ni s kim / ni o čemu

Negative Pronouns with Prepositions

Level 3

A preposition can split ni from the pronoun.

How It Works

Compare Nikoga ne poznajem with Ni s kim ne razgovaram. Adding the preposition gives three written words rather than a single prefixed pronoun.

The preposition controls the pronoun’s case: s kim, o čemu and za koga. Negative concord means that ni and the negative verb express one negative statement together.

This pattern has limits. With bez, standard Croatian uses forms such as bez ičega, not a mechanical insertion of bez into a ni-expression.

Examples (3)

  1. Ni s kim ne razgovaram.

    I am not talking to anyone.

    S selects instrumental kim within the split expression.

  2. Ni o čemu ne razmišljam.

    I am not thinking about anything.

    O selects locative čemu.

  3. Ni za koga nemam poruku.

    I do not have a message for anyone.

    Za selects accusative koga; nemam supplies verbal negation.

How It Connects

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

ni s kim / ni o čemuLevel 3Negative Pronouns with Prepositions

Learn This First

A preposition interrupts selected negative-pronoun spellings while still governing the full pronoun’s case.

Words in This Pattern

nikim