Breakdown of Na audiciju je došao takav akrobat kakvog publika nikada nije vidjela.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ne
no, not
vidjeti
to see
nikada
never
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
doći
to come, to arrive
kakav
what kind of / what a (exclamatory)
publika
audience
takav
such, that kind of
audicija
audition
akrobat
acrobat
Questions & Answers about Na audiciju je došao takav akrobat kakvog publika nikada nije vidjela.
How do takav and kakvog work together in this sentence?
They form a correlative pair used to describe a specific quality, meaning "the kind of... that" or "such a... as". Here, takav introduces the acrobat in the main clause, and kakvog links to the relative clause that explains exactly what kind of acrobat he is.
Why do we use takav in the first part but kakvog in the second part? Shouldn't they be in the same case?
They agree in gender (masculine) and number (singular), but their cases depend on their grammatical roles in their own clauses. Takav is nominative because the acrobat is the subject of the main clause. Kakvog is accusative because it represents the direct object of the verb vidjela (the audience saw him). Because akrobat is a living being, the masculine accusative takes the genitive form (kakvog).
Why is the verb vidjela in the feminine form if the acrobat is a man?
In the relative clause, the subject doing the seeing is publika (the audience). Because publika is a grammatically feminine noun in Croatian, the past participle must be feminine (vidjela) to agree with it.
Just a quick refresher: why do we say nikada nije?
This is a classic example of Croatian's required double negation. When you use a negative adverb like nikada (never), the verb must also be negative, which is why we use nije instead of the affirmative je.
Why does the sentence start with Na audiciju je došao instead of the subject?
Croatian often places the most important or newest information at the end of the sentence for emphasis. Starting with the destination sets the scene, while delaying the subject builds suspense and puts the spotlight firmly on this amazing acrobat.
Learn Na audiciju je došao takav akrobat kakvog publika nikada nije vidjela and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free