Breakdown of Dopisujete li se svaki dan?
li
question particle
dan
day
svaki
every, each
dopisivati se
to message each other
Questions & Answers about Dopisujete li se svaki dan?
Why is the word se used here when no one is doing something to themselves?
You have learned that se is used for reflexive actions (like washing yourself). However, it is also used for reciprocal actions, meaning things people do to each other. Here, dopisujete se means you message or write to each other.
Why do li and se come right after Dopisujete in that exact order?
Both li (the question particle) and se are enclitics. These are short, unstressed words that must go in the second position of a sentence. When there are multiple enclitics, they follow a strict order: the question word li always comes before the pronoun se.
Does dopisujete come from the verb pisati (to write)?
Yes! It comes from the verb dopisivati se, which is formed from a root related to pisati. With the prefix do- and the reciprocal se, it literally means writing back and forth to each other. Today, it is the standard way to say you are texting or messaging someone.
What case is svaki dan in, and why?
It is in the accusative case. In Croatian, time phrases that answer how often something happens (like every day, every year) use the accusative case without a preposition. Because dan (day) is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its basic dictionary form.