ON NEGO, NO, VEĆ, JOŠ AND TEK

Abstract

In this paper we focus on the grammatical and pragmatic properties and the origin, use and meanings of “small words” nego, no, već, još and tek that are similar in many ways. We pay special attention to the analysis of their use in comparison (e.g. Bolje je nego prije) and in the pragmatic senses of temporal nature, especially in those senses that denote events that took place before (e.g. Već su stigli or Još nisu stigli) or after the speaker expected them to happen (e.g. Tek su danas doputovali). Finally, we also focus on the role of these words as conjunctions used in contrast clauses (e.g. Nismo im pisali, već smo ih nazvali telefonom) or as text connectors (e.g. Tu ne raste ništa. Tek kamenje se golo plavi).