There are two homonymous word forms (omo-forms)in the Russian language: 1) nothing-the gender of the negative pronoun nothing (There is nothing left in the house. "What should I do?" "Nothing." "What did you eat today?" - "Nothing") and 2) nothing (nitsche, nothing, nishto-prost, etc.)- a pronominal adverb used more often as an impersonal predicate (words of the category of state). The article will focus mainly on the predicative adverb nothing, which has long attracted the attention of both Russians and foreigners (See, for example: M. P. Alekseev. Russkoe slovo nothing i ego zarubezhnye interpretatsii [The Russian word nothing and its foreign interpretations]. The ambiguity and idiomaticity of this word, the variety of its semantic shades make it one of the symbols of the mysterious Russian soul. "There is a turn of speech in our language," wrote P. A. Vyazemsky, " completely nihilistic, although it was found before the invention of nihilism and is still used by non-nihilists. "What's the weather like today?" - "Nothing", - " How do you like this book?" "Nothing." "Is the woman you're talking about beautiful?" - "Nothing",- " Are you satisfied with your governor?" "Nothing." Etc. There is a certain Russian sly reserve in this phrase, a fear of letting it slip, some completely Russian thing on your mind" (Poly. collected Works of St. Petersburg, 1883. Vol. VIII. p. 429). This adverb is already recorded in the Dictionary of the Russian language of the XI-XVII centuries: nothing (Nichevo), in comp. a fairy tale. Nothing, portable, can be tolerated. "And then it would still be nichevo, and then such great losses... from that they have done, and it is a shame for good" (Chimes, 1645). V. I. Dahl, M. I. Mikhelson and other lexicographers of the XIX century drew attention to the frequency of Russian use of this adverb. page 53 The French writer A. Sylvester (1838-1901), who devoted several pages of his book to the word nothing, calls it "the passive - patient motto of th ... Read more