"There is nothing."
Translation:何もありません。
30 Comments
What is the purpose of 何も at the beginning? Does ありません not contain the same idea without a topic?
- 11
- 10
- 5
The も after interrogative pronouns like in 何も (also in いつも, だれも, どこも, probably others) has a different function to the も used after nouns generally to mean "also". In this case with a negative verb 何も expresses the concept of "anything", so 「何もありません」 means literally "there is not anything" or equivalently "there is nothing". Similarly いつも expresses "anytime" with a negative verb, だれも expresses "anybody" with a negative verb, etc. Some of the interrogatives+も (but not 何も for some reason) can also be used with positive verbs and in those cases expresses the complete category e.g. "always", "everybody".
- 23
- 11
- 2
Thanks for the explanation! Just to check if I understand, it is NOT correct to say 何もあります, right? So, how do I say "everything"?
- 13
- 5
That's a literal translation, not necessarily correct English. You wouldn't really say "not anything" because there is a word for that; "nothing".
It is correct English, though.
These three are:
- There is nothing
- There is not anything
- There isn't anything.
All three are perfect answers.
- 24
- 20
- 20
- 20
- 20
- 200
Agree, number two is off! It is interesting though, how between different languages, the construction differs. German for example favours - I have or there is nothing. They generally would not use "there isn't anything."
- 12
- 9
No... nothing is a noun lmao. Also, there isn't anything is interchangeable with there is nothing
- 11
- 9
- 6
What's the difference between 何でも and 何も? I feel like I've heard "nothing" expressed as 何でも elsewhere. Is this the difference between "there is nothing" vs. "there is not anything" (with 何でもない being the latter, and 何もない being the former?)
- 17
- 15
- 15
- 10
- 6
- 3
- 3
何も - everything 何でも - anything
When both conjugated to negative they imply the same thing, nothing.
- 12
Why isn't there a particle は or が between 何も and ありません ? Or rather, why can't there be? Should it be also accepted as an answer?
- 25
- 23
- 20
- 17
- 16
- 14
- 11
- 11
- 10
- 10
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 4
- 3
- 3
- 3
- 511
No, because that is just the word "nothing" without a verb.
