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Croatian

### The person is not the subject

For states and feelings, Croatian does not say *I am cold* — it says *it is cold TO me*. The person goes in the dative, as a clitic in second position, and the sentence has no subject at all:

| | |
|---|---|
| **Hladno mi je.** | I'm cold. |
| **Vruće mu je.** | He's hot. |
| **Zima joj je.** | She's cold. |
| **Dobro nam je.** | We're doing well. |

Swap the clitic and you swap the person — the rest never moves.

{{item:1046634}}

### Sorry, and pleased

The same frame gives you two formulas you will use constantly:

| | |
|---|---|
| **Žao mi je.** | I'm sorry. |
| **Drago mi je.** | Pleased to meet you. |
| **Nije mi dobro.** | I don't feel well. |

**Drago mi je** is what you say when you are introduced to someone — literally *it is dear to me*.

{{item:1046639}}

### Liking: sviđati se

**sviđati se** works the same way round, and this is the one that catches English speakers. The thing you like is the SUBJECT, and you are in the dative:

**Sviđa mi se ova knjiga.** — literally *this book is pleasing to me*.

So the verb agrees with the thing, not with you: one thing takes **sviđa**, several take **sviđaju**.

| | |
|---|---|
| **Sviđa mi se grad.** | I like the city. |
| **Sviđaju mi se knjige.** | I like the books. |
| **Sviđa li ti se?** | Do you like it? |

{{item:1046631}}

Compare it with **voljeti**, which you already know: *volim* takes a direct object and is stronger — *volim kavu* is closer to *I love coffee*, while *sviđa mi se kava* is *I like the coffee*.

### And when you are angry

**ljut** is the adjective *angry* — it agrees normally, and it belongs to the verb **ljutiti se** you already know. It also means *spicy*, of food.

{{item:1046645}}


How you feel (Sviđa mi se)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and to be (sam, si, je)

Noun genders (-Ø, -a, -o/-e)

Demonstrative pronouns (ovaj, ova, ovo)

Plural pronouns and to be (smo, ste, su)

Masculine plural nouns (-i)

Feminine plural nouns (-e)

Neuter plural nouns (-a)

Full verb to be (jesam, jesi)

Negative verb to be (nisam, nisi)

Yes/no questions (je li)

Wh- questions (tko, gdje)

Formal vs informal address (ti vs Vi)

Regular present tense (-ati)

Regular present tense (-iti)

Regular present tense (-jeti)

Verb negation (ne)

The verb to have (imati / nemati)

Inanimate direct objects

Feminine direct objects (-u)

Plural direct objects (-e, -a)

Accusative pronouns (me, te, ga, ju)

Adjective agreement

Plural adjectives

Accusative adjectives

Numbers 1 to 10 (jedan, dva, tri)

The locative case (-u)

Feminine locative (-i)

The verb to go (ići)

Destination (u, na)

The genitive case (-a)

Accusative pronouns (nas, vas, ga, ih)

Animate masculine accusative (-a)

Adjective agreement for animate masculine (-og, -eg)

The verb can (moći)

The verb must (morati)

The verb to want (htjeti, hoću)

The future tense (ću/ćeš + infinitive)

The past tense: l-participle (radio, radila)

Past tense word order (Prvo sam radio...)

Past tense with plural subjects (-li, -le, -la)

Feminine genitive singular (-e)

Possession and origin (od, iz)

Negative existence (nema)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Genitive plural (-a)

Numbers 11 to 20

Past tense negation (nisam)

Past tense questions (jeste li)

Dative singular

Dative pronouns (ti, mu, joj)

Past tense negation (nisam, nisi...)

Double object pronouns (mu ga, ti ju...)

Reflexive verbs (se)

Reflexive clitic word order

Commands and requests (radi, radite)

Plural demonstratives (ovi, ove, ova)

Possessive determiners (moj, naš, njegov)

Greetings (Dobar dan, doviđenja)

The body: Boli me glava

Directions (lijevo, desno, ravno)

There is, there are (ima)

Politeness (molim vas, hvala lijepa)

Counting by tens to 100 (trideset, četrdeset...)

Quantifiers with the genitive case (malo, puno...)

Adjective agreement in the genitive singular (-og, -e)

Adjective agreement in the genitive plural (-ih)

Genitive prepositions (kod, do, bez...)

Asking what kind and which (kakav, koji)

Possessive determiners (njegov, njezin...)

Possessives in the accusative case

The reflexive possessive (svoj)

Indefinite pronouns (netko, nešto, neki)

Negative pronouns (nitko, ništa)

The verb to need (trebati)

Reciprocal verbs (se)

Introduction to verbal aspect

Perfective verbs with prefixes

Perfective verbs with stem changes

Irregular perfective verbs

Aspect in the past tense

Aspect in the future tense

Vehicular motion (voziti se, putovati)

Arrival and departure ('doći', 'otići')

Entering and exiting ('ući', 'izaći')

Singular accompaniment ('s', 'sa')

Plural instrumental nouns (-ima, -ama)

Question	Answer
to like (Sviđa mi se)	sviđati se
I like this book.	Sviđa mi se ova knjiga.
Do you like the city?	Sviđa li ti se grad?
He likes this room.	Sviđa mu se ova soba.
I'm cold in the room.	Hladno mi je u sobi.
I'm sorry	žao mi je
I'm sorry, I don't have time.	Žao mi je, nemam vremena.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.	Žao mi je, ne razumijem.
pleased to meet you	drago mi je
Pleased to meet you! I am Ivan.	Drago mi je! Ja sam Ivan.
Pleased to meet you, madam.	Drago mi je, gospođo.
I don't feel well	nije mi dobro
I don't feel well, my head hurts.	Nije mi dobro, boli me glava.
I don't feel well today.	Nije mi dobro danas.
angry; spicy	ljut
Why are you angry?	Zašto si ljut?
This dish is spicy.	Ovo jelo je ljuto.
mom (informal)	mama
Mom, where are you?	Mama, gdje si?
My mom is cooking lunch.	Moja mama kuha ručak.
baby	beba
The baby is sleeping.	Beba spava.
I like this baby.	Sviđa mi se ova beba.
boy; boyfriend	dečko
My sister has a boyfriend.	Moja sestra ima dečka.
This boy is my brother.	Ovaj dečko je moj brat.
young man, lad	momak
This young man works in the shop.	Ovaj momak radi u trgovini.
The young man is waiting for his girlfriend.	Momak čeka djevojku.

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