Questions & Answers about Nešto se dogodilo u gradu.
Why does the verb dogodilo take the neuter form if we don't know what "something" is?
The indefinite pronoun nešto (something) is always treated grammatically as a neuter singular word. Because of this, the past tense verb must match it, giving us the neuter form dogodilo instead of the masculine dogodio or feminine dogodila.
Why is the word se placed right after nešto?
The verb for "to happen" is dogoditi se, which is a reflexive verb. The word se is an enclitic, meaning it is a "weak" word that must take the second position in a sentence. Here, it naturally falls right after the first word, nešto.
Why does the sentence use u gradu instead of u grad?
The preposition u takes the locative case when talking about a static location, such as where an event took place. Gradu is the locative form of grad (city). If there were motion towards the city, like "going to the city", you would use the accusative case u grad.
How would I change this sentence to say "Nothing happened in the city"?
You would replace nešto with the negative pronoun ništa. But remember that Croatian requires double negatives! You must also make the verb negative by adding nije, resulting in: Ništa se nije dogodilo u gradu.
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