Breakdown of Koliko truda ulažeš, toliko tvoj uspjeh raste.
tvoj
your (informal)
koliko
how much, how many
uspjeh
success
trud
effort
Questions & Answers about Koliko truda ulažeš, toliko tvoj uspjeh raste.
How do koliko and toliko work together in this sentence?
They act as a correlative pair to express proportion, similar to saying "the more... the more..." or "as much as... that much..." in English. Koliko introduces the condition or amount (the effort), and toliko introduces the proportional result (the success).
Why is the word for effort in the genitive case (truda) instead of the accusative?
Because it comes directly after koliko (how much). In Croatian, adverbs of quantity like koliko, toliko, malo, and puno always require the following noun to be in the genitive case. You are literally saying "how much of effort".
Why are both verbs (ulažeš and raste) in the imperfective aspect?
Proportional clauses often describe two ongoing, parallel processes that happen at the same time—as you continue to invest effort, your success continuously grows. Because these actions are continuous and unfinished, the imperfective aspect is required here.
Could I change the word order and put the toliko clause first?
Yes, you could say Toliko tvoj uspjeh raste, koliko truda ulažeš, but it sounds less natural. Starting with the koliko clause is the standard way to build these proportional sentences because it logically establishes the cause before the effect.