Breakdown of Radi se o važnom pitanju.
pitanje
question
važan
important
radi se o
it's about, it concerns (+ locative)
Questions & Answers about Radi se o važnom pitanju.
Why use Radi se o instead of translating "It is about" literally?
Raditi se o is a fixed impersonal expression in Croatian meaning "to be about" or "to concern." English speakers often try to translate "It is about" word-for-word as "To je o," but that is incorrect. Whenever you want to say what a book, movie, or situation is about, use radi se o followed by the locative case.
Where is the subject in this sentence?
There isn't one! Radi se o is an impersonal construction, which means it lacks a grammatical subject. The verb radi is always locked in the third-person singular here, and it won't change even if you are talking about plural issues.
What case is važnom pitanju in, and what triggered it?
It is in the locative case. The preposition o (meaning "about" or "concerning") dictates that the noun phrase following it must take the locative case.
Why does the dictionary form važan become važnom here?
The adjective važan contains a "fleeting a" (nepostojano a). This means the 'a' in the final syllable drops out when grammatical endings are added. Therefore, the locative neuter singular becomes važnom, rather than "važanom".
Does pitanju only refer to a literal "question" being asked?
Not necessarily. While pitanje literally means "question," in this type of phrasing it is very commonly used to mean "issue," "matter," or "problem." A native speaker will often interpret this sentence as "It's about an important issue."
Learn Radi se o važnom pitanju 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