Ne volim da radim kasno.

I do not like to work late.

Breakdown of Ne volim da radim kasno.

• voleti: to like
• raditi: to work
• ne: not
• kasno: late

Questions & Answers about Ne volim da radim kasno.

What does each word in Ne volim da radim kasno mean?

• ne = not
• volim = I like / I love
• da = a particle that often introduces a subordinate clause, especially where English would often use to
• radim = I work / I am working
• kasno = late

So literally, the structure is something like I do not like that I work late, but the natural English meaning is I don’t like working late or I don’t like to work late.

Why is it ne volim and not some single negative verb form?

In Serbian, negation is usually made by putting ne before the verb.

So:

• volim = I like
• ne volim = I do not like

This is a very common pattern:

• znam → ne znam = I know → I don’t know
• radim → ne radim = I work / am working → I don’t work / am not working

So ne is the normal way to negate the verb here.

Why does Serbian use da radim instead of an infinitive like to work?