# All Romance languages: algo / nada, alguien / nadie



## vince

Hi everyone,

How do you say the following in your Romance language?

- somebody
- nobody
- something
- nothing
- some + noun
- no + noun

Here is French:
- Somebody: quelqu'un
- Nobody: personne
- Something: quelque chose
- Nothing: Rien
- Some + noun: des / du / de la + noun, quelque(s) + noun
- no + noun: aucun(e)(s)

Spanish:
- Somebody: alguién
- Nobody: nadie
- Something: algo
- Nothing: nada
- Some + noun: algún(a)(s) + noun
- no + noun: ningún(a)(s)

Please post, it would be great to discuss why there is so much variation, and where the various forms come from etymologically.


----------



## jonquiliser

vince said:


> Spanish:
> - Somebody: alguiéen
> - Nobody: nadie
> - Something: algo
> - Nothing: nada
> - Some + noun: algún(a)(s) + noun
> - no + noun: ningún(a)(s)


 
Galician is very similar:
*alguén*
*ninguén*
*algo*
*algún/algunha*
*nengún/nengunha* (or *ningunha*)


----------



## vince

jonquiliser said:


> Galician is very similar:
> *alguén*
> *nadie*
> *algo*
> *algún/algunha*
> *ninguén/ningunha* (or *nengunha*)



Can you use ninguén as an alternative to "nadie" in Galician?


----------



## jonquiliser

vince said:


> Can you use ninguén as an alternative to "nadie" in Galician?


 
Yes, in fact, "nadie" is wrong in Galician! It's ninguén. Thanks for pointing it out!


----------



## andreiro

Romanian:
- somebody: cineva
- nobody: nimeni
- something: ceva
- nothing: nimic
- some + noun: ceva + noun
- no + noun: niciun/nicio + noun


----------



## Cosol

Italian:
Somebody: Qualcuno
Nobody: Nessuno
Something: Qualcosa / Qualche cosa
Nothing: Niente / Nulla
Some + noun: Qualche / Alcuni/ Alcune / Dei / Delle/ Degli
No + Noun: Nessun(a) noun


----------



## Outsider

In Portuguese:

- somebody: alguém
- nobody: ninguém
- something: algo (more formal), alguma coisa (more colloquial)
- nothing: nada
- some + noun: algum / alguma / alguns / algumas + noun (inflects with gender and number)
- no + noun: nenhum / nenhuma / nenhuns / nenhumas (inflects with gender and number)


----------



## deine

Lithuanian:
- somebody: kažkas
- nobody: niekas
- something: kažkas
- nothing: niekas
- some + noun: kažkoks + noun
- no + noun: joks + noun

Lithuanian do not do the difference between person and thing in case of somebody/something and nobody/nothnig.


----------



## Raindog

In Catalan

-somebody: Qualcú _and_ Cap(in interrogative or conditionals phrases)
-Nobody   : Ningú
-Something: Qualque cosa _or_ Quelcom
-Nothing   :Res
-Some + noun:Qualque + noun
-no + noun:Ningú/-una _ and_ Cap+noun(in negative phrases)


----------



## vince

Raindog said:


> In Catalan
> 
> -somebody: Qualcú _and_ Cap(in interrogative or conditionals phrases)
> -Nobody   : Ningú
> -Something: Qualque cosa _or_ Quelcom
> -Nothing   :Res
> -Some + noun:Qualque + noun
> -no + noun:Ningú/-una _ and_ Cap+noun(in negative phrases)



Interesting, I wonder where "cap" comes from?

How do you say "head" in Catalan? Is that word ever used in a grammatical sense?


----------



## mauro63

In piedmontese :

Somebody: Quajcun
Nobody: Gnun, nsun
Something: Quaicòs
Nothing: Gnente, nen
Some + noun: Cheich /ëd,dë, 'd, d' .
No + Noun: Gnun


----------



## Raindog

vince said:


> Interesting, I wonder where "cap" comes from?
> 
> How do you say "head" in Catalan? Is that word ever used in a grammatical sense?


 

Head in catalan is "Cap" also.It derives from Latin "Capum" or "Caput".Another meaning for "Cap" is a directional preposition,equivalent in spanish to "hacia",and it derives from a latin form "capite ad".However I can't find where the pronominal form comes from.


----------



## ronanpoirier

Outsider said:
			
		

> - nothing: nada


Isn't "rem" an alternative for "nothing" in Portuguese?


----------



## Outsider

_Rem_ is archaic in Portugal -- medieval! Is it still used in Brazil?!


----------



## ronanpoirier

No. Although I've seen in some not so old texts. But I like B-side words.  I think I'm the only person who says "chus" sometimes instead of "mais".


----------



## zazap

Raindog said:


> In Catalan
> 
> -somebody: Qualcú _and_ Cap(in interrogative or conditionals phrases)
> -Nobody   : Ningú
> -Something: Qualque cosa _or_ Quelcom
> -Nothing   :Res
> -Some + noun:Qualque + noun
> -no + noun:Ningú/-una _ and_ Cap+noun(in negative phrases)


In the Valencian variation

-somebody: Algú
-Nobody   : Ningú
-Something: Alguna cosa
-Nothing   :Res
-Some + noun:not sure
-no + noun:Ningú/-una _ and_ Cap+noun(in negative phrases)

In French

-somebody: Quelqu'un
-Nobody   : Personne
-Something: Quelque chose
-Nothing   :Rien
-Some + noun:Quelques
-no + noun:Aucun (none)


----------

