Nemamo svijeću niti svjetiljku.

to have

Breakdown of Nemamo svijeću niti svjetiljku.

• svjetiljka: lamp
• svijeća: candle
• niti: nor

Questions & Answers about Nemamo svijeću niti svjetiljku.

Why is nemamo written as one word, not ne imamo?

Because imati (to have) is special in the present tense: its negative forms are normally written as one word:

• nemam = I don’t have
• nemaš = you don’t have
• nema = he/she/it doesn’t have
• nemamo = we don’t have
• nemate = you don’t have
• nemaju = they don’t have

With many other verbs, ne is written separately, but with present-tense imati, learners should memorize these fused forms.

What form is nemamo exactly?

Nemamo is:

• 1st person plural
• present tense
• of imati (to have)
• in the negative

So it means we do not have.

Why do svijeća and svjetiljka become svijeću and svjetiljku?