This looks like a vocabulary list and it is not. It is one of the most elegant systems in the language, and once you see the pattern you get about twenty words for the price of five. THE PATTERN Malayalam builds its words for something, anything and nothing OUT of its question words. Not related to them — built from them. You already know the question words: എന്ത് what · ആര് who · എവിടെ where · എപ്പോൾ when · ഏത് which Now add എങ്കിലും, which comes from the word meaning "if". So the literal sense is if-what, if-who — whatever it might be, whoever it might be. എന്തെങ്കിലും something, anything ആരെങ്കിലും someone, anyone എവിടെയെങ്കിലും somewhere, anywhere എപ്പോഴെങ്കിലും sometime, ever ഏതെങ്കിലും some one of them, any of them Five question words became five indefinites by one predictable addition. IN USE എന്തെങ്കിലും വേണോ? do you want anything? ആരെങ്കിലും വന്നോ? did anyone come? എപ്പോഴെങ്കിലും കേരളത്തിൽ പോയിട്ടുണ്ടോ? have you ever been to Kerala? NOW THE NEGATIVES — same question words, different piece ഒന്നും nothing · ആരും nobody · എവിടെയും nowhere · ഒരിക്കലും never And here is the rule English speakers resist and everybody else finds obvious: YOU MUST ALSO NEGATE THE VERB. ഒന്നും ഇല്ല there is nothing ആരും വന്നില്ല nobody came — literally, anybody did not come ഞാൻ ഒന്നും പറഞ്ഞില്ല I said nothing അവൻ എവിടെയും ഇല്ല he is nowhere ഞാൻ ഒരിക്കലും പോയിട്ടില്ല I have never been Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.