Breakdown of Ove novine su zanimljive, dat ću im ih.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
zanimljiv
interesting
ih
them
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
dati
to give
im
to them
novine
newspaper
Questions & Answers about Ove novine su zanimljive, dat ću im ih.
Is novine always plural?
Yes! The word for newspaper (novine) is typically used in the plural in Croatian, even when talking about just one newspaper. Because it is a feminine plural noun, the words attached to it must also be feminine plural: ove (these) and zanimljive (interesting).
Why is the verb written as dat instead of the full infinitive dati?
In the Croatian future tense, when an infinitive verb ending in -ti comes right before the short helper verb (ću, ćeš, etc.), it drops its final -i. So, dati + ću becomes dat ću.
Why are im and ih in that specific order at the end of the sentence?
This sentence uses a cluster of clitics (short words that do not carry their own stress). Croatian has strict rules for their order. When you have two pronoun clitics together, the dative one (to whom) always comes before the accusative one (what). Here, im (to them) must come before ih (them/the newspapers).
Why does ću come before the pronouns im and ih?
In the clitic ordering rules, verbal helpers (like ću for the future tense) always jump to the front of the line, before any pronoun clitics. The only exception is the word je (is), which goes at the very end of the cluster.
How can I remember which one is im and which is ih?
im is the dative (to them - the people receiving the newspapers), and ih is the accusative (them - the newspapers being given). A quick trick: many dative plural pronouns end in -m (like nam, vam, im), while many accusative plural pronouns end in -s or -h (like nas, vas, ih).
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