Learn Hardcore Croatian: On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar. - He thinks he is very smart, but sometimes he says a stupid thing.

On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

He thinks he is very smart, but sometimes he says a stupid thing.

Breakdown of On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

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Questions & Answers about On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

Why do we need da in On misli da je jako pametan? In English we can often drop that, so why not in Croatian?

In Croatian, the conjunction da is normally required to introduce a subordinate clause like this.

On misli da je jako pametan.
= He thinks (that) he is very smart.

In English, the that is optional; you can say He thinks he is smart. In Croatian, you cannot say:

✗ On misli je jako pametan.

That is ungrammatical. You need da to connect misli with the clause je jako pametan.

Some verbs can take an infinitive instead of da + clause (e.g. želi raditi, he wants to work), but misliti with a full sentence like this uses da.

Why is it da je jako pametan and not da on je jako pametan or da je on jako pametan?

Croatian often omits subject pronouns when they are clear from context. In the clause da je jako pametan, the subject is understood to be the same he as in On misli, so on is simply left out.

On misli da je jako pametan.
Literally: He thinks that (he) is very smart.

You can add on in the second clause, but it changes nuance and word order:

On misli da je on jako pametan.
This stresses on: He thinks that *he is very smart (as opposed to someone else).*

Putting on after da but before je (da on je...) sounds unnatural; enclitic je (is) normally wants to be in the second position of the clause, so:

Natural neutral: da je jako pametan
Natural with emphasis: da je on jako pametan or da on jest jako pametan (with jest for strong emphasis).

Why is pametan in the masculine form? How would the sentence change if we were talking about a woman?

The adjective pametan agrees in gender, number, and case with the person it describes.

In the original sentence, On (he) is masculine singular, so we use:

pametan (masculine singular nominative)

If we talk about a woman:

Ona misli da je jako pametna, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.
She thinks she is very smart, but sometimes she says a stupid thing.

Changes:

On → Ona (she)
pametan → pametna (feminine singular nominative)
kaže glupu stvar stays the same, because glupu stvar describes the thing, not the person, and stvar is always feminine.

What is the difference between jako pametan and vrlo pametan? Are they both “very smart”?

Both jako and vrlo mean very and can be used here:

On misli da je jako pametan.
On misli da je vrlo pametan.

Differences in feel:

jako is more colloquial, everyday. You will hear it all the time in speech.
vrlo is often more formal or written, though it is also used in speech.

There is also veoma, similar to vrlo, slightly formal/literary.

So for everyday conversation, jako pametan is very natural.

Why is it glupu stvar and not glupa stvar?

This is about case. Stvar (thing) is a feminine noun. Its nominative singular is:

glupa stvar – a stupid thing (as a subject or predicate)

But in the sentence we have:

kaže glupu stvar – he says a stupid thing

Here, glupu stvar is the direct object of the verb kaže, so it must be in the accusative case (feminine singular):

Nominative: glupa stvar (who? what?)
Accusative: glupu stvar (whom? what? – as object)

Adjectives agree with the noun, so:

glup-a → glup-u with stvar changing from stvar (nom.) to stvar (accusative form looks the same in writing, but the adjective shows the case).

Why is it glupu stvar (singular) instead of something like “stupid things” in plural?

Croatian could use a plural here, but glupu stvar is a common idiomatic way to talk about each individual instance of saying something stupid:

On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.
He thinks he is very smart, but sometimes he says a stupid thing (a stupid remark).

If you want the idea of stupid things in general, you might say:

… ali ponekad kaže glupe stvari. – …but sometimes he says stupid things.

Both are correct; glupu stvar highlights each particular stupid remark; glupe stvari sounds more general or frequent.

Why is ponekad placed after ali and before kaže? Can I move it?

Ponekad is an adverb meaning sometimes. In Croatian, adverbs are fairly flexible in word order.

Your options include:

… ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar. – neutral, very natural.
… ali kaže ponekad glupu stvar. – also possible; slight emphasis on the verb kaže.
… ali kaže glupu stvar ponekad. – possible, but sounds less neutral and more marked; often used for emphasis or rhythm.

The most natural, neutral position here is exactly as in the original:

ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

What is the difference between kaže and govori? Could we say ponekad govori glupu stvar?

Both verbs are related to speaking, but their nuances differ:

reći / kazati → kaže
- Perfective aspect.
- Focus on a single utterance or statement: to say, to tell (one thing).
- kaže glupu stvar = he says a stupid thing (makes one stupid remark).
govoriti → govori
- Imperfective aspect.
- Focus on ongoing or repeated speaking, sometimes longer speech: to speak, to talk, to be saying.

You could say:

… ali ponekad govori glupe stvari. – …but sometimes he talks nonsense / says stupid things (in general or over a longer time).

But with jednu glupu stvar – one stupid remark – kaže glupu stvar is more natural, because it refers to a concrete utterance.

Can I omit On and just say Misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar?

Yes. Croatian often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending clearly shows the subject.

On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.
Misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

Both are correct. The version without On is probably more natural in most contexts, unless you want to:

introduce the person for the first time, or
contrast him with someone else (e.g. On misli… a ona misli…).

Why is there a comma before ali?

In Croatian, ali is a coordinating conjunction similar to but in English, and when it connects two independent clauses, a comma is required:

On misli da je jako pametan, ali ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

First clause: On misli da je jako pametan.
Second clause: (On) ponekad kaže glupu stvar.

Because both parts are full clauses (with their own verb), you put a comma before ali.

Why is the verb je in the second position in da je jako pametan?

Je is a clitic form of the verb biti (to be). In Croatian, clitics like je, se, ga, mi usually want to be in the second position within their clause.

The clause is:

da je jako pametan

Inside this clause, the natural order is:

da – subordinator (starts the clause)
je – clitic verb in second position
jako pametan – the rest (adverb + adjective)

You cannot normally move je to the end, for example:

✗ da jako pametan je – ungrammatical or at least extremely marked.

How do we form misli and kaže from their infinitives? What are their infinitives?

The infinitives are:

misliti – to think
reći / kazati – to say, to tell (two common variants; present tense often uses forms from reći like kaže, kažem, etc.)

Conjugation in the present tense (1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular):

misliti
- (ja) mislim – I think
- (ti) misliš – you (sg.) think
- (on/ona/ono) misli – he/she/it thinks
reći / kazati (present stem kaž-)
- (ja) kažem – I say
- (ti) kažeš – you (sg.) say
- (on/ona/ono) kaže – he/she/it says

So misli and kaže are the 3rd person singular present forms of misliti and reći/kazati.