Breakdown of Botaničar je znao pričati o neprobojnoj prašumi.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
pričati
to talk
o
about / on (dependent on)
znati
used to (habitual)
Questions & Answers about Botaničar je znao pričati o neprobojnoj prašumi.
Why does the sentence use je znao (knew) to mean "used to"?
In Croatian, the verb znati (to know) followed by an imperfective infinitive is a very common way to express a habit or a repeated action in the past. While je znao pričati literally translates to "he knew how to talk," it is idiomatically understood as "he used to talk" or "he would talk."
How would I use the phrase što se tiče to change this sentence to "As for the botanist, he used to talk..."?
The phrase što se tiče must be followed by the Genitive case. The noun botaničar becomes botaničara in the Genitive. So, you would say: Što se tiče botaničara, znao je pričati o neprobojnoj prašumi. Notice that the enclitic je moves to the second position in its clause, right after znao.
What is the prefix pra- doing in the word prašumi?
The prefix pra- is used to indicate something ancient, original, or prehistoric, similar to "proto-" or "primeval" in English. Since šuma means "forest," a prašuma is an ancient, untouched forest—which is how Croatians refer to a primeval forest or a rainforest.
Which case is used for neprobojnoj prašumi, and why?