Breakdown of Za razliku od brata, ona voli sport.
ona
she
brat
brother
voljeti
to love, to like
sport
sport
za razliku od
unlike, in contrast to (+ genitive)
Questions & Answers about Za razliku od brata, ona voli sport.
Why is brata used here instead of the nominative brat?
It is in the genitive case because of the preposition od within the fixed phrase za razliku od (unlike). The preposition od always requires the genitive case.
Literally translated, what does the phrase za razliku od mean?
It translates to "for the difference from". The noun razlika means "difference", and it is in the accusative case here (razliku) because it follows the preposition za.
Could we omit the pronoun ona since Croatian usually drops subject pronouns?
You could drop it, but it sounds much more natural to keep it here. Because the sentence is pointing out a direct contrast between two people, using ona adds the necessary emphasis, much like vocally stressing the word "she" in English.
Why doesn't the sentence say njezinog brata to specify that it is her brother?
Croatian frequently drops possessive pronouns when the relationship is obvious from the context. Since ona (she) is the subject of the sentence, it is automatically understood that it is her own brother being discussed.
How can we tell if sport is in the nominative or accusative case in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb voli (likes). It looks exactly like the dictionary form because sport is an inanimate masculine noun, which means its nominative and accusative forms are identical.
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