temeljiti se (to be based on) | Croatian Grammar

Temeljiti se ("to be based on, to rest on, to be founded on") is a verb of formal and legal Croatian: arguments, laws, claims, and theories all temelje se na something. The root is temelj ("foundation, footing"), so the metaphor is concrete — an argument stands on a foundation the way a building does. Two things make this verb worth a dedicated page. First, its government is fixed: na + LOCATIVE (the case of resting on a surface, not moving onto it). Second, in practice it is largely confined to the third person — abstractions are based on things, but people rarely say I am based on. Below, the rows that don't occur in real usage are skipped with a one-line reason rather than padded out.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 3sg	Typical use
temeljiti se	imperfective	temelji se	a standing state — X rests on Y (no natural perfective partner)

Temeljiti se is imperfective and, crucially, stative: "to be based on" describes an ongoing condition, not an event. That is why it has no everyday perfective partner — there is no single moment at which an argument "becomes based" on its premises in the way kupiti names the moment of a purchase. For the inceptive idea ("to found / to establish"), Croatian reaches for the related transitive utemeljiti (pf, "to found, to establish") — a different lexeme. See aspect overview.

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Think of temeljiti se as a state verb like English "to consist of" or "to depend on": it lives in the present and the imperfect past, and almost always in the third person. You'll meet it as temelji se (sg) and temelje se (pl) far more than in any other form.

Present tense

The full i-class paradigm exists, but only the 3rd-person forms see real use. The 1st/2nd-person rows are skipped: a speaker or addressee is an animate person, and people are not normally "based on" things — those forms are grammatical but practically empty.

Person	Form	Note
on/ona/ono	temelji se	the core form: "it is based on"
oni/one/ona	temelje se	plural subjects: "they are based on"

Cijela se njegova teza temelji na jednom jedinom dokumentu.

His whole thesis is based on a single document. — 3sg 'temelji se' + na + locative.

Naši se zaključci temelje na podacima iz triju neovisnih izvora.

Our conclusions are based on data from three independent sources. — 3pl 'temelje se'.

The l-participle

Only the third-person genders are listed, since those are the forms that occur (the subject is almost always an inanimate abstraction).

Gender / number	Form
masculine singular	temeljio se
feminine singular	temeljila se
neuter singular	temeljilo se
plural (all genders)	temeljili / temeljile / temeljila se

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle + se. Only the 3rd person is shown; "I was based on" is not something one says. Note the clitic ordering — se and the auxiliary je combine as the fixed temeljilo se / temeljila se na…, and in 3sg the je of biti is dropped after se in some styles but standardly kept: temeljio se.

Subject	Form
on (masc.)	temeljio se
ona (fem.)	temeljila se
ono (neut.)	temeljilo se
oni / one / ona (pl.)	temeljili / temeljile / temeljila se

Stara se presuda temeljila na zakonu koji je u međuvremenu ukinut.

The old verdict was based on a law that has since been repealed. — past 'temeljila se' (legal register).

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops -i before the clitic: temeljiti → temeljit će se. As a stative verb it is rare in the future, but it appears in planning and design contexts ("the new system will be based on…").

Subject	Form
on/ona/ono	temeljit će se
oni/one/ona	temeljit će se

Novi će se sustav ocjenjivanja temeljiti na jasnim, mjerljivim kriterijima.

The new grading system will be based on clear, measurable criteria. — future 'temeljit će se'.

Imperative, Conditional — skipped, with the reason

Imperative: not used. You cannot command an abstraction to "be based on" something, and the subject is never a person you'd address. The closest practical idea is expressed transitively — Temeljite svoje zaključke na dokazima ("Base your conclusions on the evidence"), which uses the transitive temeljiti (see use 2 below), not the reflexive.
Conditional I does occur in hedged or hypothetical formal prose, in the third person only:

Kada bi se zakon temeljio na stvarnim potrebama, bilo bi manje sporova.

If the law were based on real needs, there would be fewer disputes. — conditional, 3sg.

Other forms

Verbal adverb (present): temeljeći se ("[being] based on"). Used in dense formal writing: Sud, temeljeći se na članku 5… ("The court, basing itself on Article 5…"). Note the i-class adverb ending -eći.
Passive participle: the reflexive temeljiti se has no passive participle of its own (a reflexive/stative verb does not passivise), but the transitive temeljiti gives temeljen ("founded, based"), and the related utemeljiti gives the common utemeljen ("founded, established, well-grounded").

Optužba je dobro utemeljena na svjedočanstvima očevidaca.

The accusation is well-founded on eyewitness testimony. — participle 'utemeljen' from the related perfective.

Key uses and government

1. The core frame: temeljiti se na + LOCATIVE

The fixed government is na + locative. This is the crucial point for learners: na here means resting on a foundation (location), not movement onto it, so it triggers the locative, not the accusative. Temelji se na činjenicama — činjenicama is locative plural. Getting the case right is the difference between native and non-native formal Croatian. See na + locative for location and verb government.

Demokracija se temelji na slobodnim izborima i vladavini prava.

Democracy is based on free elections and the rule of law. — na + locative 'izborima', 'pravu'.

Ovaj se postupak temelji na pretpostavci koju nitko nije provjerio.

This procedure rests on an assumption nobody has checked. — na + locative 'pretpostavci'.

2. Transitive temeljiti (nešto) na + LOCATIVE — "to base (sth) on"

Drop the se and the verb becomes transitive: temeljiti + accusative thing + na + locative ground = "to base X on Y". This is where the imperative reappears, since now there is a person doing the basing.

Svoju obranu temelji na alibiju koji je teško provjeriti.

He bases his defence on an alibi that is hard to verify. — transitive: accusative 'obranu' + na + locative 'alibiju'.

Temeljite zaključke na dokazima, a ne na dojmovima.

Base your conclusions on evidence, not on impressions. — transitive imperative.

3. Near-synonyms and a false friend: zasnivati se na vs oslanjati se na

Croatian offers a close synonym, zasnivati se na (+ locative), which is essentially interchangeable: zasniva se na istom načelu ("rests on the same principle"). But beware the false neighbour oslanjati se na ("to rely on, to lean on"), which takes the accusative, not the locative — and means depend on / count on rather than be founded on. Mixing them up swaps both the case and the meaning.

Argument se zasniva na pretpostavci da su svi sudionici racionalni.

The argument rests on the assumption that all participants are rational. — synonym 'zasniva se na' + locative.

U toj se odluci oslanjam na vaše stručno mišljenje.

In that decision I rely on your expert opinion. — 'oslanjati se na' + ACCUSATIVE 'mišljenje' (different verb, different case).

Common Mistakes

❌ Teorija se temelji na činjenice.

Wrong case — 'temeljiti se na' takes the LOCATIVE, not the accusative: 'na činjenicama'.

✅ Teorija se temelji na činjenicama.

The theory is based on facts.

❌ Argument se oslanja na pretpostavci.

Case/verb mismatch — 'oslanjati se na' takes the ACCUSATIVE: 'na pretpostavku'. Only 'temeljiti/zasnivati se na' take the locative.

✅ Argument se oslanja na pretpostavku.

The argument relies on an assumption.

❌ Ja se temeljim na tvojim riječima.

Unnatural — people aren't 'based on' things. Use a verb of reliance: 'Oslanjam se na tvoje riječi' (I rely on your words).

✅ Oslanjam se na tvoje riječi.

I rely on your words.

❌ Temeljiti će se na novim podacima.

Spelling error — the infinitive drops its -i before the clitic: 'temeljit će se'.

✅ Temeljit će se na novim podacima.

It will be based on new data.

❌ Temelji svoju tvrdnju na dokazima — se.

Don't add 'se' to the transitive use; with an accusative object the verb is non-reflexive: 'Temelji svoju tvrdnju na dokazima'.

✅ Temelji svoju tvrdnju na dokazima.

He bases his claim on evidence.

Key Takeaways

temeljiti se (impf, stative, temelji se / temelje se) = "to be based on" — overwhelmingly third person; no everyday perfective partner.
Fixed government: na + LOCATIVE (resting on, not onto) — temelji se na činjenicama, never na činjenice.
Drop se for the transitive temeljiti X na Y ("base X on Y") — accusative thing + na + locative ground; this is where the imperative lives.
Synonym zasnivati se na (+ locative). False friend oslanjati se na ("rely on") takes the accusative and a different meaning.
Future drops -i: temeljit će se. The well-grounded participle you'll meet is utemeljen, from the related perfective utemeljiti.

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