Breakdown of Mislim da joj je filozofija najveći problem.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ona
she
velik
big
problem
problem
Questions & Answers about Mislim da joj je filozofija najveći problem.
Why are the clitics joj and je placed right after da?
In Croatian, clitics (unstressed words) must take the second position in a sentence or clause. Subordinating conjunctions like da count as the first position in their own clause, so the clitics must immediately follow them.
Why is the order joj je instead of je joj?
The word je is a special exception in Croatian clitic ordering. Normally, auxiliary verbs come before pronoun clitics. However, the 3rd person singular auxiliary je always goes at the very end of the clitic cluster. Therefore, the dative pronoun joj comes first.
Why does the sentence use the dative pronoun joj instead of a possessive adjective like njen (her)?
Croatian frequently uses the dative case to express possession or personal involvement, often called the dative of possession. Saying da joj je filozofija najveći problem (literally: that to her philosophy is the biggest problem) sounds much more natural here than using njen.
How is the word najveći (biggest) formed?
It is the superlative form of velik (big). In Croatian, you create the superlative by adding the prefix naj- to the comparative form. Since the irregular comparative of velik is veći, the superlative becomes najveći.