Question 1

Why is Svaku klevetu at the beginning of the sentence instead of the subject taj licemjer?

Accepted Answer

Putting the direct object first is a stylistic choice for emphasis. By fronting Svaku klevetu, the speaker strongly emphasizes that every single slander was denied, making it the main topic of the sentence. The standard, neutral word order would be Taj licemjer je odmah zanijekao svaku klevetu.

Question 2

If Svaku and klevetu are two words, why is the clitic je placed after both of them instead of just after Svaku?

Accepted Answer

While clitics generally take the second position in a sentence, an inseparable noun phrase like Svaku klevetu (adjective + noun) typically counts as a single unit or first position. Placing the clitic between them (Svaku je klevetu...) is grammatically possible but sounds highly poetic or archaic.

Question 3

Since the word order is reversed, how do we immediately know that the hypocrite is the one doing the denying?

Accepted Answer

The case endings tell us who is doing what. taj licemjer is in the nominative case, marking it as the subject. Svaku klevetu ends in -u, which is the accusative ending for feminine nouns (from the nominative kleveta), marking it as the direct object.

Question 4

Why is zanijekao used here instead of nijekao?

Accepted Answer

zanijekao is the perfective form of the verb, meaning he completed the action of denying it in that moment. The word odmah (immediately) triggers this sense of a sudden, completed reaction. nijekao (imperfective) would imply an ongoing or continuous process of denying.

Svaku klevetu je taj licemjer odmah zanijekao.

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