Word
Sve što rodbina želi jest da na godišnjici svi budemo zdravi, mirni i zajedno.
Meaning
All the relatives want is for all of us to be healthy, calm, and together at the anniversary.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Sve što rodbina želi jest da na godišnjici svi budemo zdravi, mirni i zajedno.
biti
to be
i
and
zajedno
together
željeti
to want
Questions & Answers about Sve što rodbina želi jest da na godišnjici svi budemo zdravi, mirni i zajedno.
Why does the sentence start with Sve što?
Sve što is a very common Croatian pattern meaning all that or everything that.
- sve = everything / all
- što = that / what, introducing a relative clause
So Sve što rodbina želi means all that the relatives want.
This is similar to English structures like:
- All that the family wants is...
- Everything the relatives want is...
Why is it rodbina želi and not rodbina žele?
Because rodbina is grammatically singular, even though it refers to many people.
It is a collective noun meaning relatives / extended family / kin. Croatian treats it as singular, so the verb must also be singular:
- rodbina želi = the relatives want
This is a bit like English the family wants when we treat family as one group.
What exactly does rodbina mean? Is it the same as family?
Not exactly.
Rodbina usually means relatives, especially the wider family network: aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and so on. It is broader and a bit less intimate than immediate family.
So: