Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.

Our relationship is better than it was last year.

Breakdown of Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.

• biti: to be
• bolji: better
• naš: our
• prošli: last
• godina: year
• odnos: relationship
• nego što: than

Questions & Answers about Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.

What does nego što je bio literally mean, and why do we need što there?

Nego is the usual word for “than” in comparisons.
Što here works like a kind of “that / what” introducing a clause.

So nego što je bio is roughly “than what it was”. The whole sentence is:

• Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.
  → Our relationship is better than it was last year.

You often use nego što when what follows is a full clause with a verb (here: je bio). In many everyday contexts you could also hear:

• Naš odnos je bolji nego prije. – …better than before.

But when you repeat the verb je bio, using nego što is the most natural, standard form.

Why is it Naš odnos and not Naša odnos?

Because odnos is a masculine noun in Croatian.

• odnos → masculine
• the masculine singular form of naš is also naš
• so we say: Naš odnos (our relationship)

If the noun were feminine, we’d use naša:

• veza (relationship, connection) → feminine
• naša veza – our relationship

And if it were neuter, we’d use naše:

• prijateljstvo (friendship) → neuter
• naše prijateljstvo – our friendship

Why is it bolji and not something like više dobar?

Croatian (like English) mostly uses synthetic comparatives (one word), not analytical ones (more good).

• dobar – good
• bolji – better (irregular comparative)
• najbolji – best (superlative)

So:

• Naš odnos je bolji… – Our relationship is better…

Saying više dobar would be unnatural or wrong in this context. You need the proper comparative form bolji.

Can I drop je bio and say Naš odnos je bolji nego prošle godine?

Yes, that’s possible and common in speech:

• Naš odnos je bolji nego prošle godine.

Here, je bio is understood from context:
Our relationship is better than (it was) last year.

The full form with nego što je bio is a bit more explicit and often feels more careful or formal, but omitting je bio in short sentences is natural.

However, in more complex sentences, leaving the verb out can make things unclear, so learners are usually safer using the full nego što je bio pattern.

Why is it prošle godine and not prošlu godinu?

Both forms exist, but they mean slightly different things:

• prošle godine – genitive singular
  Used as an adverbial time expression (“in the past year / last year”).
  → Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.
  …better than it was last year.

• prošlu godinu – accusative singular
  More often expresses duration (“for the whole of last year”), or appears as an object.

Example contrast:

• Cijele prošle godine smo se svađali.
  We argued the whole of last year. (duration)

In your sentence you’re comparing now with the state at that time, so prošle godine (genitive) as a time adverbial (“last year”) is the natural choice.

What is the difference between odnos and veza here? Could I say Naša veza je bolja… instead?

You could say:

• Naša veza je bolja nego što je bila prošle godine.

The difference is nuance:

• odnos – relationship, way people relate to each other;
  can be romantic, friendly, professional, or even abstract (“relation between things”).
• veza – connection, link, relationship;
  in everyday speech, veza is very common for a romantic relationship.

So:

• Naš odnos je bolji…
  Neutral: “The way we relate to each other / our relationship is better…”
• Naša veza je bolja…
  Sounds more like a romantic relationship is meant.

Both are grammatically fine; choose based on context.

Why does je come after odnos and not immediately after Naš?

Croatian has a “second position” rule for short unstressed words called clitics (like je, sam, si, se, ga…).
They normally go in the second position in the clause, after the first stressed word or phrase.

In:

• Naš odnos je bolji…

The first stressed unit is Naš odnos (treated as one phrase), so the clitic je goes after it:

• [Naš odnos] je bolji…

You will not normally say:

• ✗ Naš je odnos bolji… (possible but marked/emphatic in specific contexts)
• ✗ Je naš odnos bolji… (wrong as a normal declarative sentence)

For standard, neutral word order, Naš odnos je bolji… is best.

Could I say Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bila prošle godine?

Not with odnos as the subject, because:

• odnos is masculine, so its past tense form is bio, not bila.

Correct is:

• Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.

You would use bila if the subject were feminine:

• Naša veza je bolja nego što je bila prošle godine.
  (veza is feminine → bila)

Or bilo with a neuter subject:

• Naše prijateljstvo je bolje nego što je bilo prošle godine.

What is the difference between nego and od in comparisons?

Both can translate as “than”, but they’re used in different structures.

1. nego

   • Used mainly when you compare with a clause or in “rather than” structures.

   • Often appears as nego što when followed by a full clause:

   • Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.
     …better than it was last year.

   • Radije ću ostati doma nego ići tamo.
     I’d rather stay home than go there.

2. od

   • Used when you compare with a simple noun / pronoun / noun phrase:

   • Naš odnos je bolji od tvog.
     Our relationship is better than yours.
   • On je viši od mene.
     He is taller than me.

So:

• comparative + noun/pronoun → od
• comparative + clause (verb is repeated) → nego (često: nego što)

Can I change the word order to Naš je odnos bolji nego što je bio prošle godine?

Yes, that word order is grammatically possible, but it adds a bit of emphasis on naš:

• Naš je odnos bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.
  This can sound like you’re stressing “OUR relationship is better…” (as opposed to someone else’s), or you’re being a bit more stylistic or expressive.

The most neutral, everyday version is still:

• Naš odnos je bolji nego što je bio prošle godine.

As a learner, prefer the neutral version; use Naš je odnos… later when you feel comfortable playing with emphasis.