MORE NEGATIVES: NE...RIEN AND NE...PERSONNE

The negatives ne...pas, ne...plus, and ne...jamais are covered in another section. In this chapter of the program, you will practice using ne...rien ("nothing," "not anything") and ne...personne ("no one," "nobody," "not anyone") which follow a similar pattern as the other negative constructions.
 

Vous n'avez rien?
You have nothing? Or: There's nothing wrong with you? (Are you hurt?)
Ce n'est rien.
It's nothing.
À quoi pensez-vous?—Je ne pense à rien.
What are you thinking of?—I'm not thinking of anything.
Vous ne voyez personne?—Non, je ne vois personne.
You don't see anyone?—No, I don't see anybody. 
À qui parles-tu?—Je ne parle à personne.
Whom are you talking to?—I'm not talking to anybody. 
C'était le mauvais numéro.
It was a wrong number.

Rien and personne can also be used by themselves:
 

Vous avez mangé quelque chose?—Non, rien.
Have you eaten something?—No, nothing.
Qui est à la porte?—Personne.
Who's at the door?—Nobody.

When using a negative with the compound past, surround the helping verb with the negative construction:
 

Vous ne faites rien.
You don't do anything.
Vous n'avez rien fait.
You didn't do anything.
Vous ne pensez à personne.
You don't think of anybody.
Vous n'avez pensé à personne.
You didn't think of anybody.

Rien and personne can also be used as the subject of a phrase:
 

Aujourd'hui, rien ne va bien.
Nothing's going right for me today.
Personne ne m'a appelé.
Nobody called me.

When personne is the direct object of a sentence, it comes after the past participle:

Je n'ai vu personne.
I didn't see anybody.