Breakdown of Moraš oprezno rukovati njime jer je teret krhak, bojim se da ga ne razbiješ.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
on
he
ne
no, not
jer
because
morati
must
bojati se
to be afraid
da
that (conjunction)
teret
freight
oprezno
carefully
razbiti
to shatter
krhak
fragile (delicate, frail)
rukovati
to handle
Questions & Answers about Moraš oprezno rukovati njime jer je teret krhak, bojim se da ga ne razbiješ.
Why is there a ne in da ga ne razbiješ if the English translation is affirmative?
This is an expletive (empty) negation. After verbs of fearing like bojati se, Croatian uses da ne plus the present tense (usually perfective) to express a fear that something will happen. Despite the word ne, it does not make the meaning negative.
Why do we use the instrumental pronoun njime here?
The verb rukovati (to handle or operate) strictly requires its object to be in the instrumental case. Since it refers to a masculine or neuter noun (like the cargo), the correct instrumental pronoun form is njime.
Is it possible to use the preposition s and say rukovati s njime?
No, that would be incorrect. When a verb inherently governs the instrumental case (like rukovati, vladati, or baviti se), or when the instrumental indicates the tool or means of an action, the preposition s (with) is omitted.
What is the rule for placing ga between da and ne?
The word ga is an enclitic (a weak, unaccented pronoun). In subordinate clauses, enclitics must occupy the second position, immediately following the conjunction da. Because the negative particle ne binds tightly to the verb, the enclitic correctly slips in between da and ne.
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