Word
On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
Meaning
He is looking for his sunglasses around the room, but they are on the table the whole time.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
biti
to be
on
he
ali
but
na
on
Questions & Answers about On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
Do we need the word On at the beginning, or could we just say Traži svoje sunčane naočale…?
In Croatian, the subject pronoun (on, ona, oni, etc.) is usually optional, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- On traži… = He is looking… (neutral, or slightly emphasizing he)
- Traži… = He is looking… (normally understood from context)
You use On when:
- you want to emphasize he (not someone else), or
- the subject might not be clear from context.
Otherwise, simply Traži svoje sunčane naočale… is perfectly natural.
Why is it svoje and not njegove for “his sunglasses”?
Croatian distinguishes between reflexive and non‑reflexive possessives:
- svoje = one’s own (belongs to the subject of the clause)
- njegove = his (belongs to some male person, not necessarily the subject)
In this sentence the subject is on (he), and he is looking for his own sunglasses, so you must use the reflexive:
- On traži svoje sunčane naočale.
= He is looking for his own sunglasses.
If you said:
- On traži njegove sunčane naočale.
it would usually be understood as:
- sunglasses.*