Breakdown of Koliko god bismo dinamita koristili, nema prolaza.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
nema
there is no
koristiti
to use
prolaz
passage
koliko god
no matter how much
dinamit
dynamite
Questions & Answers about Koliko god bismo dinamita koristili, nema prolaza.
Why is the conditional (bismo koristili) used here instead of the present tense?
In concessive clauses with koliko god (no matter how much), using the conditional implies a hypothetical situation. The speakers are imagining an extreme, theoretical scenario ('Even if we were to use...'). If you used the present tense (Koliko god dinamita koristimo), it would mean you are actively using dynamite right now and still failing to get through.
Why is the word dinamita placed right in the middle of the verb (bismo ... koristili)?
This is due to Croatian's strict rule for enclitics (unstressed words). The auxiliary verb bismo is an enclitic and must go in the second position in the clause. The phrase Koliko god acts as a single block occupying the first position, so bismo immediately follows it. You could also say Koliko god bismo koristili dinamita, but placing the object before the main verb emphasizes the word 'dynamite'.
Why are both dinamita and prolaza in the genitive case here?
They are in the genitive for two different reasons. Dinamita is in the partitive genitive because it follows koliko (how much), which expresses a quantity. Prolaza is in the genitive because it follows nema (there is no). When the verb nemati is used impersonally to mean 'there isn't' or 'there doesn't exist', the thing that is missing must take the genitive case.
Could we just use iako (even though) instead of koliko god?
Not without changing the meaning. Iako introduces a concrete fact: 'Even though we used a lot of dynamite, there is no passage.' The phrase Koliko god (no matter how much) is a concessive clause of degree, which emphasizes that the absolute maximum amount of the action still wouldn't change the outcome.
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