Questions & Answers about On govori dobro hrvatski.
Is the subject pronoun On required?
No. Croatian regularly drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Govori dobro hrvatski is fine and still means “He speaks Croatian well.” Keep On only for emphasis or contrast.
Is the word order natural? Could I place dobro elsewhere?
Yes. The most neutral/common is On dobro govori hrvatski. Your version, On govori dobro hrvatski, is also grammatical, just slightly less common. Croatian word order is flexible and used for emphasis:
- On dobro govori hrvatski. (neutral, common)
- On govori dobro hrvatski. (also fine; mild focus on how he speaks)
- On hrvatski dobro govori. (marked; puts stronger focus on the language)
What does dobro do here?
It’s an adverb meaning “well,” modifying govori. It comes from the adjective dobar (good). In Croatian, many adverbs are identical to the neuter singular form of the adjective, e.g., dobro (well), brzo (quickly), loše (badly).
Why is hrvatski not capitalized?