Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.

Before an exam I am always more nervous.

Breakdown of Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.

• biti: to be
• prije: before
• uvijek: always
• ispit: exam
• nervozniji: more nervous

Questions & Answers about Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.

Why is it prije ispita and not prije ispit?

In Croatian, the preposition prije (before) always takes the genitive case.

• The noun ispit (exam) in the nominative is ispit.
• Its genitive singular form is ispita.

So:

• prije ispita = before the exam / before an exam

You cannot say prije ispit, because ispit there would be in the nominative, and prije does not allow that. It must be followed by genitive: prije + genitive.

A mini paradigm for ispit (masculine, singular):

• Nominative: ispit (exam – subject)
• Genitive: ispita (of the exam / before the exam, etc.)
• Dative: ispitu
• Accusative: ispit
• Locative: o ispitu (about the exam)
• Instrumental: ispitom (with the exam – rare in practice)

What does sam mean here, and why do we need it?

Sam is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be). It corresponds to English am in I am.

Present tense of biti:

• ja – sam (I am)
• ti – si (you are, sg.)
• on/ona/ono – je (he/she/it is)
• mi – smo (we are)
• vi – ste (you are, pl./formal)
• oni/one/ona – su (they are)

In the sentence Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji, sam links the subject I (understood) with the adjective nervozniji:

• literally: Before the exam I-am always more-nervous.

Croatian normally does not drop the verb biti in the present tense. You must say sam here; you cannot omit it the way some other Slavic languages sometimes do.

Why is sam in the middle of the sentence and not at the beginning or end?

Forms of biti like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su are clitics. In Croatian, clitics usually stand in the so‑called “second position” of the sentence: after the first stressed phrase.

In Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji:

• The first stressed phrase is Prije ispita.
• The clitic sam must come right after this phrase.
• Then comes uvijek nervozniji.

That’s why:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji. ✅ (correct, natural)
• Sam prije ispita uvijek nervozniji. ❌ (wrong in standard Croatian)
• Prije ispita uvijek nervozniji sam. ❌ (clitic too late)

If you change the order of other elements, sam still tries to stay in second position:

• Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita. ✅
• Ja sam uvijek nervozniji prije ispita. ✅

Why is there no ja (I) in the sentence?

Croatian is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns are usually omitted when the verb ending clearly shows the person.

The form sam can only be 1st person singular ("I am"), so the subject ja is understood:

• (Ja) sam uvijek nervozniji. – I am always more nervous.

You add ja mainly for emphasis or contrast:

• Ja sam uvijek nervozniji, a on je miran.
  I am always more nervous, and he is calm.

What is the function of uvijek, and where can it appear in the sentence?

Uvijek means always. It’s an adverb of frequency.

Common positions (all grammatical, with small differences in emphasis):

• Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita.
• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.
• Ja sam uvijek nervozniji prije ispita.

In all of these, uvijek modifies the state nervozniji (more nervous).

What you cannot do is place uvijek so that it separates the clitic sam from its proper second position. For example:

• Prije ispita uvijek sam nervozniji. – sounds wrong/very unnatural in standard Croatian, because the clitic sam should come immediately after the phrase Prije ispita, not after uvijek.

Why is nervozniji used instead of nervozan?

Nervozniji is the comparative form of the adjective nervozan (nervous).

• nervozan = nervous
• nervozniji = more nervous

So the sentence literally means:

• Before the exam I am always more nervous (than usual / than in other situations).

If you say:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozan.
  you’re saying I am always nervous before an exam (just describing nervousness as a state, not explicitly comparing it to some other time).

Nervozniji implies a comparison: you are more nervous then than at other times.

How is nervozniji formed, and does it agree with the subject?

The base adjective is nervozan (nervous). The comparative is formed with the suffix ‑iji / ‑niji, giving:

• masculine: nervozniji
• feminine: nervoznija
• neuter: nervoznije

Adjectives (including comparative forms) must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case when they are used as predicates.

• If the speaker is male (singular):
  Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji. ✅
• If the speaker is female (singular):
  Prije ispita sam uvijek nervoznija. ✅
• If “we” (mixed or all‑male group):
  Prije ispita smo uvijek nervozniji. (masc. plural)

How would the sentence change if the speaker were female?

Only the adjective needs to change to the feminine form:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervoznija.

Everything else remains the same:

• prije ispita – before the exam
• sam – I am
• uvijek – always
• nervoznija – more nervous (feminine, nominative singular)

Can I say Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita instead, and is it more natural?

Yes, Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita is fully correct and very natural.

Both are good:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.
• Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita.

The difference is mostly in focus:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji.
  Slightly emphasizes the time frame “before an exam” – that period is when your nervousness increases.
• Uvijek sam nervozniji prije ispita.
  Slightly emphasizes the frequency “always” – it happens every time before an exam.

In everyday speech, both are used; many speakers would not feel much difference in practice.

Is Prije ispita uvijek sam nervozniji also correct?

In standard Croatian, this word order sounds wrong or at least very unnatural.

Reason: the clitic sam should stand in second position, i.e., right after the first stressed phrase Prije ispita. The correct pattern is:

• Prije ispita sam uvijek nervozniji. ✅

In Prije ispita uvijek sam nervozniji, the clitic sam comes too late (after uvijek), which breaks this rule. For learners, it’s best to always place sam immediately after the first stressed word or phrase:

• Prije ispita sam…
• Uvijek sam…
• Ja sam…

Can I say više nervozan instead of nervozniji, like in English “more nervous”?

No, not in this case. Unlike English, Croatian normally prefers the morphological comparative (one word) rather than više + adjective for adjectives like nervozan.

So:

• nervozniji ✅ (correct comparative)
• više nervozan ❌ (unnatural / incorrect in standard usage)

The pattern is:

• nervozan → nervozniji
• pametan (smart) → pametniji
• važan (important) → važniji

You will see više used as a comparative adverb with some forms (e.g. with past participles or adverbs), but for basic adjectives like nervozan, you should learn and use the built‑in comparative form nervozniji.

Is there a difference between prije and pre?

Yes:

• prije is the standard Croatian form meaning before.
• pre is mostly:
  • colloquial/regional in Croatian (often felt as “non‑standard”), or
  • the normal form in Serbian.

In standard Croatian, especially in writing and in formal speech, you should use:

• prije ispita – before the exam

Both prije and pre take the genitive (so: prije ispita, pre ispita), but as a learner of standard Croatian, stick to prije.