Breakdown of Nitko ne smije otvarati povjerljivu arhivu.
ne
no, not
nitko
nobody
otvarati
to open (imperfective)
smjeti
may, to be allowed to
povjerljiv
confidential
arhiva
archive
Questions & Answers about Nitko ne smije otvarati povjerljivu arhivu.
Why do we use the imperfective verb otvarati here instead of the perfective otvoriti?
With the negative modal ne smjeti (not to be allowed / must not), Croatian strictly requires the imperfective aspect. When you are prohibited from doing something, you are forbidden from even being in the process of doing it. Therefore, you must use otvarati (imperfective) rather than the perfective otvoriti.
If the sentence meant 'Nobody has to open the archive', would we still be forced to use the imperfective otvarati?
No. If you use ne morati (to not have to / lack of obligation), you have aspectual freedom. You could say Nitko ne mora otvoriti (perfective) if referring to a single, completed action of opening it. The strict imperfective rule applies specifically to prohibitions like ne smjeti.
We have Nitko (nobody) and ne smije (is not allowed). Is this double negation mandatory in Croatian?
Yes, Croatian strictly requires double negation. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like nitko (nobody) or ništa (nothing), the verb must also be negated with ne. Unlike English where two negatives make a positive, in Croatian Nitko ne smije simply means 'Nobody is allowed'.
Why is the phrase povjerljivu arhivu in the accusative case?
It is the direct object of the verb otvarati. The action of opening is being done to the archive, so the feminine noun arhiva and its adjective povjerljiva both take the accusative suffix -u.
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