Breakdown of Stranac priča o najboljem restoranu.
restoran
restaurant
pričati
to talk
o
about / on (dependent on)
stranac
foreigner
najbolji
best
Questions & Answers about Stranac priča o najboljem restoranu.
Why does the adjective najboljem end in "-em" when the noun restoranu ends in "-u"?
In Croatian, adjectives and nouns use different sets of endings. For masculine singular nouns in the locative case, the ending is usually -u (like restoranu). But for the adjectives describing them, the ending is -om or -em (like najboljem). They agree in case, gender, and number, even if their final letters are different.
Why is the phrase o najboljem restoranu in the locative case?
The preposition o means "about" when it is used with the locative case. Since the foreigner is talking about a specific topic (the restaurant), both the adjective and the noun must be put into the locative.
The locative ending for masculine adjectives is often "-om". Why is it "-em" here?
Adjectives that have a base ending in certain "soft" consonants take the -em ending instead of -om in the dative and locative cases. The base word najbolji (best) contains the soft consonant lj, so it becomes najboljem. If it were a standard "hard" adjective like stari (old), it would be o starom restoranu.
I know dobar means "good". How do we get najboljem for "best"?
The word for "good" (dobar) is irregular. Its comparative form is bolji (better). To make any superlative ("the most" or "the best"), you add the prefix naj- to the comparative, giving you najbolji (best). In this sentence, it just takes the locative ending to match the noun.
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