Breakdown of Ne možeš telefonirati i tipkati istovremeno.
i
and (additive)
ne
no, not
moći
can
istovremeno
simultaneously
telefonirati
to talk on the phone
tipkati
to type
Questions & Answers about Ne možeš telefonirati i tipkati istovremeno.
Since this lesson is about the present verbal adverb, why don't we use telefonirajući or tipkajući here?
The present verbal adverb is used to show a background action happening while a main action occurs. In this sentence, neither action is the "main" one; they are treated as two equal tasks you can't do at the same time. Therefore, we just use two infinitives (telefonirati and tipkati) joined by i, plus the adverb istovremeno (simultaneously).
How could I rewrite this sentence to practice using the present verbal adverb?
You would turn one of the infinitives into the background action by adding -ći to its 3rd person plural present tense form. For example: Ne možeš tipkati telefonirajući. (You cannot type while talking on the phone.)
How does the word istovremeno break down?
It is a compound word made by combining isto (same) and vrijeme (time). The adjective form is istovremen (simultaneous), and the -o ending turns it into the adverb used here.
Are the verbs telefonirati and tipkati perfective or imperfective?
To talk about actions happening simultaneously, you need imperfective verbs. tipkati is imperfective (its perfective counterpart is otipkati). telefonirati is a loanword ending in -irati. Like many of these loan verbs, it is bi-aspectual, meaning the exact same word acts as both perfective and imperfective depending on the context. Here, it functions as an imperfective verb.
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