ni ni i niti

Neither, Nor

Level 3

Ni... ni... or niti... niti... joins two negated things: Nemam ni vremena ni novca. Niti jedem niti pijem.

How It Works

There are two patterns.

PatternExampleMeaning
ni... ni... with neNe pijem ni kafu ni čaj.I drink neither coffee nor tea.
niti... niti...Niti jedem niti pijem.I neither eat nor drink.

With ni... ni... the verb is negative too, because Bosnian uses double negation. If the pair comes before the verb, ne still stays: Ni kafu ni čaj ne pijem.

After nemam or nema the things take the genitive: Nemam ni vremena ni novca. With the subject first, the verb is usually in the plural: Ni Amir ni Lejla nisu došli.

Niti is a little more formal. In speech, many people use ni... ni....

Examples (5)

  1. Nemam ni vremena ni novca.

    I have neither time nor money.

    Nemam asks for the genitive, and both things take it.

  2. Ni kafu ni čaj ne pijem.

    I drink neither coffee nor tea.

    Ne stays before the verb.

  3. Niti jedem niti pijem.

    I neither eat nor drink.

    Niti carries the negative, so the verbs have no ne.

  4. Ni Amir ni Lejla nisu došli.

    Neither Amir nor Lejla came.

    The verb is negative and plural.

  5. Ne volim ni burek ni pitu.

    I like neither burek nor pita.

    Ne comes before the verb, and ni goes before each object.

Common Mistakes

  • Ne is left out before the verb.

    Ni kafu ni čaj pijem.
    Ni kafu ni čaj ne pijem.

    Bosnian uses double negation, so the verb needs ne.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ni ni i nitiLevel 3Neither, Nor

Learn This First

Ni and niti are negative links.

Words in This Pattern

niniti