не о ком?
When a preposition like о is used with a predicative negative pronoun like некого (there is no one), the preposition must go in the middle. This splits the word into three parts: не + preposition + pronoun. Notice that the stress always falls on не.
Why is it ком and not another case form?
The verb заботиться (to take care of) requires the preposition о followed by the prepositional case. The prepositional form of кто is ком, which we need here to say there is no one 'about whom' to care.
How does не о ком differ from ни о ком?
не о ком means 'there is no one to...' and acts as a predicate used with an infinitive verb like заботиться. ни о ком means 'about nobody' and is used as an object in a standard negative sentence, for example: он ни о ком не заботится (he does not take care of anyone).
Is улей in the nominative case here?
No, it is in the accusative case. The verb покинуть (to leave or abandon) takes a direct object. Because улей (hive) is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its nominative form.
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