Njemu se sviđa ova ideja.

this

Breakdown of Njemu se sviđa ova ideja.

• sviđati se: to like
• ideja: idea
• njemu: it (masculine/neuter, dative/locative long form)

Questions & Answers about Njemu se sviđa ova ideja.

Why is njemu used here instead of on?

Because on means he in the nominative case, but this sentence needs the dative case: njemu = to him.

The verb pattern is sviđati se + dative. So Croatian structures this idea more like:

This idea is pleasing to him

rather than:

He likes this idea

So in this sentence:

• ova ideja is the grammatical subject
• njemu is the person affected by it

What case is njemu, and why?

Njemu is dative singular.

It is dative because sviđati se takes:

• the person in the dative
• the thing liked in the nominative

That is one of the most important things to remember with this verb.

What does se mean here?