Breakdown of Ova igra je često trajala dugo.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
često
often
trajati
to last
igra
game
dugo
for a long time
Questions & Answers about Ova igra je često trajala dugo.
Why do we use the imperfective verb trajala here?
Two reasons! First, the word često (often) tells us this was a repeated action in the past, and repeated actions always use imperfective verbs. Second, the verb trajati inherently describes a continuous state (lasting), which naturally pairs with the imperfective aspect.
Why is the helper verb je placed right after Ova igra?
The word je is a clitic (an unstressed word) that strongly prefers the second position in a sentence. Here, Ova igra (This game) counts as a single grammatical block occupying the first position, so je slides in right after it.
Why does the verb end in -la (trajala)?
Could I use duga instead of dugo at the end of the sentence?
No, because here you are describing how long the action took, not the noun itself. Dugo is an adverb meaning "for a long time" and modifies the verb trajala. If you wanted to say "a long game", you would use the adjective duga to match the feminine noun (duga igra).
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