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Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego i mijenja stare zakone.

Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego i mijenja stare zakone.
Our government not only talks about the environment, but also changes old laws.
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Questions & Answers about Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego i mijenja stare zakone.

What is the structure ne samo da … nego i … doing here, and how does it work?

Ne samo da … nego i … is a fixed correlative structure meaning “not only … but also …” when it links whole clauses.

  • ne samo da govori o okolišu
    = not only (that it) talks about the environment

  • nego i mijenja stare zakone
    = but also (it) changes old laws

A rough breakdown:

  • ne samo da → introduces the first clause
  • nego (i) → introduces the contrasting/additional clause
  • i after nego is optional but very common for emphasis (“but also”).

So the sentence contrasts what the government does in one way (talks) with what it also does in another way (changes laws).

Could you say this without da? For example: Naša vlada ne samo govori o okolišu, nego i mijenja stare zakone?

With whole clauses, Croatian strongly prefers ne samo da … nego (i) ….

You can say:

  • Naša vlada ne govori samo o okolišu, nego (govori) i o starim zakonima.

Here samo modifies govori, not the whole clause, and the pattern is different:

  • ne + verb + samo X, nego i Y

But in your original sentence, you are contrasting two different actions:

  • talks (about the environment)
  • changes old laws

For that, ne samo da … nego i … is the most natural and idiomatic pattern.
Naša vlada ne samo govori … sounds odd or incomplete to native ears in this context.

Why is it o okolišu and not o okoliš?

Because the preposition o (“about”) requires the locative case.

  • Nominative: okoliš (the environment)
  • Locative singular (m.) after o: o okolišu

Pattern for many masculine nouns in -iš:

  • okoliš → o okolišu

So:

  • govoriti o + LOCATIVE
    → govori o okolišu = talks about the environment
What form is mijenja, and from which verb does it come?

Mijenja is 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb mijenjati (to change – imperfective).

  • Infinitive: mijenjati
  • ja: mijenjam
  • ti: mijenjaš
  • on/ona/ono: mijenja
  • mi: mijenjamo
  • vi: mijenjate
  • oni/one/ona: mijenjaju

In the sentence:

  • (Naša vlada) = 3rd person singular subject
  • So mijenja = it changes / is changing

If you wanted a single completed change, you’d usually use the perfective verb promijeniti:

  • Naša vlada je promijenila stare zakone.
    = Our government has changed the old laws (finished action).
Why is it stare zakone, not stari zakoni?

This is about case and agreement.

  1. Zakoni is a masculine noun (zakon = law).

    • Nominative plural: stari zakoni (subject)
    • Accusative plural: stare zakone (direct object)

  2. In the sentence, zakone is the direct object of mijenja (what is being changed):

    • mijenja što? → stare zakone (accusative)

  3. The adjective stare agrees with zakone in:

    • gender: masculine
    • number: plural
    • case: accusative

So:

  • As subject: Stari zakoni su komplicirani.
  • As object: Mijenjamo stare zakone.
Why is it naša vlada (with naša), not naš vlada?

Vlada is a feminine noun in Croatian.

The possessive pronoun naš (our) must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.

Nominative singular forms:

  • masculine: naš (e.g. naš ministar)
  • feminine: naša (e.g. naša vlada)
  • neuter: naše (e.g. naše ministarstvo)

Since vlada is feminine:

  • Naša vlada = Our government (correct)
  • Naš vlada is ungrammatical.
What is the difference between nego and ali? Could we say … ali mijenja stare zakone?

Both nego and ali can translate as “but”, but they’re used differently.

  1. nego is used:

    • after ne when you mean “but rather / but instead”, or in set patterns like ne samo da … nego (i) ….
    • It introduces a correction or alternative.

  2. ali is more general “but”, introducing contrast without that corrective flavour.

In your sentence:

  • ne samo da govori … nego i mijenja …
    is a fixed, idiomatic pattern for “not only … but also …”.

Using ali:

  • Naša vlada govori o okolišu, ali mijenja i stare zakone.
    is grammatical, but now it’s just “talks about the environment, but also changes old laws”, without the “not only … but also …” emphasis.
    You also lose the ne samo da … structure altogether.
What does the i after nego do? Could we say just nego mijenja stare zakone?

The i in nego i mijenja corresponds to “also” in “but also changes”.

  • nego mijenja = but changes
  • nego i mijenja = but also changes

You can grammatically omit i:

  • Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego mijenja stare zakone.

But:

  • With ne samo da, it’s very common and natural to include i to fully mirror the English “not only … but also …”.
  • Without i, the connection is still there, but the “also” nuance is weaker.
Can the word order change, for example Naša vlada ne samo da o okolišu govori, nego i stare zakone mijenja?

Yes, Croatian allows quite a bit of flexibility in word order, especially for emphasis.

All of these are possible (with slightly different focus):

  • Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego i mijenja stare zakone.
    (neutral, very natural)

  • Naša vlada ne samo da o okolišu govori, nego i mijenja stare zakone.
    (slight emphasis on o okolišu – about the environment, specifically)

  • Naša vlada ne samo da govori o okolišu, nego i stare zakone mijenja.
    (emphasis on stare zakone – it’s the old laws that it changes)

All are grammatical; word order mainly shifts what you’re highlighting.

What exactly is the difference between govoriti o nečemu and pričati o nečemu in a sentence like this?

Both can translate as “to talk about something”, but:

  • govoriti o is more neutral/formal, common in public, official, or serious contexts:

    • Vlada govori o okolišu.
      = The government talks/speaks about the environment.

  • pričati o is often more informal/conversational, suggesting telling stories, chatting:

    • Pričamo o okolišu.
      = We’re talking/chatting about the environment.

In a sentence about a government and laws, govoriti o okolišu fits better stylistically than pričati o okolišu.