- QualcosaQualcosa is an invariable, indefinite pronoun which means something or anything. Qualcosa comes from qualche cosa, which literally means some thing.
Secondo Annalisa, c’è qualcosa che non va.
According to Annalisa, there’s something that isn’t right.
Meglio qualcosa che nulla.
Something is better than nothing.
Posso fare qualcosa per la festa?
Can I do something for the party?
È cambiato qualcosa qui?
Has anything changed here?
Ognuno è bravo in qualcosa.
Everyone is good at something.
Qualcosa can be accompanied by altro to mean something else or anything else. It can also be paired with the prepositions di (with adjectives) and da (with verbs). Have a look at the following examples.Vorrebbe qualcos’altro?
Would you like anything else?
Avete qualcos’altro in mente?
Do you have something else in mind?
Portami qualcosa di bello.
Bring me something beautiful.
C’è ancora qualcosa da bere?
Is there still something to drink? - NienteNiente is also an invariable indefinite pronoun. Niente means nothing, anything, or not anything.
When niente follows the verb, the sentence must be negated; however, when it comes before the verb, the sentence does not need to be negated.Non ho trovato niente.
I didn’t find anything.
Niente lo convincerà.
Nothing will convince him.
Niente is sometimes used to dismiss something as negligible and unimportant:- Ti sei fatto male?
- Non è niente.
- Are you hurt?
- It's nothing.
Niente is used in many common expressions.È meglio di niente.
It’s better than nothing.
Forse è meglio fare finta di niente.
Maybe it’s better to pretend nothing’s wrong.
- Come stai? How are you?
- Niente male!
- How are you?
- Not bad!
Like qualcosa, niente is often followed by verbs and adjectives, and specifically the word altro. In these cases, the prepositions di and da are also used.Accetto nient’altro che la verità.
I will accept nothing [else] but the truth.
Non ci vedo niente di male.
I don’t see anything bad.
Alberto non ha niente da dire.
Alberto doesn’t have anything to say. - NullaNulla is also an invariable, indefinite pronoun that means nothing or not anything. For the most part, niente and nulla mean the same things and are interchangeable.
Like niente, nulla can either precede or follow verbs. When it comes before a verb, negation in the sentence isn’t necessary, but when it follows the verb, the sentence must be negated.Nulla gli interessa.
Nothing interests him.
Non c’è nulla di peggio.
There’s nothing worse.
Non ha paura di nulla.
He isn’t afraid of anything.
As previously seen with niente, nulla is sometimes used to refer to something of little value or importance:
Elisa ride sempre di nulla.
Elisa always laughs at nothing.
NB: It certain dialects of Italian, it is common to hear phrases like costa niente (it's extremely cheap), and fa niente (never mind; it doesn't matter). In these phrases, the rules of negation are not observed. This is especially common in Northern Italy. Additionally, in archaic Italian, which you may read from time to time, it is also common to see phrases of this nature. For example, in Dante, we can read: La anima semplicetta che sa nulla (The simple soul which knows nothing). These phrases are not grammatically correct in Standard Italian, but that doesn’t mean you won’t hear and read them!
When used in direct interrogative sentences, as well as all interrogative sentences introduced by the conjunction se (if), niente and nulla acquire a positive acceptation, bearing the same meaning as the pronoun qualcosa.Vedi niente?
Do you see something?
Sai se c'è nulla di nuovo?
Do you know if there is anything new?