Breakdown of Как собака ни лает по ночам, кричать на неё бесполезно.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
ночь
night
собака
dog
как
how
Questions & Answers about Как собака ни лает по ночам, кричать на неё бесполезно.
Why does the sentence use ни instead of не before лает?
This is the core of the как ни construction, which means "no matter how". The particle ни here does not negate the action. The dog actually is barking! If you used не, it would literally mean "how the dog does not bark", which breaks the intended meaning.
Can I say как ни лает собака instead of splitting it up with собака in the middle?
Yes, both word orders are perfectly correct. Placing the subject собака between как and ни is a very common and natural stylistic choice that immediately introduces the topic (the dog) before finishing the "no matter how much it barks" thought.
Why use по ночам instead of the instrumental ночью for "at night"?
Using the preposition по with the dative plural (ночам) specifically highlights that this is a habitual, repeated action happening night after night. The word ночью simply means "at night" and could refer to just one specific night, whereas по ночам gives the sense of "on nights" or "every night".
Why is there an extra "н" on the pronoun in на неё?