Breakdown of Uvijek diši onako kako smo vježbali.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
uvijek
always
vježbati
to practise
kako
just as (correlative with tako)
Questions & Answers about Uvijek diši onako kako smo vježbali.
Why use onako kako instead of just kako?
Using onako kako adds precision. While Uvijek diši kako smo vježbali simply means "Always breathe how we practiced," adding onako emphasizes doing it exactly in that specific manner. It acts as a correlative pair: "in that way... how."
Could I use ovako kako or tako kako instead of onako kako here?
Yes, but it changes the nuance based on spatial or temporal distance. Ovako kako means "like this way" (happening right now or demonstrated by the speaker). Tako kako means "like that way" (related to the listener). Onako kako implies a method from a distant event in time or space, which is perfect for a past practice session.
The infinitive is disati. Why does the imperative become diši instead of disi?
The verb disati (to breathe) undergoes a stem change where the s becomes š in the present tense (e.g., dišem, dišeš) due to a historical sound change called iotation. The imperative form is built from this present-tense stem, resulting in diši.
The imperative diši is singular, but smo vježbali is plural. Who is the subject of the second clause?
The subject is "we" (the speaker and the listener). The speaker is telling one person ("you", singular diši) to breathe the way that the two of them ("we", plural smo vježbali) practiced together in the past.