Breakdown of Jučer nisu otkazali sastanak.
nisam
am not (nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu)
sastanak
meeting
jučer
yesterday
otkazati
to cancel
Questions & Answers about Jučer nisu otkazali sastanak.
How do we form the negative past tense in this sentence?
To say 'didn't cancel', Croatian uses the negative present tense of the helper verb 'to be' (nisu for 'they are not') followed by the past action word (otkazali). You just combine these two parts to negate a past action!
Where is the word for 'they' in this sentence?
It is built right into the verbs. The helper verb nisu specifically means 'they are not', and the -li ending on otkazali confirms a plural subject. Because it is already obvious who is doing the action, the Croatian word for 'they' (oni) is simply left out.
Why does otkazali end with -li?
The past action word (l-participle) must match the gender and number of the subject. The -li ending is used for a masculine plural subject, or a mixed group of men and women. If we knew a group of only women didn't cancel the meeting, the word would change to otkazale.
The dictionary word for 'meeting' is sastanak. Why hasn't its ending changed since it is the direct object?
sastanak is a masculine noun. In Croatian, masculine nouns that are non-living things (inanimate) keep their dictionary form in the accusative case (the form used for direct objects). If the object were a living masculine noun like a person or animal, the ending would have to change!