Breakdown of Usprkos tome što je jako vruće, ovo polje je plodno.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
vruć
hot
polje
field
jako
very, strongly (colloquial)
usprkos tome što
in spite of the fact that
plodan
fertile
Questions & Answers about Usprkos tome što je jako vruće, ovo polje je plodno.
Why do we use the word tome in the phrase usprkos tome što?
The preposition usprkos (despite / in spite of) always requires the dative case. Here, it is followed by the pronoun to (that) in the dative case (tome). Together with što, it creates the conjunction phrase "in spite of the fact that" (literally: "despite to-that what").
Could I use unatoč instead of usprkos in this sentence?
Yes, you can say unatoč tome što. Unatoč and usprkos are exact synonyms meaning "despite" or "in spite of", and both require the dative case, so the rest of the sentence remains exactly the same.
Why is the adjective vruće in the neuter form if there is no neuter noun it describes in that part of the sentence?
This is an impersonal construction, which Croatian frequently uses for weather and ambient conditions. When expressing that "it is hot" generally, without a specific noun as the subject, you use the neuter singular form of the adjective (vruće) alongside the third-person singular verb (je).
In the main clause, why doesn't the enclitic verb je come immediately after the first word, ovo?
While enclitics usually take the second position in a clause, they generally avoid breaking up tightly connected noun phrases. Ovo polje (this field) acts as a single unit, so the enclitic je naturally places itself right after the entire phrase rather than squeezing between the demonstrative and the noun.
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