Breakdown of Ako se opet budeš žalio na glazbu, podržat ću te, jer ni meni ne odgovara kad svira preglasno.
Questions & Answers about Ako se opet budeš žalio na glazbu, podržat ću te, jer ni meni ne odgovara kad svira preglasno.
Why is budeš žalio used after ako instead of something like ćeš se žaliti?
After ako referring to a future situation, Croatian normally uses future II, not future I.
Budeš žalio is part of that pattern: budeš + žalio.
So Ako se opet budeš žalio... means If you complain again....
English does something a bit similar in meaning, because you normally say If you complain again, I’ll support you, not If you will complain again.
Why is it žalio? What if the speaker is talking to a woman?
In future II, Croatian uses the l-participle, and that participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
So:
- to a man: budeš se žalio
- to a woman: budeš se žalila
- to more than one person: budete se žalili / žalile
So the form žalio shows that the person being addressed is masculine singular.
Why is se there? What does žaliti se mean?
The verb is žaliti se, which means to complain.
Without se, žaliti usually means something else, such as to pity, to feel sorry for, or to regret, depending on context.
So:
- žaliti se na glazbu = to complain about the music
Why is se placed so early in Ako se opet budeš žalio?
Se is a clitic, and Croatian clitics usually appear near the beginning of the clause. That is why it comes right after ako here.
Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but clitics like se, te, ga, ću tend to stay in these early positions.
Why is it na glazbu? What case is glazbu?
After žaliti se, Croatian normally uses na + accusative for the thing you are complaining about.
So:
- žaliti se na glazbu = to complain about the music
Glazbu is the accusative singular of glazba.
This is simply the pattern that this verb requires.
How does podržat ću te work? Why not podržati ću te?
This is future I.
Croatian can form future I with the infinitive plus a clitic form of htjeti:
- podržat ću
- vidjet ću
- napisat ću
When ću/ćeš/će... comes after the infinitive, the final -i of the infinitive is dropped in standard spelling.
So:
- podržat ću te = correct
- podržati ću te = not standard
You can also say Ja ću te podržati, where the auxiliary comes first and the full infinitive stays unchanged.
Why is it te and not ti?
Because podržati takes a direct object, and the direct-object clitic for you is te.
Ti is usually the dative form, meaning to you.
Compare:
- podržat ću te = I will support you
- reći ću ti = I will tell you
What does odgovara mean here? Does it mean answers?
Not in this sentence.
Odgovarati can mean several things in Croatian. Here it means to suit, to be acceptable, or to work for someone.
So ni meni ne odgovara means something like:
- that doesn’t work for me either
- I’m not okay with that either
So this is not the answer/reply meaning of odgovarati.
Why is it meni instead of ja or me?
Because odgovarati takes the person affected in the dative case.
So:
- meni = to me
The usual pattern is:
- To mi odgovara = That suits me
- To mi ne odgovara = That doesn’t suit me
So meni is exactly the form Croatian expects with this verb.
Why do we get ni meni ne odgovara with both ni and ne? Isn’t that a double negative?
Yes, and that is completely normal in Croatian.
Croatian regularly uses double negation:
- ni meni ne odgovara = it doesn’t suit me either
- nitko ne zna = nobody knows
So ni ... ne ... is standard Croatian, not a mistake.
Who is doing svira? Why is there no subject written?
The subject is understood from context. It could be the music, the stereo, the band, or whatever is producing the sound.
Croatian often leaves the subject unstated when it is already clear enough.
Also, svirati can mean to play in the sense that music is playing, not only that a person is playing an instrument.
What does preglasno mean exactly?
Preglasno means too loudly.
It is made from:
- glasno = loudly
- prefix pre- = too, excessively
So:
- svira preglasno = it is playing too loudly
What does kad mean here? Is it different from kada?
Here kad means when or whenever.
It is the shorter, very common form of kada. In most everyday contexts, kad and kada mean the same thing, though kada can sound a bit more formal.
So:
- kad svira preglasno = when it plays too loudly
Why are there commas in this sentence?
Croatian uses commas to separate subordinate clauses quite regularly.
Here:
- Ako se opet budeš žalio na glazbu, ...
The if-clause comes first, so it is followed by a comma. - ..., jer ni meni ne odgovara ...
Jer introduces a reason clause, so it is also separated by a comma.
So the commas are marking the sentence structure very clearly.
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