Breakdown of Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filma o bogatoj urednici.
Questions & Answers about Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filma o bogatoj urednici.
Da here is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause:
- Oni misle – They think
- da je stvarnost… – that reality is…
In Croatian, after verbs of thinking, saying, believing, etc., you almost always use da to introduce what is thought/said:
- Mislim da je istina. – I think (that) it’s true.
- Kažu da će doći. – They say (that) they will come.
So Oni misle je stvarnost… is wrong; you need da:
Oni misle da je stvarnost…
Je is a clitic form of the verb biti (to be) in the 3rd person singular (is). Croatian clitics usually stand in second position in a clause, often right after the first word.
In the clause:
- da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija…
the first word is da, so the clitic je comes immediately after it. That’s why you get:
- da je stvarnost…, not da stvarnost je…
If you start the clause with stvarnost, then je comes second:
- Stvarnost je u časopisu drukčija… – Reality in the magazine is different…
Oni means they (for a group of men or a mixed group). Croatian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- Oni misle… – clearly 3rd person plural from misle
- Just Misle da je stvarnost… is also correct and common.
You use oni if you want to emphasize they (as opposed to someone else) or if the subject might not be clear from context. Otherwise you can safely omit it.
Stvarnost (reality) is grammatically feminine, even though it doesn’t end in -a. Many abstract nouns in -ost are feminine:
- mladost (youth), ljubav (love), radost (joy) – all feminine.
Because stvarnost is feminine singular in the nominative (subject form), the adjective must agree:
- drukčij – masculine
- drukčija – feminine
- drukčije – neuter
So you need:
- stvarnost je drukčija – reality is different (feminine agreement)
The preposition u meaning in is normally followed by the locative case when it answers “where?”:
- u gradu – in the city
- u školi – in (at) school
- u časopisu – in the magazine
Časopis is masculine; its singular locative form is časopisu. So:
- u + locative → u časopisu
Filma is genitive singular of film. After od in the sense of from / than in comparisons, Croatian uses genitive:
- drukčiji od filma – different from the film
- bolji od filma – better than the film
- stariji od brata – older than (from) the brother
So:
od + genitive → od filma
You cannot say od film (nominative) here.
With drukčiji / drukčija / drukčije (different), the most natural and common pattern is:
- drukčiji od + genitive – different from X
Using nego is more typical when comparing degrees of the same quality:
- veći nego film – bigger than the film
- bolji nego film – better than the film
You can sometimes hear drukčija nego film, but drukčija od filma is standard and safest.
O means about and normally takes the locative case:
- o meni – about me
- o gradu – about the city
- o filmu – about the film
Here the noun is urednica (editor, feminine). Its locative singular is urednici. The adjective bogata (rich) must agree with it in gender, number and case, so you get:
- nominative: bogata urednica – a rich editor
- locative (after o): o bogatoj urednici – about the rich editor
Forms:
- bogatoj – feminine singular dative/locative
- urednici – feminine singular dative/locative
Croatian does not have definite or indefinite articles like the and a/an. Nouns appear without them:
- stvarnost – can be reality or the reality
- časopis – magazine / the magazine
- film – film / the film
Definiteness is usually clear from context or can be made explicit in other ways (word order, demonstratives like taj / onaj, etc.), but you don’t insert an article-like word in front of nouns.
Croatian word order is flexible, but not every permutation sounds natural. Some possibilities:
- Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filma o bogatoj urednici. (original; very natural)
- Oni misle da je u časopisu stvarnost drukčija od filma o bogatoj urednici. (also fine; slight focus on in the magazine)
- Oni misle da je stvarnost drukčija u časopisu nego u filmu o bogatoj urednici. (changed comparison structure but natural)
Drukčija stvarnost u časopisu is grammatically possible, but then it sounds like you’re talking about “a different reality in the magazine” (as a noun phrase), not “reality in the magazine is different (from the film)”. So your suggested version changes the nuance and isn’t the same sentence anymore.
In most everyday contexts they all mean roughly different:
- drukčija stvarnost
- drugačija stvarnost
- različita stvarnost
All can mean a different reality.
Nuances (often small and context‑dependent):
- drukčiji/drugačiji – very common in speech, often interchangeable; drugačiji is slightly more colloquial.
- različit – a bit more formal/neutral, often used when emphasizing variety or distinction (različiti ljudi – different/various people).
In this sentence, replacing drukčija with drugačija or različita would still be correct and natural.
Several films – plural genitive after od:
- Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filmova o bogatoj urednici.
(different from the films about the rich editor)
- Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filmova o bogatoj urednici.
Male editor – urednik (masculine):
- film o bogatom uredniku – film about the rich (male) editor
- In locative after o: o bogatom uredniku
So the full sentence:
- Oni misle da je stvarnost u časopisu drukčija od filma o bogatom uredniku.
Each Croatian preposition has its own typical meanings and required cases:
u + locative – in, inside (where?)
- u časopisu – in the magazine
od + genitive – from, of; than (in comparisons)
- drukčija od filma – different from the film
o + locative – about
- o bogatoj urednici – about the rich editor
You choose the preposition based on meaning:
- in a place or medium → u + locative
- from / than (in comparisons) → od + genitive
- about (a topic) → o + locative