Breakdown of Profesor objašnjava težak problem.
problem
problem
težak
difficult / severe, serious
profesor
professor
objašnjavati
to explain
Questions & Answers about Profesor objašnjava težak problem.
What is the perfective equivalent of objašnjava, and how is this imperfective form created?
The perfective verb is objasniti (to explain once). To make the imperfective form for an ongoing or repeated action, we add the suffix -avati, creating objašnjavati. Notice that adding this suffix triggers a consonant mutation: the s in objasniti changes to š in objašnjavati.
Does the verb objašnjavati have an irregular present tense like davati (dajem)?
No. While some older base verbs ending in -avati change their stem in the present tense (like davati becoming dajem), iterative imperfective verbs formed with the -avati suffix are completely regular. It conjugates predictably: objašnjavam, objašnjavaš, objašnjava.
Why do we use težak problem here instead of teškog problema?
Problem is the direct object, so it must be in the accusative case. Because it is a masculine, inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form (problem). Therefore, the adjective keeps the nominative-like inanimate form (težak). The animate accusative ending (teškog) is strictly for living beings.
Is težak only used for physical weight?
No. While težak literally translates to physical weight (heavy), it is the standard word used in Croatian to describe something abstractly difficult or hard, such as a test, a task, or as seen here, a problem.
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