Breakdown of Svjetionik je blizu strme litice.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
blizu
near
strm
steep
svjetionik
lighthouse
litica
cliff
Questions & Answers about Svjetionik je blizu strme litice.
Why does the phrase strma litica change to strme litice in this sentence?
This is because of the preposition blizu (near). Prepositions of spatial proximity like blizu, kraj, and pokraj always require the following noun phrase to be in the genitive case. For feminine nouns ending in -a and their adjectives, the genitive ending is -e.
What is the difference between blizu and kraj or pokraj if they are all taught as prepositions of proximity?
Blizu generally means "near" or "close to" in a broader sense. On the other hand, kraj and pokraj usually mean "next to" or "beside", implying things are directly side-by-side. Since a lighthouse is placed close to a cliff but might not be right on the edge, blizu is a very natural choice here.
Can blizu be used without a noun following it?
Yes. While here it acts as a preposition meaning "near the steep cliff", blizu can also be used as an adverb meaning simply "nearby" or "close". For example, you could just say Svjetionik je blizu (The lighthouse is nearby), and no genitive noun is needed.
I recognize svjet- in svjetionik. Is it related to the word for light?
Exactly! Svjetionik (lighthouse) is built from the root svjetlo (light). You will see this root in many other words, such as svijetliti (to shine) and svjetiljka (lamp).
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