Breakdown of Nemam ni potvrdu ni kartu za ukrcavanje.
ne
not
potvrda
receipt
ni ... ni ...
neither ... nor ...
karta za ukrcavanje
a boarding pass
Questions & Answers about Nemam ni potvrdu ni kartu za ukrcavanje.
Why is it nemam? Is that just ne + imam?
Yes, it comes from the verb imati (to have), but the negative form is treated as the verb nemati (to not have).
- imam = I have
- nemam = I do not have
So Nemam ni potvrdu ni kartu za ukrcavanje begins with I don’t have...
This is slightly different from many other Serbian verbs, where ne is written separately:
- znam = I know
- ne znam = I don’t know
But with imati, the negative form is normally written together: nemam.
What does the pattern ni ... ni ... mean?
Ni ... ni ... means neither ... nor ...
So:
- ni potvrdu ni kartu = neither a confirmation nor a ticket/boarding pass
In Serbian, this structure is usually used together with a negative verb:
- Nemam ni X ni Y = I have neither X nor Y
That is why the sentence has both:
- nemam = I do not have
- ni ... ni ... = neither ... nor ...
This is completely normal in Serbian. English learners sometimes expect only one negative element, but Serbian commonly allows this kind of negative combination.
Why do potvrda and karta become potvrdu and kartu?