Breakdown of On se boji duboke tame.
on
he
bojati se
to be afraid
dubok
deep
tama
darkness (gloom, obscurity)
Questions & Answers about On se boji duboke tame.
Why is duboke tame in the genitive case instead of the accusative?
The verb bojati se (to be afraid) strictly requires its object to be in the genitive case. In Croatian, you don't use a preposition like the English word "of" here; the genitive case endings on duboka tama (-a changes to -e) do all the work.
Does the se in this sentence mean he is doing the action to himself?
No, bojati se is an inherently reflexive verb. This means the se is a mandatory part of the dictionary form and doesn't mean "oneself" in a literal sense. You cannot drop the se when using this verb.
Why is the enclitic se placed before the verb instead of after it?
Enclitics like se must take the second logical position in a Croatian sentence. Because the subject pronoun On occupies the first position, se locks into the second slot, pushing the main verb boji to the third position.
Is it natural in Croatian to use dubok (deep) to describe an abstract noun like tama (darkness)?
Yes, it is perfectly natural. Just like in English, the adjective dubok can be used both literally (for water or space) and metaphorically for abstract concepts like tama (darkness), tišina (silence), or san (sleep).
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