The Negative Past Tense
To say that something didn't happen in the past, replace the standard auxiliary verbs (sam, si, je...) with their negative forms. The main verb (the l-participle) stays exactly the same.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | nisam | nismo |
| 2nd | nisi | niste |
| 3rd | nije | nisu |
| You didn't hear the alarm clock this morning. | Jutros nisi čuo budilicu. |
| They didn't cancel the meeting yesterday. | Jučer nisu otkazali sastanak. |
Explaining Mishaps
When apologizing for or explaining missed events, you will often use the conjunction jer (because) to link the negative past action to its cause.
| We haven't arrived yet because there is a traffic jam. | Još nismo stigli jer je gužva. |
| I didn't bring the mobile phone because there is no battery. | Nisam ponio mobitel jer nema baterije. |
Reflexive Verbs in the Negative
For reflexive verbs like probuditi se (to wake up) and sjetiti se (to remember), the small reflexive pronoun se must be included.
Unlike their affirmative counterparts, negative auxiliary verbs are not enclitics. However, se is an enclitic and must take the second position in the clause. If the sentence begins with the negative auxiliary, se comes right after it.
| She didn't wake up because the battery is empty. | Nije se probudila jer je baterija prazna. |
| He didn't answer because he didn't remember. | Nije se javio jer se nije sjetio. |
If the sentence starts with another element, like a time word or a subject phrase, se anchors to that first element directly, coming before the negative auxiliary.
| I did not wake up early today. | Danas se nisam rano probudio. |
| This boy didn't remember to bring the cinema tickets. | Ovaj dječak se nije sjetio ponijeti karte za kino. |