Breakdown of On priznaje da mu je, bez obzira na to što puno vježba, izgovor još uvijek težak.
Questions & Answers about On priznaje da mu je, bez obzira na to što puno vježba, izgovor još uvijek težak.
Mu je literally means “(to) him is” and corresponds to “is for him” / “for him is” in English.
- mu = clitic pronoun in the dative case, meaning to him
- je = clitic form of biti (to be), 3rd person singular is
Croatian has a strong rule that clitic words (short unstressed words like mu, je, se, ga, mi, ti) usually go in second position within a clause. In the clause:
… da mu je izgovor još uvijek težak
the first element is da, so the clitic cluster (mu je) follows it. That is why we get da mu je, not da je mu.
Da je mu izgovor… is ungrammatical in standard Croatian.
It actually can be:
On priznaje da mu je, bez obzira na to što puno vježba, izgovor još uvijek težak.
On priznaje da mu je izgovor još uvijek težak, bez obzira na to što puno vježba.
The verb je is already present in da mu je, and that je is the verb for the whole clause da mu je izgovor još uvijek težak:
- da (that)
- mu (to him)
- je (is)
- izgovor (pronunciation)
- još uvijek težak (still difficult)
You don’t repeat je after izgovor because it’s already there before it. Croatian allows the verb je to appear before the subject noun (izgovor) in this kind of structure.
In the clause:
izgovor (subject) još uvijek težak (predicate adjective)
izgovor is the subject of the verb je (hidden inside da mu je), so it must be in the nominative case.
The structure is:
- izgovor – nominative subject (what is difficult?)
- je – verb “to be”
- težak – adjective in nominative masculine singular, agreeing with izgovor
Literally:
Izgovor je težak. = Pronunciation is difficult.
So nominative is used because we are describing what the subject is like, not giving it to someone / doing something to it.
Težak is an adjective, agreeing with the noun izgovor:
- izgovor – masculine singular
- težak – masculine singular form of the adjective težak
So:
Izgovor je težak. = The pronunciation is difficult.
If you said teško, that would be the adverb form, used to describe a verb, not a noun:
- Teško govorim. = I speak with difficulty. / It is hard for me to speak.
- Izgovor je težak. = The pronunciation is difficult.
In this sentence we are describing the noun (pronunciation), so we use the adjective form težak, not the adverb teško.
Bez obzira na to što is a fixed phrase that means roughly:
- “regardless of the fact that”
- “even though / despite the fact that”
It is built from:
- bez obzira (na to) – literally “without regard (to that)”
- što – here introducing a clause, roughly “that”
So:
bez obzira na to što puno vježba
≈ even though he practices a lot / although he practices a lot / despite practicing a lot
It’s a bit more formal and wordy than simple iako (although), but very common in both spoken and written Croatian.
Yes, you can replace the longer phrase with iako (although), with a small stylistic change:
On priznaje da mu je, iako puno vježba, izgovor još uvijek težak.
Here:
- iako = although, even though
Both are correct:
- bez obzira na to što puno vježba – slightly more formal, heavier
- iako puno vježba – simpler, very common
The overall meaning (adversative contrast: “he practices a lot, but pronunciation is still hard”) stays the same.
You can say:
… bez obzira na to što on puno vježba …
but in Croatian, subject pronouns (on, ona, oni etc.) are usually dropped when the subject is clear from the verb ending or the context.
- vježba (3rd person singular) already tells you “he / she / it practices”.
- The main sentence already has on as the subject: On priznaje…
So što puno vježba is more natural and not ambiguous here. Adding on would just be extra emphasis, for example:
… bez obzira na to što baš on puno vježba…
“…even though he himself practises a lot…”
još uvijek together means still (up to now, and continuing):
- izgovor je još uvijek težak = “pronunciation is still difficult”
Parts:
- još – “still, yet, more” (very context-dependent)
- uvijek – “always”
In this combination, još uvijek is a common fixed phrase meaning still, with a nuance that the situation has not changed yet, but might change later.
Comparison:
- Izgovor je još težak.
More like “Pronunciation is still / even now difficult” but can also suggest “even more difficult” depending on context. - Izgovor je uvijek težak.
“Pronunciation is always difficult” (no change expected). - Izgovor je još uvijek težak.
“Pronunciation is still difficult (it hasn’t become easy yet).”
You can definitely drop on:
Priznaje da mu je, bez obzira na to što puno vježba, izgovor još uvijek težak.
Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb form reveals the person and number. Priznaje (3rd person singular) already implies he / she / it.
Using on adds a bit of emphasis or clarity, especially at the start of a new sentence or paragraph, but it’s not grammatically required.
Da introduces a subordinate clause (a “that”-clause) which is the object of the verb priznaje:
- Main clause: On priznaje… = He admits…
- Subordinate clause: …da mu je izgovor još uvijek težak. = …that pronunciation is still difficult for him.
So the full structure is:
On priznaje [da mu je izgovor još uvijek težak].
Just like in English:
He admits [that pronunciation is still difficult for him].
Priznati / priznavati very frequently takes a da + clause to express what exactly is being admitted.
Croatian has aspect pairs:
- priznati – perfective (one‑time, completed admitting)
- priznavati – imperfective (repeated / ongoing admitting)
Their present forms:
- prizna – present of priznati, but it usually has future meaning (“will admit”) because perfective verbs do not normally describe ongoing present actions.
- priznaje – present of priznavati, normal present tense (“admits / is admitting”).
In this sentence:
On priznaje da… = He admits that…
we want a simple present meaning, so priznaje (imperfective) is the natural choice.
On prizna da… would feel more like “He will admit that…” (future / one‑time act).
Puno vježba means “he practices a lot” or “he practices a great deal”.
- puno – a lot, much, many (very common in everyday speech)
- vježba – he/she practices (3rd person singular)
You can also say:
mnogo vježba
Mnogo is slightly more formal or “bookish” than puno, but both mean “a lot”, and both are correct here.