што б ні
Whatever with Што Б Ні
Question word + б(ы) ні + past tense = -ever: Што б ні здарылася (whatever happens), дзе б ты ні быў (wherever you are).
How It Works
How to build it. Question word + б or бы + ні + past-tense verb:
- што б ні: whatever: Што б ні здарылася, я буду з табой.
- хто б ні: whoever: Хто б ні патэлефанаваў, скажы, што мяне няма дома.
- дзе б ні, куды б ні: wherever: Дзе б ты ні быў, пішы мне.
- калі б ні: whenever: Калі б ты ні прыйшоў, я заўсёды буду рада.
- як бы ні, колькі б ні, які б ні: however, however much, whatever kind
Б or бы. Follow the rule of the conditional: б after a vowel (што б, хто б, дзе б, калі б), бы after a consonant (як бы, чый бы). If a pronoun comes in between, it follows б: дзе б ты ні быў.
Past tense, any time. The verb is always in the past form, as in the conditional, but the meaning can be present or future: Што б ні здарылася (whatever happens).
Ні, not не. In these clauses ні strengthens the idea of any case at all. It is not a negation, so write ні and keep the verb positive. This is different from ніхто and нічога, which do need не.
Калі б ні is not калі б. Without ні, калі б means if (an unreal condition). With ні it means whenever.
Without б. A few set phrases use ні with an imperative or infinitive and no б: Куды ні глянь, усюды снег. (Wherever you look, there is snow.) For як with ні and a plain verb, see як ні.
Comma. The whole clause is set off with a comma, like other subordinate clauses.
Examples (6)
- Што б ні здарылася, я буду з табой.
Whatever happens, I will be with you.
Word by Word: What would not-even happened, I will-be with you.
- Дзе б ты ні быў, пішы мне.
Wherever you are, write to me.
Word by Word: Where would you not-even were, write to-me.
- Хто б ні патэлефанаваў, скажы, што мяне няма дома.
Whoever calls, say that I am not home.
Word by Word: Who would not-even called, say that of-me there-is-not at-home.
- Калі б ты ні прыйшоў, я заўсёды буду рада.
Whenever you come, I will always be glad.
Word by Word: When would you not-even came, I always will-be glad.
Said by a woman; a man says рады.
- Як бы ні было цяжка, мы не здаёмся.
However hard it is, we do not give up.
Word by Word: How would not-even was hard, we not give-up.
Бы after як, which ends in a consonant.
- Куды ні глянь, усюды снег.
Wherever you look, there is snow.
Word by Word: Where-to not-even look, everywhere snow.
Common Mistakes
Writing не instead of ні.
Што б не здарылася, я буду з табой.Што б ні здарылася, я буду з табой.In a whatever clause the particle is ні, which strengthens the idea of any case at all. Не would negate the verb.
Using the present or future tense after б.
Што б ні здараецца, я буду з табой.Што б ні здарылася, я буду з табой.Б(ы) always goes with the past-tense form of the verb, even when the meaning is present or future.
Leaving out the comma after the clause.
Дзе б ты ні быў пішы мне.Дзе б ты ні быў, пішы мне.The whatever clause is a subordinate clause, so a comma separates it from the main clause.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Whatever needs б and ні.
Related Patterns
- як ніHowever Much with Як Ні
Як ні is the related however-much construction, often with no б.
Level 6 - хоць / хацяAlthough with Хоць and Хаця
Another way to concede something: although instead of whatever.
Level 4 - -кольвекWhatsoever with -кольвек
A literary suffix meaning any at all: хто-кольвек, што-кольвек.
Level 6 - Commas in Complex Sentences
The whatever clause is set off with a comma like other subordinate clauses.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice што б ні in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Belarusian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
