Odricanje
Overview
Most Serbian verbs negate the simple way: put не directly before the conjugated verb, with nothing in between. Радим. (I work) becomes Не радим. (I don't work).
Three verbs fuse не into a single negative word instead of writing it separately: бити → нисам/ниси/није…, имати → немам/немаш/нема…, and хтети → нећу/нећеш/неће… (covered in their own lessons - on the verb бити, on the verb имати, on the future tense); every other verb takes a separate не in front.
не + verb - the general rule
Put unstressed не directly before the verb: Не гледам телевизију.
Negative pronouns and adverbs require double negation
With a negative pronoun or adverb, keep не on the verb: Нико не зна; Никад никог нигде не видим. Serbian uses both negative words together.
Special cases
Немати is already negative, so do not add не: Немам ништа (‘I have nothing’). Impersonal нема also means ‘there is/are no…’: Нема никог код куће.
Tables
| Word | Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| niko | nobody | Niko ne zna. |
| ništa | nothing | Nemam ništa. |
| nikad(a) | never | Nikad ne kasnim. |
| nigde | nowhere | On nije nigde. |
| nijedan/nijedna/nijedno | not a single one | Nijedan student ne dolazi. |
Examples
Compared with…
English typically negates via do-support ("I don't work"); Serbian needs no auxiliary at all - не simply attaches to the same conjugated verb form. The bigger contrast is double negation: adding a second negative word ("nobody doesn't know") would be a mistake in standard English, but Serbian requires exactly that construction - не plus a negative pronoun together - making this the most common Serbian negation error for English speakers.
Common mistakes
Tips & exceptions
- Whenever a sentence has нико/ништа/никад/нигде/ниједан, automatically expect a не (or fused нисам/нема) too - the two always travel together.
- Бити, имати and хтети fuse не into one word (нисам, немам, нећу); every other verb keeps не as a separate word directly in front of it.
- This is one grammar point where doubling up on negative words is exactly right in Serbian - once a sentence already has one negative, don't fight the instinct to add a second (or third).
- Negative-adverb word order is flexible, but the adverb usually leads the clause with не staying right before the verb - Никад не радим. is more natural than Не радим никад., though neither is wrong.
- Немати, нисам/ниси/није… and хтети (нећу/нећеш/неће…) are the only verbs with a fused negative form; all other verbs, including irregular ones, negate with a separate не.
- Не can occasionally negate something other than the verb for contrast ("не ја, него он" - not me, but him), but negating the main verb is by far the default use covered here.