Breakdown of Baršun je glađi, ali želim tanju tkaninu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ali
but (strong contrast)
željeti
to want
tkanina
fabric
baršun
velvet
glatak
smooth
tanak
thin
Questions & Answers about Baršun je glađi, ali želim tanju tkaninu.
How does the word for 'smooth' become glađi in this sentence?
The dictionary form is gladak (smooth). To make it comparative, we first drop the -ak suffix to get the root glad-. Then we add the comparative suffix -ji. The letters d and j merge into đ through a sound change called jotation, giving us glađi.
What is the base adjective for tanju and how did its root change?
The base adjective is tanak (thin). Just like with gladak, we drop the -ak ending to get tan- and add -ji. The letters n and j merge to create the single letter nj, making the base comparative form tanji.
Why does the comparative tanji change to tanju here?
It must agree with the noun it describes, tkaninu (fabric). Because tkaninu is the direct object of the verb želim (I want), it is in the feminine accusative case. The feminine accusative ending for adjectives is -u, so tanji becomes tanju.
Why do we use the masculine form glađi in the first clause?
The adjective glađi describes the noun baršun (velvet). Since baršun is a masculine noun in the nominative case (it is the subject of the sentence), the adjective must match its gender and case. If it were describing a feminine noun, we would use glađa.
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