Breakdown of On je rijetko mislio na duboko disanje.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
on
he
misliti
to think
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
Questions & Answers about On je rijetko mislio na duboko disanje.
How is the verbal noun disanje (breathing) formed?
It is formed from the imperfective verb disati (to breathe). To create the verbal noun, the suffix -nje is added to the verb stem. Verbal nouns in Croatian describe the action or process of the verb, and they are always neuter in gender.
Why is the phrase na duboko disanje in the Accusative case instead of the Locative?
When the verb misliti (to think) is used with the preposition na, it means "to direct one's thoughts towards" or "to think about" something. This specific combination always requires the Accusative case. If you used the preposition o with the Locative case (misliti o), it would mean you are analyzing or holding an opinion about something, rather than just having it cross your mind.
Why does the adjective duboko (deep) end in -o?
Adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. Because the verbal noun disanje is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter. In the Accusative case, neuter adjectives and nouns look exactly the same as they do in the Nominative (dictionary) form, which is why it stays duboko.
Does rijetko (rarely) end in -o because it is also a neuter adjective?
No, in this sentence rijetko is an adverb modifying the verb mislio (thought). It tells us how often he thought. In Croatian, it is very common for adverbs to look exactly like the neuter singular form of an adjective. Because it is an adverb, it never changes its ending to match any nouns in the sentence.