Breakdown of Izmislila je cijelu priču.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
priča
story
cijeli
whole
izmisliti
to make up / invent
Questions & Answers about Izmislila je cijelu priču.
How does the prefix iz- change the root verb misliti here?
The root misliti means "to think." The prefix iz- adds a sense of origin or bringing something into existence out of nowhere. Just like English uses "think up," izmisliti means to completely invent, fabricate, or make up.
What is the imperfective counterpart to izmisliti, and why does it look different?
The imperfective verb is izmišljati (to be making things up). When deriving the imperfective form, a phonetic change called jotation occurs, turning the sl sound into šlj.
Why is cijelu used here instead of svu to mean "the whole"?
While both can translate as "all" or "whole," cijeli emphasizes the completeness of a single, unbroken thing—in this case, one entire story. Sav (with its feminine accusative form svu) is generally used for uncountable nouns, mass quantities, or collections.