nitko / ništa / nijedan

Negative Pronouns

Level 2

Nitko means nobody, ništa means nothing, and nijedan means not a single one. Croatian normally keeps verbal negation with these words.

How It Works

Use Nitko ne dolazi. for nobody is coming and Ništa ne vidim. for I cannot see anything. A negative pronoun before the verb does not remove the need for ne.

Nijedan agrees with a noun: nijedan učenik, nijedna knjiga, nijedno dijete. Case forms also change: Nikoga ne poznajem.

Do not insert an extra ne when the verb is already negative: Nitko nije došao. has nije. Expressions after prepositions have their own patterns, such as ni s kim. This lesson covers ordinary negative sentences, not every fragment or special contrast.

Examples (4)

  1. Nitko ne dolazi.

    Nobody is coming.

    The finite verb is negated.

  2. Ništa ne vidim.

    I cannot see anything.

    Negative ništa combines with ne.

  3. Nijedna knjiga nije ovdje.

    Not a single book is here.

    Nijedna agrees with knjiga, and nije negates the predicate.

  4. Nikoga ne poznajem.

    I do not know anybody.

    Nikoga is accusative for the personal object.

How It Connects

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

nitko / ništa / nijedanLevel 2Negative Pronouns

Learn This First

Negative pronouns combine indefinite person/thing categories with a negated finite verb.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

nijedan