Question 1

Where is the word for 'you' in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Croatian, subject pronouns like ti (you) are usually dropped because the verb form already tells us who is doing the action. Here, nisi specifically means 'you are not', so adding ti isn't needed.

Question 2

How is the negative past tense formed here?

Accepted Answer

The past tense needs two parts: a helper verb (a form of 'to be') and a past action word (the past participle). To make it negative, you use the negative helper verb nisi (you are not) and add the action word odgovorio (answered).

Question 3

Does odgovorio change depending on who I am talking to?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Past action words change based on the gender of the person doing the action. Odgovorio ends in -o, which means the person being asked is male. If you were asking a woman, the ending changes to -la: Zašto nisi odgovorila?.

Question 4

The current lesson is about object pronouns. Why isn't there a word for 'me' or 'it' here?

Accepted Answer

In English, we almost always say 'Why didn't you answer me?' or 'answer it'. In Croatian, it is very common to just leave the pronoun out entirely if the context makes it obvious! If you did want to say 'answer me', you would use the dative pronoun mi rather than an accusative one, because the verb odgovoriti (to answer) requires the dative case: Zašto mi nisi odgovorio?.

Zašto nisi odgovorio?

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