Breakdown of Nitko ne smije ići odavde dotamo.
ne
no, not
ići
to go
nitko
nobody
smjeti
may, to be allowed to
odavde
from here
dotamo
up to there
Questions & Answers about Nitko ne smije ići odavde dotamo.
How are the boundary adverbs odavde and dotamo formed?
They are fusions of prepositions and demonstrative adverbs. The word odavde combines the preposition od (from) with the root for 'here' (ovde). Similarly, dotamo combines do (up to) with tamo (there).
Could I just say od ovdje do tamo instead of odavde dotamo?
While you might hear the separated forms in casual speech, the fused forms odavde and dotamo are the standard, most natural way to express spatial boundaries like 'from here' and 'to there' in Croatian.
Why does the sentence use ne smije instead of ne može?
Why are there two negative words, nitko and ne, in this sentence?
Croatian requires double negation. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like nitko (nobody), the verb must also be negated with ne. English speakers often forget this rule and mistakenly try to say nitko smije, but that is grammatically incorrect in Croatian.
Learn Nitko ne smije ići odavde dotamo and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free