Breakdown of Pročitate li optužnicu, gospodine suče, sve je jasno.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
li
question particle
gospodin
gentleman
jasan
clear
sav
all (of a whole) / everyone, all (people) / everything
pročitati
to read (perfective)
sudac
judge (m)
optužnica
indictment
Questions & Answers about Pročitate li optužnicu, gospodine suče, sve je jasno.
How does pročitate li translate to "if you read" without the word for "if"?
In Croatian, you can form a conditional clause without the conjunction ako (if). You do this by moving the verb to the front and immediately following it with the question particle li. Here, pročitate li means exactly the same as ako pročitate. This inversion is slightly more formal or literary, but it is very common in spoken language as well.
Why is the perfective verb pročitate used here instead of the imperfective čitate?
The perfective verb pročitate emphasizes the completion of the action, meaning "if you read it completely." Using the imperfective čitate li would mean "if you are in the process of reading," which wouldn't make sense here since the facts become clear only after the judge finishes reading the document.
Why is the word for judge suče instead of sudac?
Suče is the vocative case, which is required because the speaker is addressing the judge directly. The dictionary form is sudac. To form the vocative, the fleeting a is dropped. The ending -e then triggers a sound change where c becomes č, and the d disappears to make pronunciation easier, leaving us with suče.
Why is gospodine also in the vocative case alongside suče?
When directly addressing someone using a title, all parts of that title or name must agree in the vocative case. So, both gospodin (Mr.) and sudac (judge) take their respective vocative endings to become gospodine suče.
Learn Pročitate li optužnicu, gospodine suče, sve je jasno 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