Breakdown of Ne vidim nijednu oazu iza onih dina.
ne
no, not
vidjeti
to see
iza
behind
onaj
that (over there) / the one (who)
Questions & Answers about Ne vidim nijednu oazu iza onih dina.
Why does the negative word nijedan change to nijednu in this sentence?
The word nijedan (not a single one) is an adjective, so it declines exactly like the number jedan to match the noun it describes. Since oaza (oasis) is a feminine noun acting as the direct object (accusative case), nijedan must take the feminine accusative form nijednu.
Is it necessary to use a double negative with ne vidim and nijednu?
Yes. Unlike English, Croatian requires multiple negation. Whenever you have a negated verb like ne vidim (I do not see), you must pair it with negative adjectives or pronouns like nijedan, rather than indefinite ones like ijedan (any).
Why are the words onih dina in the genitive case?
The preposition iza (behind) always requires the genitive case. Because the sentence refers to multiple dunes, both the demonstrative pronoun one (those) and the noun dine (dunes) take the genitive plural, becoming onih dina.
Why does the word dina look exactly like its dictionary form if it is in the plural?
This is a tricky feature of regular feminine nouns ending in -a. The nominative singular is dina (dune), but its genitive plural also ends in -a, making it dina (of the dunes). In speech, the final -a in the genitive plural is drawn out as a long vowel to distinguish it, though it is written exactly the same.