Two Endings, Whole Family
Take any question word and add か or も, and you get the indefinites:
| Question | + か (some) | + も + negative (none) |
|---|---|---|
| 何 what | 何か something | 何も nothing |
| 誰 who | 誰か someone | 誰も nobody |
| どこ where | どこか somewhere | どこも nowhere |
| いつ when | いつか sometime | いつも always* |
*いつも is the exception — it means "always," not "never." For "never," use 一度も + negative.
The も Row Must Be Negative
This is the rule to lock in. 何も, 誰も and どこも require a negative verb:
- ○ 何も食べません。(I'm not eating anything.)
- × 何も食べます。
There is no separate word for "nothing" — the negative verb does that work.
Particles Get Dropped
か and も replace は, が and を:
- ○ 何か食べますか。
- × 何かを食べますか。
Meaningful particles survive, and sit between: 誰かに聞いてください。どこかへ行きたい。
か or も in Questions
Both appear in questions, with different expectations:
- 何か質問がありますか。(Any questions? — I expect maybe yes)
- 何も質問がありませんか。(No questions at all? — I expect no)
Answering
- 何か食べましたか。(Did you eat something?)
- はい、食べました。／ いいえ、何も食べていません。
Note the answer flips from か to も with the negative.