Negative pronouns: nimeni, nimic, and niciun

Use nimeni for people and nimic for things. Use niciun/nicio before a singular noun to mean no or not any. Romanian normally keeps nu with these words: Nu am văzut pe nimeni. (I did not see anybody.)

Which negative form refers to a person or a thing?

Use nimeni for people, nimic for things, actions, or states, and niciun/nicio before a noun that you name explicitly.

Nimeni and nimic are pronouns: they stand on their own. Niciun and nicio are pronominal determiners: they come before a noun and agree with its gender. For the broader family of non-specific forms, see indefinite pronouns.

What forms do nimeni and nimic have?

Nimeni has one nominative-accusative form and the genitive-dative form nimănui; nimeni has no plural. Nimic is invariable in its pronoun use, so it stays nimic in the core nominative-accusative patterns.

• Use nimeni when the missing referent is human: Nu cunosc pe nimeni aici. (I do not know anybody here.)
• Use nimic for an inanimate object or for an action or state: Nu vreau nimic. (I do not want anything.)
• Use nimănui after a dative construction or preposition that calls for it: Nu-i spun nimănui secretul. (I do not tell anybody the secret.)
• Use the genitive article before an independent nimănui: Câinele nu este al nimănui. (The dog belongs to nobody.) After the noun, the close phrase is câinele nimănui.

Why does nimeni take pe as a direct object?

In a neutral direct-object phrase, use pe nimeni for a person, but use bare nimic for a thing. The preposition pe belongs to the human direct-object pattern; it is not added to nimic.

Do not add a matching direct-object clitic to pe nimeni in this pattern. The neutral order is Nu am sunat pe nimeni. (I did not call anybody.); for contrastive fronting, use Pe nimeni nu am sunat. (Nobody did I call.), still without a clitic. The separate topic on Romanian object pronoun doubling covers the wider system.

Where do negative pronouns go in the sentence?

In the most neutral order, place a negative pronoun after the verb. Move it to the front for topic or focus. In both positions, keep nu with the finite verb.

Why do these words appear with nu?

Romanian uses negative concord: a negative pronoun or determiner normally combines with nu in the same negative clause. Nimeni, nimic, and niciun already carry negative meaning. In the same negative clause, the finite verb normally keeps nu.

• Nu e nimeni aici. means There is nobody here; Nimeni nu e aici. has the same negative meaning with a fronted subject.
• Nu mi-a adus nimic. means He or she brought me nothing; the negative verb still has nu.
• Nu a venit niciun student. means No student came; niciun does not replace the negative verb.
• For the full placement and uses of nu, see Romanian negation with nu.

When do you use niciun and nicio?

Use one-word niciun before a masculine or neuter singular noun and nicio before a feminine singular noun. The following noun has no article. In the genitive-dative, the determiner ending changes with gender and number.

When the form stands alone, use the independent pronoun series. Compare Niciunul dintre colegi nu a venit. (None of the male colleagues came.) with Niciuna dintre colege nu a venit. (None of the female colleagues came.)

When is nici un or nici o written separately?

When it is the negative pronominal determiner meaning no or not any, write niciun/nicio as one word. In a contrast, un/o can keep an independent article or numeral meaning after adverbial nici. Write that sequence separately as nici un/nici o.

• Before an explicitly named singular noun, start with the one-word determiner: niciun elev, nicio elevă, niciun exercițiu.
• For an independent referent, use the one-word pronoun: Nu aleg niciuna. (I am choosing none.)
• When a noun is understood, use niciunul or niciuna instead of niciun or nicio alone.
• Keep the negative verb: Niciunul nu a răspuns, not Niciunul a răspuns for the intended negative meaning.