Breakdown of Ni vjetar ni potres ne mogu uništiti grad.
grad
city
ne
no, not
moći
can
vjetar
wind
ni
neither, nor
potres
earthquake
uništiti
to destroy
Questions & Answers about Ni vjetar ni potres ne mogu uništiti grad.
Why is there a ne before mogu when the sentence already uses ni... ni... (neither... nor)?
Croatian uses mandatory double negation. Whenever you use a negative conjunction like ni... ni... or a negative pronoun, the main verb of the sentence must also be negative. Literally, this sentence translates to 'Neither wind nor earthquake cannot destroy the city.'
Why is the verb mogu (they can) in the plural when both vjetar and potres are singular nouns?
In Croatian, when you combine multiple subjects using ni... ni..., they are usually treated as a plural group. This is different from English, where 'neither... nor' often takes a singular verb. Because we are talking about two things together, the verb takes the plural 'they' form: mogu.
What case is grad in this sentence, and why doesn't its ending change?
Grad is in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being destroyed). It doesn't change its ending because it is an inanimate masculine noun. For non-living masculine nouns, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form.
Could I say niti vjetar niti potres instead?
Yes, you can. When connecting nouns, ni... ni... and niti... niti... mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably. Just remember that if you were connecting two full actions (verbs), you would have to use niti... niti... instead of ni... ni....
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