Tokom probne vožnje nisam čula ni motor ni kočnice.

Tokom means during. It is followed by the genitive case, which is why the next words appear as probne vožnje rather than their dictionary form.

So:

• tokom = during
• tokom + genitive

Examples:

• tokom dana = during the day
• tokom leta = during the summer

The basic form is probna vožnja. But after tokom, Serbian requires the genitive.

So the phrase changes like this:

• nominative: probna vožnja
• genitive: probne vožnje

Both words change because:

• probna → probne
• vožnja → vožnje

This is a very common pattern with feminine nouns ending in -a and adjectives that agree with them.

Probna vožnja means a test drive or trial drive/ride, depending on context.

• probna = trial, test
• vožnja = drive, ride

In everyday use, probna vožnja is very commonly used for trying out a car before buying it, but it can also be used more generally for a trial run.

Nisam čula is the 1st person singular negative past tense, and čula shows that the speaker is female.

Compare:

• nisam čula = I did not hear (said by a woman)
• nisam čuo = I did not hear (said by a man)

So the sentence tells you something about the speaker’s gender.

It is formed with:

• the present-tense negative of biti (nisam = I am not / here used as auxiliary)
• plus the past active participle of the main verb (čula)

So:

• nisam
  • čula = I did not hear

This is the normal way to form the past tense in Serbian:

• sam čula = I heard
• nisam čula = I did not hear

This is a very common learner question.

• čuti = to hear
• slušati = to listen

So in this sentence, čula is correct because the idea is about hearing a sound, not actively listening to something.

Examples:

• Čujem motor. = I hear the engine.
• Slušam muziku. = I am listening to music.

Ni ... ni ... means neither ... nor ....

So:

• ni motor ni kočnice = neither the engine nor the brakes

This structure is very common with a negative verb:

• Nisam čula ni motor ni kočnice.

Serbian often combines ni with an already negative verb. That is normal and correct.

They are the direct objects of čuti, so they are in the accusative.

However, their forms look familiar because of how these nouns behave:

• motor is masculine inanimate, so its accusative singular is the same as its nominative singular: motor
• kočnice is feminine plural, and its accusative plural is the same as its nominative plural: kočnice

So even though the case is accusative, the forms do not visibly change here.

That is just the normal way these things are usually referred to.

• motor is commonly treated as one engine
• kočnice is commonly used in the plural, because brakes are generally thought of as a set/system

This is similar to how some things in English are more naturally singular or plural depending on how speakers conceptualize them.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

This sentence starts with Tokom probne vožnje to set the scene first. That sounds very natural.

But other orders are also possible, for example:

• Nisam čula ni motor ni kočnice tokom probne vožnje.
• Ni motor ni kočnice nisam čula tokom probne vožnje.

The meaning stays basically the same, but the emphasis changes:

• starting with Tokom probne vožnje emphasizes the time/context
• starting with Ni motor ni kočnice emphasizes what was not heard

Yes. Čuti is a perfective verb.

That makes sense here because the sentence refers to a completed past situation: during that test drive, the speaker did not hear those sounds.

Its imperfective partner is čuti / čuvati? No — the actual common pair is a bit less straightforward in usage, because čuti is often used very broadly. For learners, the important point is:

• čuti = to hear, often treated as perfective in aspect discussions
• in real usage, it is the normal verb for hear

So in this sentence, you do not need to overthink the aspect too much; čuti is simply the natural verb.

Historically and stylistically, Serbian can sometimes use the genitive of negation, but in modern everyday language, with a verb like čuti, the accusative is very normal and expected here.

So:

• nisam čula motor
• nisam čula kočnice

are perfectly standard.

For a learner, the best takeaway is:

• treat čuti as taking the accusative
• recognize that negative-genitive exists, but do not force it into every negative sentence