keegi ei / mitte midagi

Nobody and Nothing

Level 2

Keegi ei tulnud. means Nobody came. Ma ei tea midagi. means I don't know anything. The verb is always negative.

How It Works

1. Pronoun plus negative verb
English uses special words like nobody and nothing. Estonian keeps the ordinary pronoun and puts the negation on the verb:

  • Keegi ei helistanud. (Nobody called.)
  • Ma ei näinud kedagi. (I didn't see anybody.)
  • Ta ei öelnud midagi. (She didn't say anything.)

The verb is always in its negative form: ei tule in the present and ei tulnud in the past. See the negative past.

2. Strengthening with mitte
Put mitte right before the pronoun to stress it: Mitte keegi ei tea. (Nobody at all knows.) Ma ei söönud mitte midagi. (I ate nothing at all.) The verb still keeps ei. Without mitte, you show the same focus just by stressing the pronoun in speech.

3. Case forms
The pronoun takes whatever case the sentence needs. In standard writing, -gi (or -ki) stays at the very end:

  • keegi: kellegi, kedagi (object), kellelegi (to anybody), kellelgi, kellegagi (with anybody), kellestki (about anybody)
  • miski: millegi, midagi (object), millelegi, millestki (about anything), millegagi

In everyday speech you will also hear forms like kellegile and kellegiga, with the ending after -gi. In writing, keep -gi last: kellelegi, kellegagi.

In a negative sentence the object is partitive, so you meet kedagi and midagi most often. Midagi is also the usual form for nothing as a subject: Midagi ei juhtunud. (Nothing happened.) The nominative miski appears too, mostly for things that act: Mitte miski ei aita. (Nothing helps.)

4. Short answers
As a one-word answer, use mitte keegi or mitte midagi. In everyday speech you also hear ei keegi and ei midagi: Mis sa teed? – Ei midagi. (What are you doing? – Nothing.)

Examples (6)

  1. Keegi ei tulnud.

    Nobody came.

    Word by Word: someone not came

    The pronoun is ordinary keegi; the verb carries the negation.

  2. Ma ei näinud mitte kedagi.

    I didn't see anybody at all.

    Word by Word: I not saw not-even anyone(PART)

    Kedagi is the partitive of keegi. Mitte adds emphasis.

  3. Ma ei tea midagi.

    I don't know anything.

    Word by Word: I not know something(PART)

  4. Mitte keegi ei tea, kus ta on.

    Nobody knows where he is.

    Word by Word: not-even someone not knows where he is

  5. Täna ei juhtunud midagi.

    Nothing happened today.

    Word by Word: today not happened something(PART)

  6. Ma ei räägi sellest kellelegi.

    I won't tell anybody about it.

    Word by Word: I not tell about-it someone-to

    Kellelegi is the allative of keegi, with -gi at the end.

Common Mistakes

  • Copying English no one with ei and a positive verb.

    Ei keegi tuli.
    Keegi ei tulnud.

    In a full sentence ei belongs to the verb, and the verb takes its negative form: ei tulnud, not tuli.

  • Leaving the negated object in the nominative.

    Ma ei näinud keegi.
    Ma ei näinud kedagi.

    After a negative verb the object is partitive, so keegi becomes kedagi.

  • Dropping ei because mitte is already there.

    Mitte keegi tuli.
    Mitte keegi ei tulnud.

    mitte only strengthens the pronoun. The verb still needs ei and its negative form: ei tulnud.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

keegi ei / mitte midagiLevel 2Nobody and Nothing

Learn This First

Nobody and nothing combine keegi and midagi with ei.

Words in This Pattern

keegimidagimitte