Breakdown of Nemoj dirati taj kabel!
nemoj
do not (sg., pl. nemojte)
taj
that (masculine)
dirati
to touch
kabel
cable
Questions & Answers about Nemoj dirati taj kabel!
Why do we say nemoj dirati instead of just a negative form of the verb?
To tell someone not to do something, Croatian commonly uses the helper word nemoj (for singular 'you') followed by the infinitive of the main verb, which is dirati here. If you were warning a group of people or someone you speak to formally, you would use nemojte dirati.
Could I use the perfective verb for 'touch' here instead of dirati?
Generally, no. When making a negative command, Croatian strongly prefers the imperfective aspect of a verb. We use dirati (imperfective) rather than the perfective form because you are telling the person not to even be in the process of touching it.
What case is taj kabel in, and why doesn't it have a special ending?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb dirati. However, because kabel is a masculine noun that is inanimate (not a living being), its accusative form looks exactly the same as its nominative (dictionary) form. The demonstrative word taj (that) also follows this rule.
If taj means 'that', how would I say 'Don't touch this cable'?
You would swap taj for ovaj. In Croatian, ovaj means 'this' (near the speaker), taj means 'that' (near the listener or just mentioned), and onaj means 'that over there' (far from both).