Questions & Answers about Svaka riječ je važna.
Why do we use svaka here instead of the dictionary form svaki?
Riječ ends in a consonant. Doesn't that usually mean a noun is masculine?
Normally, yes! Most Croatian nouns ending in a consonant are masculine. However, riječ is a common exception. It belongs to a special group of feminine nouns that end in a consonant. Because it is actually feminine, the words attached to it—svaka and važna—must take the feminine -a ending.
Could I say Sve riječi su važne to mean the same thing?
That would mean "All words are important." While the overall idea is similar, svaki specifically translates to "every" or "each" and is used with singular nouns. Just like in English, saying svaka riječ (every word) focuses slightly more on the importance of each individual word.
Why is the verb je placed after riječ? Isn't it supposed to be the second word in the sentence?
Je is an enclitic, meaning it needs to be in the second position of a sentence. However, the first position can be either the very first word or the first complete phrase. Here, the noun phrase Svaka riječ acts as block number one, and je takes position two. You could also split the phrase and say Svaka je riječ važna, which is equally correct!
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