Questions & Answers about Vjetar je počeo puhati.
Why do we use the verb puhati here instead of a perfective verb?
The verb počeo comes from početi (to start), which is a phase verb. Phase verbs describe the beginning, continuation, or end of an action. In Croatian, they must always be followed by an imperfective verb because the action being started is viewed as an ongoing process. Puhati is the imperfective verb for to blow.
Why is the word order je počeo instead of počeo je?
The word je is a clitic, which is a weak word that strongly prefers the second position in a sentence. Since the subject Vjetar takes the first position, je naturally falls into the second spot, immediately before the past participle počeo.
Why does the sentence use počeo instead of počela or počelo?
In the Croatian past tense, the verb must agree in gender and number with the subject. The subject here is vjetar (wind), which is a masculine noun. Therefore, the verb takes the masculine singular ending, making it počeo.
How would I say that the wind stopped blowing?
You would replace the verb početi with prestati (to stop), making the sentence Vjetar je prestao puhati. Because prestati is also a phase verb, it still requires the imperfective infinitive puhati.
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