Breakdown of Drugim riječima, to je tema o kojoj laik može govoriti.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
to
that
govoriti
to speak
moći
can
koji
which
o
about / on (dependent on)
tema
topic (f)
laik
layman
drugim riječima
in other words
Questions & Answers about Drugim riječima, to je tema o kojoj laik može govoriti.
Why is drugim riječima in the instrumental case?
The phrase drugim riječima literally translates to "with other words" or "by means of other words." In Croatian, the instrumental case is often used without a preposition to show the means or manner by which something is done. Here, it acts as a fixed reformulation marker meaning "in other words."
Why do we use o kojoj here instead of just koja?
The relative pronoun must match the noun it refers back to (tema) in gender and number, which gives us the feminine singular form. However, its case depends on its grammatical role in the new clause. Since it follows the preposition o (about) to mean "about which", it must take the locative case, resulting in o kojoj.
How is the word laik pronounced? Do the vowels blend together?
Could we change the word order and put laik at the very end of the sentence?
Yes, you could say o kojoj može govoriti laik. Placing the subject at the end of the clause is grammatically correct and is usually done to put a bit more emphasis on that specific word. The current word order is simply the most neutral choice.
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