nothing
The word “nothing” is a pronoun for things that don’t exist.
- I have nothing.
- She has nothing to say.
- There’s nothing wrong. Everything is okay.
a. "nothing" as a subject or subject complement
- Nothing‘s wrong. (subject)
- There’s nothing in my hand. (subject complement)
- Nothing matters to her anymore. (subject)
- Nothing lives on the moon. (subject)
- It’s nothing. (subject complement)
- Nothing happens around here on the weekends. (subject)
- There’s nothing to eat. (subject complement)
Note: The word “nothing” is often used as an exaggeration. It’s usually not the case that there is absolutely nothing.
- Nothing lives without water.
- Nothing is floating on the water.
- Nothing is on the water.
- There’s nothing on the water.
b. "nothing" as an object
- I gave her nothing.
- He said nothing.
- She has nothing in her apartment.
- They had nothing for dinner.
- We heard nothing about the situation until just now.
- John paid next to nothing for his house.
- She owes nothing to the government in taxes.
- The Johnsons throw nothing away. They try to recycle or reuse things they would otherwise put into the regular trash.
- This is all about nothing. (object of the preposition, “about”)
Note: The word “nothing” is often used as an exaggeration. It’s usually not the case that there is absolutely nothing.
- They spend nothing on gasoline because they don’t have a car.
- It costs almost nothing to own a bike when compared to the cost of owning a car.
