nothing

«nothing» in Mova's school dictionary: not anything at all: There is nothing in the box — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

pronoun; noun (a nothing — rare)

meaning for a pupil

1) Nothing means not anything at all: There is nothing in the box. tree →

2) Nothing can mean zero, no amount: Five take away five leaves nothing. tree →

3) «For nothing» means free, or with no result. tree →

sense in the lessons

the answer when there are no things (zero); «nothing left» = everything was taken; in everyday life «nothing much», «nothing to do», «for nothing» (free); in stories «nothing happened»

examples

• Student: nothing tree →
• After the sale there was nothing left on the shelf. tree →
• Five take away five leaves nothing. tree →
• There is nothing in my pocket. tree →
• I have nothing to do; I'm bored. tree →
• «What's wrong?» «Nothing.» tree →
• You get this sticker for nothing. tree →
• Nothing can stop us now! tree →
• There's nothing the matter with me. tree →

note

Zero things. «nothing» takes a singular verb: nothing is left. Trap: «nothing left» after a removal means the amount taken equals the start. Use «nothing» or «not … anything», not both («I have nothing», not «I don't have nothing»).

In the corpora

• Antibiotics kill bacteria but do nothing against colds, which are caused by viruses.
• Nothing terrible happened; they were just worn out.
• The others in it may have said nothing in public, and a fair person remembers that.
• Ollie gasps, "What's broken?" Dad smiles: "Nothing's broken, bud.
• When the program is switched off, nothing happens inside it: it does not sleep, rest or dream.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nothing» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.