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Questions & Answers about Nemoj kriviti brata!
Why do we use nemoj here instead of just ne to say 'don't'?
To give a negative command in Croatian, you usually do not use ne directly with the verb. Instead, you use the helper word nemoj (when speaking to one person informally) followed by the infinitive of the action verb, which is kriviti here.
Why is the word for brother brata and not just brat?
The brother is the direct object receiving the action of the verb kriviti (to blame), so it takes the accusative case. Because brat is a masculine noun representing a living being, its accusative form adds an -a to the end, becoming brata.
This lesson focuses on emphatic pronouns. How would I change this sentence to say 'Don't blame HIM!' instead?
You would replace brata with the full, emphatic accusative pronoun for 'he', which is njega. The sentence becomes Nemoj kriviti njega! You use this full form when you want to stress that you should not blame him specifically, as opposed to someone else.
What if I just wanted to say 'Don't blame him' without any special emphasis?
You would use the short accusative pronoun ga. However, short pronouns are clitics, meaning they naturally want to jump into the second position in a sentence. The sentence would become Nemoj ga kriviti!