Breakdown of Kako je vokabular važan, tako je i gramatika.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
i
and (additive)
važan
important
tako
so, that way
kako
just as (correlative with tako)
vokabular
vocabulary
gramatika
grammar
Questions & Answers about Kako je vokabular važan, tako je i gramatika.
Why do we use i after tako je in the second part of the sentence?
In the structure kako ..., tako i ... (just as ..., so too ...), the word i adds the meaning of 'also' or 'too'. It emphasizes the parallel between the two clauses. While you could technically just use tako, adding i is much more natural when showing that a second thing is equally true.
The adjective važan is masculine to match vokabular. Why isn't there a feminine adjective važna to match gramatika?
Croatian often drops words in the second half of a parallel sentence to avoid repetition, just like English does. The full second clause would be tako je i gramatika važna, but because the concept of being important is already established, leaving the adjective out makes the sentence flow much better.
Why does the verb je come immediately after kako and tako?
The verb je is an enclitic, meaning it is a 'weak' word that must take the second grammatical position in its clause. Since kako and tako take the first position in their respective clauses, je must be placed directly after them.
Could I use kao što instead of kako at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, you will often hear kao što je vokabular važan, tako je i gramatika. Both kako and kao što work perfectly here to mean 'just as'.
Learn Kako je vokabular važan, tako je i gramatika 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