Question 1

Why is the second verb trebam affirmative instead of negative (ne trebam)?

Accepted Answer

The conjunction niti (nor) already carries the negative meaning for that clause. When niti introduces a new clause, standard Croatian uses the affirmative form of the verb after it. Saying niti ne trebam is considered non-standard redundant negation when connecting clauses, even though you might hear it in casual speech.

Question 2

Is the comma before niti strictly necessary here?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When niti acts as a coordinating conjunction connecting two independent clauses (meaning the second clause introduces a new verb, like trebam), grammatical rules require a comma before it.

Question 3

Could I use the shorter word ni instead of niti to mean 'nor' here?

Accepted Answer

In standard Croatian, no. The word niti is used to connect full clauses that contain verbs. The shorter word ni is used to connect single words or phrases without their own verbs. You would only use ni if you combined the objects under one verb, for example: Ne trebam ni značenje ni objašnjenje (I need neither the meaning nor the explanation).

Question 4

Both značenje and objašnjenje are direct objects. Why did their endings stay exactly the same as in the dictionary?

Accepted Answer

Direct objects take the accusative case. However, both of these words are neuter nouns. A very helpful rule to remember is that for all neuter nouns in Croatian, the accusative case is always identical to the nominative case, so their endings never change when they become the object of a sentence.

Ne razumijem značenje, niti trebam objašnjenje.

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