Breakdown of Njemu je lisica jednako pametna kao sova.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
on
he
pametan
smart
kao
like, as
jednako
equally
lisica
fox (f)
sova
owl (f)
Questions & Answers about Njemu je lisica jednako pametna kao sova.
Why use Njemu at the beginning instead of On?
Njemu is the dative case of on (he). In Croatian, to express someone's opinion or perspective in this way, you use the dative case. It literally translates as 'To him is...'
How do we form the equality structure in this sentence?
We use the adverb jednako (equally) followed by the adjective pametna (smart), and then kao (as) before the second noun. Together, jednako pametna kao translates to 'just as smart as'.
Could I leave out jednako and just use kao?
Yes! You can say Njemu je lisica pametna kao sova and it still means 'To him, a fox is as smart as an owl.' Adding jednako just gives it extra emphasis, much like adding 'just' in English.
Why is the adjective pametna in the feminine form?
The adjective describes the main subject of the sentence, which is lisica (fox). Because lisica is a feminine noun, the adjective takes the feminine ending -a.
Why does the verb je come right after Njemu?
The verb je (is) is an enclitic, meaning it is a 'weak' word that must take the second position in a sentence. Here, it naturally follows the first piece of information, Njemu.
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