Ne mogu da aktiviram uslugu bez SIM kartice.

not

Breakdown of Ne mogu da aktiviram uslugu bez SIM kartice.

• moći: can
• da: that
• bez: without

Questions & Answers about Ne mogu da aktiviram uslugu bez SIM kartice.

What does Ne mogu mean, and why is it two words?

Ne mogu means I cannot / I can’t.

It is two words because:

• mogu = I can
• ne = the negative particle not

So Serbian usually makes negation by putting ne before the verb:

• mogu = I can
• ne mogu = I can’t

This is completely normal in Serbian.

Why is it da aktiviram instead of just an infinitive like to activate?

In Serbian, after many verbs such as moći (can / be able to), it is very common to use:

• da
  • present tense

So:

• Ne mogu da aktiviram = I can’t activate

Literally, it looks more like:

• I cannot that-I-activate

But in real Serbian, this is just the normal way to express the idea.

A native English speaker often expects something like an infinitive, but Serbian very often prefers the da + present structure.

Is aktiviram present tense? If so, why does the whole sentence mean I can’t activate?

Yes, aktiviram is in the present-tense form.