Breakdown of Tu klevetu i drskost nitko nije mogao trpjeti.
i
and (additive)
nisam
am not (nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu)
moći
can
nitko
nobody
taj
that (masculine)
trpjeti
to endure (to suffer)
kleveta
slander
drskost
audacity
Questions & Answers about Tu klevetu i drskost nitko nije mogao trpjeti.
Why does the sentence start with the direct object Tu klevetu i drskost instead of the subject nitko?
Moving the object to the front of the sentence is called topicalization, which is the focus of this lesson. It puts a strong emphasis on what couldn't be tolerated. In English, we often do this with a pause (That slander and audacity, nobody could tolerate), but in Croatian, this fronting is very common and flows naturally without needing a comma.
Since it is at the beginning of the sentence, how does a listener instantly know Tu klevetu i drskost isn't the subject?
The case endings give it away. Tu klevetu is in the accusative case (the nominative is ta kleveta). Because Croatian uses cases to show a word's role, you can freely move the direct object to the front for emphasis without confusing it with the subject, which here is nitko in the nominative case.
Why does klevetu take an -u ending here while drskost stays exactly the same as its dictionary form?
Both words are feminine nouns in the accusative case, but they belong to different declension groups. Kleveta ends in -a, so its accusative ends in -u. Drskost is a feminine noun ending in a consonant (often called an i-declension noun), and for these nouns, the accusative singular form is identical to the nominative.
Why is the verb mogao in the masculine singular form?
The verb must agree with the subject, which is nitko (nobody). In Croatian, indefinite pronouns like nitko, netko (somebody), and svatko (everybody) always trigger masculine singular verb agreement, regardless of who is actually being referred to.
Is the double negation in nitko nije mogao mandatory here?
Yes. Croatian strictly uses negative concord (double negation). Whenever you use a negative pronoun like nitko (nobody), ništa (nothing), or nikada (never), the verb must also be negated. You are literally saying nobody was not able to endure, which is perfectly grammatical and required.
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