Breakdown of Moja braća nisu složna i nikada se ne slažu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
i
and (additive)
ne
no, not
nikada
never
slagati se
to agree (imperfective)
moj
my
braća
brothers (collective)
složan
united
Questions & Answers about Moja braća nisu složna i nikada se ne slažu.
Why is it Moja braća and not "Moji braća"?
Braća (brothers) is a collective noun. In Croatian, collective nouns like braća, djeca (children), and gospoda (gentlemen) act like feminine singular nouns when adjectives or pronouns are placed directly next to them. That is why we use the feminine singular possessive moja instead of the masculine plural moji.
If braća acts like a feminine singular noun, why are the verbs nisu and slažu in the plural?
This is exactly what makes collective nouns tricky! Even though the noun takes feminine singular adjectives directly next to it, the verbs still reflect the true, logical meaning: a plural group of people. Therefore, the verbs take the 3rd-person plural forms: nisu (they are not) and slažu (they agree).
What form is the adjective složna in?
It is in the neuter plural! When an adjective is separated from a collective noun by a verb (acting as a predicate adjective), it takes the neuter plural form. Because the feminine singular and neuter plural forms often look identical in the nominative case (both ending in -a), it looks just like moja, but grammatically it is neuter plural.
Are složna and slažu related words?
Yes, they share the same root. Složna is an adjective meaning "united" or "harmonious," while se slažu comes from the reflexive verb slagati se, meaning "to agree" or "to get along."
Why are both nikada and ne used in the second half of the sentence?
Croatian uses double negation. When you have a negative word like nikada (never), the verb itself must also be negative. While in English you say "they never agree," in Croatian you must literally say "they never do not agree" (nikada se ne slažu).
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