Breakdown of Что бы ни случилось, наша дружба не умрёт.
не
not
что
what
наш
our (наш, наша, наше)
случиться
to happen
Questions & Answers about Что бы ни случилось, наша дружба не умрёт.
Why is случилось in the past tense if the translation says "Whatever happens" in the present/future?
This is a strict rule of Russian grammar: the concessive structure meaning "no matter what, who, or where" always uses an interrogative word plus бы ни plus a past tense verb. So even though the meaning applies to the future, you must use the past tense form случилось.
Does the ни in the first clause mean "not"?
No, it doesn't negate anything here. In the structure что бы ни, the particle ни works like the English suffix "-ever" in "whatever". It emphasizes that the condition is universal and applies to absolutely any situation.
Why is Что бы written as two separate words here instead of the conjunction чтобы?
Чтобы written as one word means "in order to" or "so that". Here, we have the pronoun что (what) and the conditional particle бы. Because they are functioning as separate grammatical pieces to create the "whatever" structure, they must be written apart.
What is the infinitive of умрёт and why does its spelling change so drastically?
The infinitive is умереть (to die, perfective). It has a fleeting vowel in its root, meaning the second е drops out when conjugated in the future tense: я умру, ты умрёшь, он умрёт.