Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.

I like this park very much.

Breakdown of Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.

• mi: me
• park: park
• ovaj: this
• sviđati se: to like
• vrlo: very

Questions & Answers about Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.

In Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park., what do mi and se mean?

Mi is the short (clitic) form of meni, which is the dative form of ja (I). It means to me / for me here.

Se is a reflexive clitic. With the verb sviđati se, it doesn’t translate directly; it’s part of the construction that means to be pleasing (to someone).

So:

• mi = to me (dative)
• se = reflexive clitic that goes with sviđa

Together, sviđa mi se literally corresponds to it is pleasing to me → I like it.

Why isn’t there a word for “I” in this sentence?

Croatian usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• sviđa is 3rd person singular (he/she/it).
• The experiencer mi (to me) is in the dative.

The logical English subject I is actually expressed indirectly by mi (to me) and by the whole construction sviđa mi se.

You could say Ja… for emphasis, e.g.:

• Ja jako volim ovaj park. – I really like this park. (stressing I)

But for Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park., adding Ja would sound unnatural and redundant:
✗ Ja vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park. – incorrect word order and unnecessary Ja.

What is the literal structure of Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.? Who is the subject?

Literally, the sentence is:

• Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park. ≈ Very to-me REFL pleases this park.

Grammatically:

• ovaj park = the subject (nominative singular masculine)
• sviđa se = 3rd person singular reflexive verb sviđati se
• mi = indirect object in the dative (to me)
• vrlo = adverb very

So while English says I like this park (I = subject), Croatian says something more like This park is very pleasing to me (this park = subject).

That’s why ovaj park is in the nominative, not in some “object” case.

What is the difference between sviđa mi se ovaj park and volim ovaj park?

Both can translate as I like this park, but they’re not identical:

• sviđa mi se ovaj park

  • literally: this park is pleasing to me
  • typical for impressions, feelings, opinions about something
  • often a bit softer or more about the way something looks/feels right now

• volim ovaj park

  • literally: I love this park
  • voljeti is stronger and more personal (same verb used for to love)
  • can suggest a deeper or more permanent affection or preference

In everyday speech:

• Sviđa mi se ovaj park. – sounds like: I like this park / I’m fond of it / I think it’s nice.
• Jako volim ovaj park. – more like: I really love this park.

In your sentence, Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park., the speaker is emphasising how pleasing the park is to them right now or in general.

Why is it mi se and not se mi?

Croatian has strict rules for the order of short pronouns (clitics). In a clitic group, the usual order is:

1. question particle li
2. auxiliary verbs (sam, si, je…, ću, ćeš…, etc.)
3. dative pronouns (mi, ti, mu, joj, nam, vam, im)
4. reflexive se
5. accusative/genitive pronouns (me, te, ga, je/ju, nas, vas, ih)

In Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park., the clitics are:

• mi = dative pronoun
• se = reflexive clitic

According to the rule, mi must come before se, so:

• ✓ mi se – correct
• ✗ se mi – incorrect in standard Croatian in this position

Can I change the word order in Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, although it affects emphasis.

All of these are grammatically possible:

• Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.
  – Neutral, slightly emphasises how much (vrlo = very).

• Ovaj mi se park vrlo sviđa.
  – Emphasises this park as the topic: As for this park, I like it very much.

• Ovaj park mi se vrlo sviđa.
  – Similar to the previous, very natural.

• Jako mi se sviđa ovaj park.
  – Using jako instead of vrlo (see next question), very common in speech.

What you cannot change freely is the order mi se (see previous answer) or split the clitics from the verb too far. For example:

• ✗ Vrlo mi ovaj park se sviđa. – unnatural / wrong

What does vrlo mean exactly, and are there other common ways to say “really / very”?

Vrlo means very. It’s perfectly correct and a bit on the neutral-to-formal side.

Other very common intensifiers:

• jako – very, really

  • Extremely common in everyday speech: Jako mi se sviđa ovaj park.

• stvarno – really, truly

  • Stvarno mi se sviđa ovaj park.

• baš – really, exactly, quite (colloquial)

  • Baš mi se sviđa ovaj park.

• tako – so (much)

  • Tako mi se sviđa ovaj park. – I like this park so much.

You could say:

• Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park. – neutral, slightly formal.
• Jako mi se sviđa ovaj park. – very common, natural spoken Croatian.

Why is it ovaj park and not something else? What does ovaj mean?

Ovaj is the demonstrative pronoun meaning this (near the speaker).

Croatian has three main demonstratives:

• ovaj – this (near me, the speaker)
• taj – that (near you, the listener, or just mentioned)
• onaj – that (over there), more distant or less immediate

In your sentence:

• ovaj park = this park (here / that we’re in / that we’re talking about now)

You could theoretically say:

• Taj mi se park sviđa. – I like that park (you mentioned / over there, etc.).
• Onaj mi se park sviđa. – I like that park (further away / not here).

But ovaj park is natural if you’re talking about the park you’re currently in or directly referring to.

What gender and case is ovaj park, and how does agreement work here?

Park is a masculine noun in Croatian.

In ovaj park:

• ovaj = masculine singular nominative form of this
• park = masculine singular nominative

Because ovaj park is the subject of the sentence (the thing that is pleasing), it must be in the nominative case, and the demonstrative ovaj has to agree with it in:

• gender (masculine)
• number (singular)
• case (nominative)

Other forms (for comparison):

• nominative: ovaj park – this park (subject)
• accusative: ovaj park – I see this park (object)
• genitive: ovog parka – of this park

Here, as subject of sviđa, it stays ovaj park.

What tense and person is sviđa, and what is the infinitive?

• sviđa is 3rd person singular, present tense.
• The infinitive is sviđati se (imperfective aspect).

Present tense of sviđati se (with the reflexive se):

• (meni) se sviđam – I please (myself) – rarely used like this
• (tebi) se sviđaš – you please (someone) – not very common either
• (njemu/joj) se sviđa – he/she/it pleases (someone)
• (nama) se sviđamo – we please
• (vama) se sviđate – you (pl.) please
• (njima) se sviđaju – they please

In practice, you most often see:

• Sviđa mi se ovaj park. – This park pleases me.
• Sviđaju mi se ti filmovi. – Those films please me / I like those films.

There is also a perfective partner verb: svidjeti se, which focuses on the moment something starts being liked:

• Svidio mi se ovaj park čim sam ga vidio. – I liked this park as soon as I saw it. / The park appealed to me as soon as I saw it.

How do you pronounce Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park.?

Approximate pronunciation (using English-like spelling):

• Vrlo – VR-lo (roll the r, short o)
• mi – mee (short, pure i)
• se – seh (short e)
• sviđa – SVEE-jah
  
  • sv together,
  • đ sounds like dy in “adieu” or like j in “jungle”,
  • final a as in “father”
• ovaj – OH-vai (like “oh-vai”)
• park – park (similar to English, but with a trilled r and short a)

Stress is typically on the first syllable of each word:

• VRlo mi se SVIdža Ovaj park.

Spoken smoothly:
Vrlo mi se sviđa ovaj park. – [VR-lo mee seh SVEE-jah OH-vai park]