Breakdown of Filozofija je korisna jer nam daje odgovore.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
mi
we
jer
because
odgovor
answer
dati
to give
koristan
useful
filozofija
philosophy
Questions & Answers about Filozofija je korisna jer nam daje odgovore.
Why does the clitic nam come right after jer?
Jer (because) is a subordinate conjunction. In Croatian, clitics (short unstressed words like nam) in a subordinate clause must follow the Wackernagel rule, which means they attach directly to the word that introduces the new clause. The 'second position' counting resets immediately after jer.
Can I group the two clitics (je and nam) together in this sentence?
No, because they belong to two completely different clauses. Je is the verb for the main clause (Filozofija je korisna), taking the second position there. Nam belongs to the subordinate clause, so it has to stay in its own territory right after jer.
Why is it nam (dative) instead of nas (accusative)?
The verb davati (to give) uses the dative case for the recipient (the person you give something to) and the accusative case for the thing being given. Since philosophy gives answers to us, mi (we) becomes the dative clitic nam.
Why does the plural word for answers end in -e (odgovore)? Doesn't it normally end in -i?
You are thinking of the nominative plural, which does end in -i (odgovori). However, because the answers are the thing being given (the direct object), the noun is in the accusative case. For masculine nouns like odgovor, the accusative plural ending is always -e.
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