Question 1

What tense is rekoše and how do we recognize it?

Accepted Answer

Rekoše is the aorist tense of the perfective verb reći (to say) in the third-person plural (they said). You can recognize it by the -še ending, which is a common suffix for the third-person plural in the aorist. In everyday spoken Croatian, you would almost always hear the perfect tense (rekli su), but rekoše gives the sentence a literary, dramatic, or storytelling feel.

Question 2

Why does the sentence use the present tense su when the English translation uses the past tense "were"?

Accepted Answer

This is a classic difference between English and Croatian. In Croatian indirect speech, you keep the tense of the original statement. Since the original thought was "the conquerors ARE stronger" (osvajači su jači), Croatian keeps the present tense su after da, even though the main reporting verb (rekoše) is in the past.

Question 3

Why is nas used after od to mean "than us"?

Accepted Answer

When you make a comparison using od (than), the following noun or pronoun must be in the genitive case. Nas is the genitive form of mi (we). Think of it literally as "stronger and faster FROM us."

Question 4

How do the base adjectives change to become jači and brži?

Accepted Answer

Brži (faster) is the comparative of brz (fast), formed by adding the suffix -ji, which merges with the z to create ž. Jači (stronger) is the comparative of jak (strong). When the suffix is added, the k at the end of the root undergoes a sound change (palatalization) and becomes č. Both are in the nominative plural to match the subject osvajači.

Rekoše da su osvajači jači i brži od nas.

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