Breakdown of Fizička udaljenost je potrebna odavde dovde.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
potreban
necessary, needed
odavde
from here
fizički
physical, manual
udaljenost
distance (between two points)
dovde
up to here
Questions & Answers about Fizička udaljenost je potrebna odavde dovde.
How exactly are the boundary adverbs odavde and dovde formed in this sentence?
They are fusions of the prepositions od (from) and do (to) with the demonstrative root for "here". When fused into a single boundary adverb, the root ovdje loses its -j-, giving us odavde (from here) and dovde (up to here). Note that odavde also inserts an -a- for easier pronunciation.
Can I just write od ovdje do ovdje as separate words instead?
You will definitely hear native speakers say od ovdje do ovdje in casual, everyday speech. However, in standard Croatian, combining them into the single fused adverbs odavde and dovde is grammatically preferred when defining spatial boundaries.
How would I change dovde if the distance was "from here to there"?
You would swap the proximal root (meaning "here") for a distal one (meaning "there"). "To there" becomes dotamo, which is a fusion of do and tamo (there). The full phrase would then be odavde dotamo.
The noun udaljenost ends in a consonant. Why do the adjectives fizička and potrebna end in the feminine -a?
Because udaljenost is actually a feminine noun! In Croatian, almost all abstract nouns ending in the suffix -ost (like radost, mladost, or mogućnost) belong to the feminine i-declension. Therefore, any adjectives describing them must take standard feminine endings.
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