Breakdown of Sviđa li ti se grad?
grad
city
li
question particle
ti
to you (sg.)
sviđati se
to like (Sviđa mi se)
Questions & Answers about Sviđa li ti se grad?
Why is the verb sviđa in the "it" form instead of a "you" form?
In Croatian, the concept of "liking" something is often expressed backwards compared to English. The verb sviđati se literally means "to be pleasing" or "to appeal". So, the sentence is actually saying "Does the city appeal to you?". Because "the city" (grad) is doing the appealing, the verb is in the "it" form (sviđa).
What is the word ti doing in this sentence?
The word ti means "to you". Since the structure is literally "Does the city appeal to you?", you need to use this specific form of the pronoun "you", which is called the dative case.
Why are there three little words (li, ti, se) clustered together in the middle?
These are called clitics, which are short, unstressed words that must sit in the second position of a Croatian sentence. When you have more than one, they follow a very strict order! The question particle li goes first, followed by the pronoun ti, and finally the reflexive particle se.
Could I use the verb voljeti and say "Voliš li grad?" instead?
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