Breakdown of Slušam, ali ne čujem pjesmu.
ne
no, not
ali
but (strong contrast)
čuti
to hear
slušati
to listen
Questions & Answers about Slušam, ali ne čujem pjesmu.
Are slušati and čuti considered an aspectual pair?
Yes, they function as a "suppletive" pair, which is exactly what this lesson is about! Instead of adding a prefix to the same base word, Croatian uses two entirely different words to show the process versus the result. Slušati is the ongoing effort (listening), while čuti is the successful result (hearing).
Why does the verb čujem have a j in it?
The infinitive of the verb is čuti (to hear). Verbs that end in -uti usually insert a -j- before their present tense endings. This puts it in the e-conjugation group for the present tense: čujem, čuješ, čuje, etc.
Why is the word for "song" written as pjesmu instead of pjesma?
Pjesmu is the accusative case of the feminine noun pjesma. We use the accusative case here because the song is the direct object of the sentence—it is the thing that is not being heard. Feminine nouns ending in -a change their ending to -u in the accusative.
Why are ne and čujem written as two separate words?