Language/Bosnian/Grammar/Negation

Bosnian Grammar - Negation

Hi Bosnian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Bosnian. Negation is an important part of any language, and it is essential to understand how to use it correctly in order to communicate effectively. We will look at the different ways to express negation in Bosnian, as well as some examples of how to use them. Let's get started!

Basics of Negation

Negation is a way of expressing the opposite of something. In Bosnian, there are several ways to express negation. The most common way is to use the word ne (pronounced [nɛ], IPA: /nɛ/). This word is used to negate verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. For example:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ne volim čokoladu	[nɛ vɔ̌lim tʃɔkɔládu]	I don't like chocolate
Ona ne zna engleski	[ɔná nɛ zná ɛnglɛ́ski]	She doesn't know English
On ne govori brzo	[ɔn nɛ gɔvɔ̌ri brzɔ]	He doesn't speak fast

Another way to express negation is to use the word nije (pronounced [nijɛ], IPA: /nijɛ/). This word is used to negate nouns and pronouns. For example:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ovo nije moja knjiga	[ɔvɔ nijɛ mɔjá knjíga]	This is not my book
Nije ona moja sestra	[nijɛ ɔná mɔjá sɛ́stra]	She is not my sister
Nije on moj prijatelj	[nijɛ ɔn mɔj príjatɛlj]	He is not my friend

Finally, you can also use the word nikada (pronounced [nikáda], IPA: /nikáda/) to express negation. This word is used to express that something never happens or is never true. For example:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Nikada ne idem u školu	[nikáda nɛ ídem u ʃkɔ̌lu]	I never go to school
Ona nikada ne spava rano	[ɔná nikáda nɛ spáva ránɔ]	She never sleeps early
On nikada ne jede povrće	[ɔn nikáda nɛ jɛdɛ pɔvrʧɛ]	He never eats vegetables

Examples

Now let's look at some examples of how to use negation in Bosnian.

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Ja ne volim kafu	[já nɛ vɔ̌lim káfu]	I don't like coffee
Ona nije dobra u matematici	[ɔná nijɛ dɔbrá u matɛmátiʧi]	She is not good at math
On nikada ne ide na more	[ɔn nikáda nɛ ídɛ na mɔrɛ]	He never goes to the beach

Practice

To improve your Bosnian Grammar, you can also use the [https://polyglotclub

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• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• Gender
• Personal pronouns
• Nouns
• Plurals
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• Pronouns