Breakdown of Knjižničar mi je pokazao novi katalog.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ja
I
nov
new
pokazati
to show
knjižničar
librarian
katalog
catalog
Questions & Answers about Knjižničar mi je pokazao novi katalog.
Why is the clitic order mi je instead of je mi?
In Croatian, short unstressed words (clitics) must follow a strict order. Usually, the auxiliary verb comes before pronouns in the clitic chain. However, the 3rd person singular auxiliary je is the one major exception: it always drops to the very end of the chain. That is why the dative pronoun mi must come before je.
Why doesn't the accusative object novi katalog end in -a here?
Katalog is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing). For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case is identical to the nominative case. If the object were a living being, like a new student (novog studenta), it would take the animate -a ending.
Could I use the indefinite adjective form nov katalog instead of novi katalog?
You could, and it would mean a new catalog, but novi katalog is much more common here. The -i ending makes it a definite adjective (the new catalog). In everyday speech, Croatian heavily favors these definite -i endings when talking about specific, known objects.
Why is the perfective verb pokazao used here rather than its imperfective pair pokazivao?
The perfective verb pokazati is used because the act of showing the catalog is a single, completed event. If the librarian was in the process of showing it to you over time, or showed it repeatedly, you would use the imperfective form pokazivati (giving pokazivao mi je).
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