niet + Genitive

There Is No: Niet

Level 5

Niet + genitive says that something does not exist or is not there: Niet času (There's no time), Niet sa čoho báť (There's nothing to be afraid of).

How It Works

What niet does. Niet means there is no or there is none. It is an emphatic, slightly bookish form of the negative existential je. The missing thing goes into the genitive:

  • Nie je čas. → Niet času. (There is no time.)
  • Nie je tu nikto. → Niet tu nikoho. (There is nobody here.)
  • Niet pochýb, že má pravdu. (There is no doubt that he is right.)

Fixed phrases.

  • Niet sa čoho báť. (There is nothing to be afraid of.) The genitive čoho comes from báť sa.
  • Niet kam ísť. (There is nowhere to go.)
  • Niet nad + accusative: nothing beats: Niet nad domácu kuchyňu. (Nothing beats home cooking.)

Present only. Niet has no past or future form. Use nebolo and nebude, and keep the genitive: Nebolo času. (There was no time.) Nebude ani stopy. (There will not be a trace.) This is the same pattern as the genitive after negation.

A phrase to watch. You will hear niet divu, že … (no wonder that …), but some Slovak usage guides list it as a Czech-influenced phrase and recommend nie div or nečudo instead.

Examples (6)

  1. Poďme, niet času.

    Let's go, there's no time.

    Word by Word: Let's-go, there-is-no of-time.

  2. Niet sa čoho báť.

    There's nothing to be afraid of.

    Word by Word: There-is-no self of-what to-fear.

  3. Niet pochýb, že to zvládne.

    There is no doubt that she will manage it.

    Word by Word: There-is-no of-doubts that it she-will-manage.

  4. V takom počasí niet na ulici nikoho.

    In weather like this, there is nobody out on the street.

    Word by Word: In such weather there-is-no on street nobody.

  5. Niet krajšieho miesta ako domov.

    There is no nicer place than home.

    Word by Word: There-is-no of-nicer place than home.

    The whole phrase krajšie miesto becomes genitive: krajšieho miesta.

  6. Po zlodejovi už niet ani stopy.

    There is no longer any trace of the thief.

    Word by Word: After thief already there-is-no even of-trace.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative after niet.

    Niet čas.
    Niet času.

    Niet always takes the genitive: čas → času. With the nominative, say Nie je čas.

  • Using niet for the past.

    Včera niet času.
    Včera nebolo času.

    Niet is present tense only. For the past use nebolo, still with the genitive.

How It Connects

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

niet + GenitiveLevel 5There Is No: Niet

Learn This First

Before There Is No: niet, learn There Is and There Are and Genitive Singular Endings. niet is the negative of existential je. It takes the genitive.

Words in This Pattern

niet