Questions & Answers about Ne idem u kino, nego u park.
Why does this sentence use nego for "but" instead of ali?
In Croatian, nego is used when you are correcting a negative statement. Because the first part of the sentence is negative (ne idem - I am not going), you must use nego to introduce the contrasting correct alternative. You can think of nego here as meaning "but rather." If the first part of the sentence were positive, you would use ali.
Why is it u kino and u park instead of u kinu and u parku?
Because the verb ići (to go) involves motion toward a destination. When the preposition u shows movement or destination ("to" or "into"), it requires the accusative case. If you were talking about a static location, like being already inside the park, you would use the locative case endings (u kinu, u parku).
If kino and park are in the accusative case here, why do they look exactly like their dictionary forms?
For neuter nouns like kino and non-living masculine nouns like park, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form. Nouns only get a different accusative ending if they are living masculine nouns or feminine nouns.
Why is there no ja (I) at the beginning of the sentence?
Croatian frequently drops the subject pronoun because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. The -em ending on the verb idem already means "I am going", so adding ja before ne idem is unnecessary unless you really want to emphasize that I am not going.
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