Breakdown of Tvrdi se da je novi aparat puno bolji.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
nov
new
puno
a lot
bolji
better
da
that (conjunction)
tvrditi
to claim
se
impersonal/passive particle (as in "it is believed that")
aparat
device, machine (e.g. a card reader)
Questions & Answers about Tvrdi se da je novi aparat puno bolji.
Why is se used with tvrdi in this sentence?
In Croatian, adding the reflexive pronoun se to a third-person verb is a common way to form an impersonal or passive statement. Here, tvrdi se translates to 'it is claimed' or 'people claim,' without specifying exactly who is making the claim.
Could I say nov aparat instead of novi aparat?
You should use novi here. In Croatian, masculine adjectives have definite (ending in -i) and indefinite forms. Because we are talking about 'the new machine' (a specific, known machine), the definite form novi is required. Nov would mean 'a new machine'.
Why does the verb je come right after da?
The word je is an enclitic (a stressless word). Croatian word order rules dictate that enclitics generally go in the second position of their clause. The conjunction da counts as the first position in this subordinate clause, so the clitic je must immediately follow it.
Is it also correct to say mnogo bolji instead of puno bolji?
Yes, absolutely. Both puno and mnogo can be used as adverbs meaning 'much' to emphasize a comparative adjective like bolji. In spoken and everyday Croatian, puno is extremely common, while mnogo sounds slightly more formal.
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