Questions & Answers about Ovdje ne vidim nikakav sumnjiv ormar.
Why do we use ne vidim and nikakav together? Doesn't that make a double negative?
Yes, it is a double negative! Unlike English, Croatian requires double negation when using negative words like nikakav (no kind of / any). If the sentence has a negative pronoun or adjective, the verb must also be negative (ne vidim).
What exactly does nikakav mean here compared to ništa or nitko?
While ništa means "nothing" and nitko means "nobody", nikakav is a negative adjective that means "no kind of" or "not a single". In negative English sentences, we usually translate it as "any". So nikakav sumnjiv ormar means "any suspicious wardrobe" (or literally, "no kind of suspicious wardrobe").
Since the wardrobe is the direct object of what I see, why aren't nikakav, sumnjiv, and ormar in the accusative case?
They actually are in the accusative case! The verb vidim (I see) requires its object to be in the accusative. However, ormar is a masculine inanimate (non-living) noun. For masculine inanimate nouns and their adjectives, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form.
Could I just say Ovdje ne vidim sumnjiv ormar without the word nikakav?