Imagine arriving at a hotel only to find a complete disaster (katastrofa). To complain effectively about your stay, you will need indefinite and negative adjectives of quality: svakakav (all kinds of), ikakav (any kind of), and nikakav (no kind of / none).
These words decline exactly like regular adjectives, changing their endings to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.
Svakakav (All Kinds Of)
Use svakakav to express that you encountered an overwhelming variety of things—in the context of a bad hotel, usually problems! As a direct object, it takes the accusative case.
| This hotel is a disaster, we saw all kinds of problems. | Ovaj hotel je katastrofa, vidjeli smo svakakve probleme. |
| We heard all kinds of noise and terrible sounds in the hotel. | Čuli smo svakakvu buku i grozne zvukove u hotelu. |
Nikakav (No Kind Of) and Double Negation
Croatian has a strict rule of double negation. Whenever you use a negative word like nikakav, the verb in the sentence must also be negative.
For example, to express that there are absolutely no items of a certain kind, use the negative verb nema (there isn't / there aren't). Remember that nema always requires the noun and its adjectives to be in the genitive case.
| There are no clean sheets of any kind in the room. | U sobi nema nikakvih čistih plahti. |
If you are saying you didn't receive something, the negated verb (like nismo dobili) takes a direct object in the accusative case.
| The management was rude and we didn't get any kind of apology. | Uprava je bila bezobrazna i nismo dobili nikakvu ispriku. |
Ikakav (Any Kind Of)
What if your sentence isn't negative? In questions, conditional sentences, or when using prepositions like bez (without), use ikakav to mean "any kind of".
Use it in the accusative case when asking if you have "any kind of" chance.
| This is a disaster, do we have any kind of chance for a refund? | Ovo je katastrofa, imamo li ikakvu šansu za povrat novca? |
The preposition bez always takes the genitive case. Use the genitive form ikakvih to demand a resolution without "any kind of" problems.
| Our complaint is clear, we want a refund without any kind of problems. | Naš prigovor je jasan, želimo povrat novca bez ikakvih problema. |