Language/Croatian/Grammar/Negation

Croatian Grammar - Negation

Hi Croatian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Croatian. Negation is a very important part of the Croatian language and it is essential to understand how to use it correctly.

Negation is used to express the opposite of something. In Croatian, there are two ways to express negation: using the word ne (no) or using the word nije (is not).

Using Ne

The word ne is used to express a negative statement. It is placed before the verb in a sentence. For example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ne idem	nee ee-dem	I'm not going
Ne znam	nee znam	I don't know
Ne volim ga	nee voh-leem gah	I don't like him
Ne mogu	nee moh-goo	I can't

Using Nije

The word nije is used to express a negative statement. It is placed after the verb in a sentence. For example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Idem nije	ee-dem nee-yeh	I'm not going
Znam nije	znam nee-yeh	I don't know
Volim ga nije	voh-leem gah nee-yeh	I don't like him
Mogu nije	moh-goo nee-yeh	I can't

It is important to note that the word ne is used for verbs in the present tense, while the word nije is used for verbs in the past tense.

For example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ne idem	nee ee-dem	I'm not going (present tense)
Nisam išao	nee-sahm ee-shah-oh	I didn't go (past tense)

It is also important to note that the word ne is used for affirmative sentences, while the word nije is used for negative sentences.

For example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ja sam dobar	yah sahm doh-bahr	I am good (affirmative sentence)
Ja nisam loš	yah nee-sahm lohsh	I am not bad (negative sentence)

Now that you know the basics of negation in Croatian, it's time to practice! Try making your own sentences using the words ne and nije. You can also use the Polyglot Club website to find native speakers and ask them any questions you may have.

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Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Adjectives
• Questions
• Nouns
• Conditional Mood
• Plurals
• Pronouns

• Future Tense