Breakdown of Nitko nigdje ne može naći tvoj novčanik!
ne
no, not
novčanik
wallet
tvoj
your (informal)
moći
can
naći
to find
nitko
nobody
nigdje
nowhere
Questions & Answers about Nitko nigdje ne može naći tvoj novčanik!
Why are there three negative words in this sentence (Nitko, nigdje, ne)?
Croatian requires multiple negation. If a sentence has a negative pronoun like nitko (nobody) or a negative adverb of place like nigdje (nowhere), the verb must also be made negative by adding ne (ne može). While English says "nobody can find it anywhere," Croatian literally says "nobody nowhere cannot find."
Since "nigdje" means "nowhere", how do I say "anywhere" in a positive sentence?
Because of Croatian's double negation rule, nigdje translates to "anywhere" in negative sentences like this one. However, if your sentence is positive, like "Can I find this anywhere?", you cannot use nigdje. You would instead use negdje (somewhere) or bilo gdje (anywhere at all).
Why does "tvoj novčanik" look like it is in the nominative (subject) case if it is the object being found?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object! The word novčanik (wallet) is a masculine noun that does not represent a living thing. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case looks exactly the same as the nominative case.
Why do we use "može" (he/she/it can) with "nitko"?
The negative pronoun nitko (nobody) always acts as a singular subject. It takes the third-person singular form of the verb, exactly like "nobody" does in English. That is why we use može instead of a plural form.
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