Existence with 'Ima' and 'Nema' (There is/isn't)
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Use 'Ima' for 'there is/are' and 'Nema' for 'there isn't/aren't'. Crucially, 'Nema' always triggers the Genitive case.
- Use 'Ima' + Nominative/Accusative to show something exists: 'Ima kava' (There is coffee).
- Use 'Nema' + Genitive to show something is missing: 'Nema kave' (There is no coffee).
- To ask a question, use 'Ima li...?' or just 'Ima...?' with rising intonation.
Existence Forms (Impersonal)
| Polarity | Form | Case Required | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Ima
|
Nominative / Accusative
|
Ima kava.
|
|
Negative
|
Nema
|
Genitive (Mandatory)
|
Nema kave.
|
|
Interrogative
|
Ima li...?
|
Nominative / Genitive
|
Ima li kave?
|
|
Past (Affirmative)
|
Bilo je
|
Nominative
|
Bilo je kave.
|
|
Past (Negative)
|
Nije bilo
|
Genitive
|
Nije bilo kave.
|
|
Future (Affirmative)
|
Bit će
|
Nominative
|
Bit će kave.
|
|
Future (Negative)
|
Neće biti
|
Genitive
|
Neće biti kave.
|
Meanings
These verbs are used to express the existence or presence of people, objects, or abstract concepts in a specific location or situation.
Physical Presence
Stating that an object or person is physically located somewhere.
“Ima li nekoga ovdje?”
“Ima puno ljudi na trgu.”
Availability
Checking if a service, item, or resource is available for use.
“Ima li slobodnih soba?”
“Nema više karata za koncert.”
Abstract Existence
Expressing the existence of feelings, problems, or ideas.
“Ima nade.”
“Nema problema!”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Ima + Noun
|
Ima kruh.
|
There is bread.
|
|
Negative
|
Nema + Genitive
|
Nema kruha.
|
There is no bread.
|
|
Question
|
Ima li + Noun?
|
Ima li kruha?
|
Is there any bread?
|
|
Short Answer (+)
|
Ima.
|
Ima.
|
There is.
|
|
Short Answer (-)
|
Nema.
|
Nema.
|
There isn't.
|
|
With Quantity
|
Ima + Puno + Genitive
|
Ima puno ljudi.
|
There are many people.
|
|
Abstract
|
Nema + Problem (Gen)
|
Nema problema.
|
No problem.
|
Espectro de formalidad
Nažalost, trenutačno nema kruha u ponudi. (At a bakery/home)
Nema kruha. (At a bakery/home)
Nema kruha, jbg. (At a bakery/home)
Kruh? Nula bodova. (At a bakery/home)
The World of Ima and Nema
Ima (Presence)
- Ima kave There is coffee
- Ima vremena There is time
Nema (Absence)
- Nema kave There is no coffee
- Nema vremena There is no time
Nominative vs Genitive
Choosing the right form
Does it exist?
Is it negative?
Common Nouns with Nema
Food
- • Kruha
- • Mlijeka
- • Vode
Abstract
- • Problema
- • Vremena
- • Nade
People
- • Nikoga
- • Ljudi
- • Prijatelja
Ejemplos por nivel
Ima kava.
There is coffee.
Nema vode.
There is no water.
Ima li kruha?
Is there any bread?
Ima sunca.
There is sun.
U torbi nema ključeva.
There are no keys in the bag.
Ima li ovdje Wi-Fi?
Is there Wi-Fi here?
Danas nema nastave.
There are no classes today.
Ima puno jabuka na stolu.
There are many apples on the table.
Nema smisla čekati.
It makes no sense to wait.
Ima li još nade za nas?
Is there still hope for us?
Nema ga već dva dana.
He hasn't been around for two days.
Ima li kakvih novosti?
Are there any news?
Nema sumnje da je on u pravu.
There is no doubt that he is right.
Ima li ikakve šanse da stignemo?
Is there any chance at all that we'll arrive?
U gradu nema ni žive duše.
There isn't a living soul in the city.
Ima u tome nešto istine.
There is some truth in that.
Nema mu premca u cijeloj državi.
He has no equal in the whole country.
Ima tome već dosta vremena.
A lot of time has passed since then.
Nema što nema u toj trgovini.
There's nothing they don't have in that shop.
Ima li koga da se protivi?
Is there anyone who objects?
Nema te sile koja bi me zaustavila.
There is no force that could stop me.
Ima li uopće smisla propitivati očito?
Is there even any point in questioning the obvious?
Nema onoga tko nije čuo za nju.
There is no one who hasn't heard of her.
Ima u njegovu glasu neke sjete.
There is a certain melancholy in his voice.
Fácil de confundir
Learners use 'je' to say 'there is' because of English 'is'.
Confusing 'I have' with 'There is'.
Using 'Ne ima' instead of 'Nema'.
Errores comunes
Imaju knjige na stolu.
Ima knjiga na stolu.
Nema kava.
Nema kave.
Ima li kava?
Ima li kave?
Ne ima kruha.
Nema kruha.
Nema moj prijatelj.
Nema mog prijatelja.
U frižideru je mlijeko.
U frižideru ima mlijeka.
Nema auto.
Nema auta.
Ima puno ljudi koji su tamo.
Ima puno ljudi tamo.
Nema ništa problema.
Nema nikakvih problema.
Nema ga ovdje već dugo vremena.
Nema ga ovdje već dugo.
Patrones de oraciones
U ___ ima ___.
Nažalost, nema ___.
Ima li ___ u ___?
Nema ___ bez ___.
Real World Usage
Ima li svježeg mlijeka?
Ima li što novo?
Nema signala na mobitelu.
Ima li slobodnih radnih mjesta?
Ima li u ovom jelu mesa?
Ima li bus za Zagreb u 5?
The 'Zero' Rule
Don't say 'Imaju'
Short Answers
Nema problema
Smart Tips
Stop! Don't use 'imaju'. Always use 'ima'.
Just change the final -a to -e. It works for almost all feminine nouns.
Use 'Ima li...?' followed by the Genitive to sound like you're asking for 'any'.
Just say 'Nema problema'. It's a fixed phrase you can use everywhere.
Pronunciación
Short 'I'
The 'i' in 'ima' is short and crisp.
Falling accent on Nema
The first syllable 'Ne-' is stressed with a falling tone.
Question Intonation
Ima kave? ↗
Rising at the end turns the statement into a question.
Memorízalo
Mnemotecnia
IMA is IN (it's here), NEMA is NO (it's gone).
Asociación visual
Imagine a full fridge with a big 'IMA' sticker on it. Then imagine an empty fridge with a 'NEMA' sticker and a 'G' (for Genitive) shaped like a ghost inside.
Rhyme
Kad nečeg ima, srce se prima. Kad nečeg nema, Genitiv se sprema!
Story
You go to a bakery. You see bread and say 'Ima kruha!'. You look for donuts but the shelf is empty, so you sigh and say 'Nema krafni'. The baker says 'Nema problema', we will make more!
Word Web
Desafío
Look around your room. Name 3 things that are there using 'Ima...' and 3 things that are missing using 'Nema...'.
Notas culturales
'Nema problema' is the unofficial national motto. It reflects a relaxed, 'pomalo' (take it easy) lifestyle.
In Dalmatia, you might hear 'Nima' instead of 'Nema' due to the Ikavian dialect.
People often use 'Imaš' (You have) instead of 'Ima li' when asking for things in a shop.
From the Proto-Slavic *imati (to take/hold).
Inicios de conversación
Ima li u tvom gradu puno turista?
Što ima u tvom hladnjaku?
Ima li nade za bolju budućnost?
Nema te sto godina! Gdje si bio?
Temas para diario
Errores comunes
Test Yourself
U kuhinji nema ___.
How do you say 'There are many people'?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nema kruh.
Is there any water?
Answer starts with: Ima...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
[nema, u, mlijeka, hladnjaku]
A: Ima li šećera? B: Ne, ___.
The verb 'ima' changes to 'imaju' if there are multiple things.
Score: /8
Ejercicios de practica
8 exercisesU kuhinji nema ___.
How do you say 'There are many people'?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nema kruh.
Is there any water?
Match the following:
[nema, u, mlijeka, hladnjaku]
A: Ima li šećera? B: Ne, ___.
The verb 'ima' changes to 'imaju' if there are multiple things.
Score: /8
Preguntas frecuentes (8)
Yes! 'Ima li koga?' means 'Is there anyone?'. It works for both people and objects.
Because 'nema' always requires the Genitive case, and the Genitive of 'problem' is 'problema'.
'Ima kava' is a simple statement of existence. 'Ima kave' uses the partitive genitive, implying 'There is [some] coffee'. Both are used, but 'kave' is more common in questions.
Use 'Bilo je'. For example, 'Bilo je puno ljudi' (There were many people).
Yes, it comes from 'ne' + 'ima', but in modern Croatian, it is always written as one word.
Yes, in informal speech, you can just use rising intonation: 'Ima kave?'
Yes, but the pronoun must be in the Genitive: 'Nema ga' (He's not here), 'Nema je' (She's not here).
'Postoji' is more formal and means 'exists' in a philosophical or technical sense. 'Ima' is for everyday presence.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
There is / There are
Croatian uses Genitive for negation; English doesn't.
Hay
Croatian 'nema' triggers the Genitive case.
Es gibt
The case shift in negation is unique to Slavic languages like Croatian.
Il y a
French uses a particle 'de', Croatian changes the noun ending.
Arimasu / Imasu
Croatian doesn't care if the object is alive or not.
Hunaka / Yujad
Arabic verbs conjugate for gender/number; 'ima' does not.
Yǒu (有)
Chinese has no cases, so the noun never changes.
