Breakdown of Как ни шумели пчёлы, рою было не на кого нападать.
как
how
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
быть
to be
шуметь
to make noise
Questions & Answers about Как ни шумели пчёлы, рою было не на кого нападать.
Why is it split into three words as не на кого instead of keeping некого together?
When a negative pronoun like некого (there is no one) takes a preposition, the preposition must go right in the middle, splitting it into three separate words. Even though it is split, it acts as a single concept, and the spoken stress always stays on не.
How do we know to use кого in не на кого?
The verb нападать (to attack) dictates the case. It requires the preposition на followed by the accusative case. The accusative form of кто is кого, giving us the final phrase.
Why is рою (swarm) in the dative case here?
Sentences with некого or нечего are impersonal. The logical subject - the one who lacks someone or something - must be in the dative case. Here, the swarm is the one experiencing the lack, so рой becomes рою.
Why does the first half use ни (Как ни шумели) instead of не?
This is a concessive structure. Combining a question word with ни creates the meaning of 'no matter...'. So как ни шумели translates to 'no matter how much they buzzed'. It emphasizes that the action actually did happen, so it is not a negation.