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Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.

Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.
The guide says that safety is more important than speed.
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Questions & Answers about Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.

Why do we need da in kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine? Why not just kaže je sigurnost važnija…?

Da here is a conjunction meaning that and it introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause.

  • Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.
    = The guide says *that safety is more important than speed.*

In Croatian, after verbs of speaking, thinking, feeling, etc., you normally introduce the reported statement with da:

  • Kaže da dolazi sutra. – He says (that) he’s coming tomorrow.
  • Mislim da je kasno. – I think (that) it’s late.

You cannot say:
✗ Vodič kaže je sigurnost važnija od brzine. – ungrammatical

So: kaže + da + clause is the regular pattern for indirect speech.

Why is it da je sigurnost and not da sigurnost je?

This is because of Croatian clitic word order.

  • je (the present tense of biti – to be) is a clitic: a short, unstressed word that tends to stand in second position in its clause.
  • In the clause da je sigurnost važnija od brzine:
    • da is the first element.
    • je comes second, right after da.

Putting it as da sigurnost je… breaks this “second position” rule and sounds wrong.

So:

  • ✔ da je sigurnost važnija… – natural and correct
  • ✗ da sigurnost je važnija… – ungrammatical in normal speech

This “second position” rule applies to other clitics too (mi, se, ga, bi, etc.), not only je.

What exactly is sigurnost grammatically? Is it feminine, masculine, or neuter?

Sigurnost is:

  • a noun
  • feminine
  • singular
  • in the nominative case in this sentence (it’s the subject of je važnija).

Many abstract nouns ending in -ost (e.g. ljubavnost, pametnost, dobrota) are feminine.

That’s why the adjective in the predicate is važnija (feminine) and not važniji (masculine) or važnije (neuter):

  • sigurnost je važnija – feminine agreement
Why is it važnija and not važniji or više važna?

Važnija is the comparative form of the adjective važan (important) and it must agree with sigurnost (feminine singular).

Base form:

  • važan – masculine
  • važna – feminine
  • važno – neuter

Comparative stem: važn- →

  • važniji – masculine
  • važnija – feminine
  • važnije – neuter

Since sigurnost is feminine:

  • ✔ sigurnost je važnija – correct agreement
  • ✗ sigurnost je važniji – wrong gender
  • ✗ sigurnost je više važna – grammatically possible but clumsy; Croatian prefers the synthetic comparative (važnija) over više + adjective in normal style.

So važnija is the natural, standard choice.

Is važnija the same as “more important”? How do I say “the most important”?

Yes:

  • važan – important
  • važniji / važnija / važnije – more important (comparative)
  • najvažniji / najvažnija / najvažnije – most important (superlative)

Examples:

  • Sigurnost je važnija od brzine.
    Safety is more important than speed.

  • Sigurnost je najvažnija.
    Safety is the most important (thing).

Why does brzina become brzine after od?

Because od (from / of / than) requires the genitive case.

  • Base form: brzina – speed (nominative, feminine)
  • Genitive singular: brzine

In comparisons, after a comparative adjective, Croatian uses od + genitive:

  • viši od mene – taller than me
  • stariji od brata – older than (my) brother
  • važnija od brzine – more important than speed

So the pattern is:

[comparative adjective] + od + [noun in genitive]

Can I say važnija nego brzina instead of važnija od brzine? What’s the difference between od and nego here?

In this specific sentence, both are possible, but od is more neutral and common:

  • ✔ sigurnost je važnija od brzine – standard, most natural
  • ✔ sigurnost je važnija nego brzina – possible, a bit more emphatic / contrastive in feel

General tendencies:

  • With a simple noun after a comparative, od + genitive is the default:

    • bolji od tebe, stariji od mene, važniji od posla

  • nego is often used:

    • after negation:
      On nije viši nego širi. – He’s not taller but rather wider.
    • in some fixed patterns:
      više nego ikad, radije nego…, prije nego…

In everyday speech you will hear both, but if you’re unsure, use od + genitive with comparatives.

Why is it kaže and not rekao je? Would Vodič je rekao da je sigurnost važnija od brzine also be correct?

Both are correct, but they refer to different times:

  • Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.
    Present tense:

    • He is saying this now, or
    • It’s something he typically/always says (a general statement).

  • Vodič je rekao da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.
    Past tense (perfect):

    • He said this at some specific time in the past.

So use:

  • kaže – for what he says now or generally
  • je rekao – for a finished past event
Can we leave out da je and instead write the sentence with direct speech?

Yes. You can switch to direct speech, like in English:

  • Vodič kaže: “Sigurnost je važnija od brzine.”

Here:

  • kaže da je sigurnost važnija… → indirect speech (reported statement)
  • kaže: “Sigurnost je važnija…” → direct speech (exact words, shown with quotes / colon)

Both are correct; the original sentence simply chooses indirect speech with da.

What does vodič mean exactly? Is it only a tour guide?

Vodič most commonly means a (tour) guide – a person.

It can also mean:

  • guidebook / handbook / manual (depending on context)
    • turistički vodič – tourist guide / guidebook
    • televizijski vodič – TV guide

Gender:

  • vodič – masculine (a male guide, or unspecified gender in generic use)
  • A specifically female guide can be called vodičica, but in practice people often just use vodič for both, unless they really want to mark feminine.
Could I rearrange the middle part, like Vodič kaže da je važnija sigurnost od brzine? Does that change the meaning?

You can rearrange it, but it affects the emphasis, not the basic meaning.

Possible versions:

  1. Vodič kaže da je sigurnost važnija od brzine.
    – Neutral: emphasis slightly on sigurnost (as the topic/subject).

  2. Vodič kaže da je važnija sigurnost od brzine.
    – Slightly more emphasis on važnija and the contrast; it can sound a bit more “stylistic” or expressive, like:
    He says *it is more important that safety (comes) before speed.*

Both are grammatical; the original is the most neutral and typical word order.

Can je ever be left out, like Sigurnost važnija od brzine?

In normal full sentences, you should keep je:

  • ✔ Sigurnost je važnija od brzine. – standard sentence

However, in:

  • headlines, signs, or very elliptical speech, Croatians sometimes omit je:
    • Sigurnost važnija od brzine – you might see this on a poster, slide title, etc.

So:

  • For regular speech and writing as a learner: include je.
  • You may see it omitted in “telegraphic” styles, but treat that as an exception.
How do you pronounce vodič and sigurnost?

Approximate English-friendly pronunciation:

  • vodič – vo-DIČ

    • vo like “vo” in vote but shorter
    • di like “dee”
    • č like ch in church
    • stress on the second syllable: vo-DIČ

  • sigurnost – si-GUR-nost

    • si like “see” (short)
    • gur like “goor” with a rolled r
    • nost like “nost” in nostril without the final *ril (roughly “nost”)
    • stress on GUR: si-GUR-nost

In both words:

  • g is always a hard g (as in “go”), never like “j” in “giant”.
  • r is rolled/tapped.