Breakdown of Tražimo čovjeka čiji je šator u mračnoj šumi.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
čovjek
man
tražiti
to look for / to demand, request
u
in, into
šuma
forest
mračan
dark (gloomy, obscure)
čiji
whose
šator
tent
Questions & Answers about Tražimo čovjeka čiji je šator u mračnoj šumi.
Why is čiji in the nominative case when it refers to čovjeka, which is in the accusative?
The word čiji (whose) acts like an adjective. It must agree in gender, number, and case with the thing being owned, not the owner! Here, it describes šator (tent), which is the subject of the relative clause and is in the nominative case. Because šator is masculine singular nominative, čiji must be as well.
Why does the verb je come right after čiji instead of after šator?
The word je is an enclitic, which is a weak word that usually takes the second position in its clause. In the relative clause čiji je šator, the relative pronoun čiji takes the first position, so je naturally slides into the second spot right after it.
Why is the word for man čovjeka instead of čovjek?
The verb tražiti (to look for) requires a direct object in the accusative case. Because čovjek (man) is a living, animate masculine noun, its accusative form matches its genitive form, adding an -a to become čovjeka.
Why does the sentence end with u mračnoj šumi?
The preposition u (in) takes the locative case when describing a static location (where something is located). The noun šuma (forest) and the adjective mračna (dark) are feminine, so they take the feminine locative endings here to become u mračnoj šumi.
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