Learn Hardcore Croatian: U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama. - In reality our country is still beautiful, but it depends on our decisions.

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama.

In reality our country is still beautiful, but it depends on our decisions.

Breakdown of U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama.

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Questions & Answers about U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama.

Why is the verb je placed after stvarnosti (in U stvarnosti je naša zemlja...) instead of directly after naša zemlja?

In Croatian, short forms of the verb biti (to be) like je, sam, si, smo, ste, su behave as clitics.

Clitics usually go in the second position in the clause, after the first stressed word or phrase.

U stvarnosti counts as the first phrase, but u is an unstressed preposition.
The first stressed word is stvarnosti, so the clitic je goes right after it:
U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa...

You could also say:

Naša je zemlja još uvijek lijepa...
Naša zemlja je još uvijek lijepa...

All are grammatical, but clitics tend to move toward that “second position” slot, depending on what comes first in the sentence.

What exactly does u stvarnosti mean, and how is it different from words like zapravo or stvarno?

U stvarnosti literally means “in reality” and is quite close to English in both meaning and register (it sounds neutral/formal).

u stvarnosti = in reality, in real life
zapravo = actually, in fact (more conversational)
stvarno = really, truly (often used for emphasis, more informal)

Examples:

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja lijepa.
In reality, our country is beautiful.
Zapravo je naša zemlja lijepa.
Actually, our country is beautiful. (maybe contradicting what someone thought)
Naša je zemlja stvarno lijepa.
Our country is really beautiful. (emphasis/emotion)

So in your sentence, u stvarnosti frames the statement as a contrast between reality and some other perception (e.g. media, stereotypes, fears).

Why is it naša zemlja and not something like naš zemlja?

Zemlja is a feminine noun in Croatian (like most nouns ending in -a in the singular).

The possessive adjective naš (our) must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies:

masculine singular: naš brat (our brother)
feminine singular: naša zemlja (our country)
neuter singular: naše dijete (our child)

In the sentence:

naša → feminine, singular, nominative
zemlja → feminine, singular, nominative

So naša zemlja is the correct, fully agreeing form.

Why is lijepa used and not lijep or lijepo?

Lijep is the base form of the adjective “beautiful, nice.”
The adjective must agree with the noun zemlja in gender, number, and case.

zemlja = feminine, singular, nominative
So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative: lijepa.

Compare:

lijep čovjek (a beautiful/handsome man – masculine)
lijepa zemlja (a beautiful country – feminine)
lijepo mjesto (a beautiful place – neuter)

So naša zemlja (je) lijepa = our country is beautiful with full agreement.

What is the nuance of još uvijek? Could we say only još or only uvijek?

Još uvijek together usually means “still (at this moment, despite everything)”.

još on its own often means still or yet:
- Još je lijepa. – She/it is still beautiful.
- Još nismo gotovi. – We are not done yet.
uvijek on its own means always:
- Uvijek je lijepa. – She/it is always beautiful.

Još uvijek combines the idea of continuity up to now, often with a hint of contrast or surprise:

Naša je zemlja još uvijek lijepa.
Our country is still beautiful (even now / despite what has happened).

You could say još je lijepa instead of još uvijek je lijepa, but još uvijek is stronger and slightly more emphatic.

Does zemlja mean “country” or “Earth” / “soil” here? How do we know?

Zemlja can mean:

country / land
Earth (the planet)
soil, ground

In this sentence:

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa...

naša zemlja very naturally means “our country”, because:

naša suggests political or national ownership (“our country”).
Talking about beauty in a context of decisions (ovisi o našim odlukama) fits well with environment, politics, or society in one specific country.

If we meant the planet Earth more explicitly, we might say naš planet, naša Zemlja, often with a capital Z when written.

What case is našim odlukama in, and why is that case used?

Našim odlukama is in the locative plural.

Noun: odluka (a decision) – feminine
Plural base: odluk-
Locative plural ending for many feminines: -ama → odlukama
The possessive adjective naš agrees: našim (fem. plural dative/locative/instrumental form)

The preposition o (about, of, on in some abstract senses) normally takes the locative case:

o čemu? – about what?
O našem gradu. – About our city.
O mojim planovima. – About my plans.
O našim odlukama. – On / upon / depending on our decisions.

With the verb ovisi (o) – “depends (on)”, the structure is:

ovisi o + locative

So: ovisi o našim odlukama = depends on our decisions, with našim odlukama in the locative plural.

How does ovisi o work? Can you give a pattern I can remember?

The verb is ovisiti o (čemu) = to depend on (something).

Pattern:

Netko / Nešto ovisi o + LOCATIVE

Examples:

Sve ovisi o tebi. – Everything depends on you.
Projekt ovisi o vremenu. – The project depends on the weather.
Budućnost ovisi o našim odlukama. – The future depends on our decisions.
Uspjeh ovisi o radu i trudu. – Success depends on work and effort.

So in your sentence:

o našim odlukama follows that same pattern: ovisi o + locative.

Can the word order još uvijek lijepa be changed to lijepa još uvijek or još je uvijek lijepa?

Yes, word order in Croatian is somewhat flexible, and all these can be grammatical, but they have slightly different emphasis/rhythm:

Naša je zemlja još uvijek lijepa.
Neutral, common: “Our country is still beautiful.”
Naša je zemlja lijepa još uvijek.
Emphasis at the end: “Our country is beautiful, still.” (slightly more poetic or emphatic)
Naša je zemlja još je uvijek lijepa. – This is incorrect because it repeats the clitic je.
Correct clitic version:
- Naša zemlja je još uvijek lijepa.
- Naša zemlja je lijepa još uvijek.

All acceptable options must keep je in a valid clitic position (toward the beginning of the clause) and avoid doubling it.

Why is there a comma before ali (...lijepa, ali ovisi...)? Is that always required?

Yes. In Croatian, ali (but) practically always takes a comma before it when it connects two clauses or two parts that could stand somewhat independently.

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama.

This is similar to English:

Our country is still beautiful, but it depends on our decisions.

Other examples:

Želim doći, ali nemam vremena. – I want to come, but I don’t have time.
Lijepo je, ali je daleko. – It’s nice, but it’s far.

So you should treat , ali as a standard combination in writing.

Why is there no explicit “it” in the second part, like “but it depends on our decisions”?

Croatian often drops subject pronouns (like “I, you, he, she, it”) when the subject is clear from context or from the verb form.

In English, we need the pronoun:

Our country is still beautiful, but *it depends on our decisions.*

In Croatian, you can omit it because ovisi is clearly referring back to naša zemlja:

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, ali ovisi o našim odlukama.

You could add ona (she/it) for emphasis:

..., ali ona ovisi o našim odlukama.

But in normal style, leaving it out is more natural.

Could this sentence also use međutim instead of ali? What is the difference?

You could say:

U stvarnosti je naša zemlja još uvijek lijepa, međutim ovisi o našim odlukama.

But there are differences:

ali = but
- Very common, simple conjunction.
- Used in both speech and writing.
međutim = however / nevertheless
- Slightly more formal and more typical for written language.
- Often starts a new sentence:
  - Naša je zemlja još uvijek lijepa. Međutim, ovisi o našim odlukama.

So ali is more neutral and conversational; međutim sounds more like “however” in a written argument or essay.