Lijeva ruka me boli.

me (accusative short form)

Breakdown of Lijeva ruka me boli.

• boljeti: to hurt
• ruka: arm
• lijev: left

Questions & Answers about Lijeva ruka me boli.

Why does lijeva end in -a?

Because lijeva is an adjective, and Croatian adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, ruka is feminine singular nominative, so the adjective also has to be feminine singular nominative:

• lijev = masculine
• lijeva = feminine
• lijevo = neuter

So lijeva ruka is the correct matching form.

Why is it ruka and not ruku?

Because ruka is the grammatical subject of the verb boli.

With boljeti in this kind of sentence, Croatian usually treats the thing that hurts as the subject:

• Glava me boli.
• Noga me boli.
• Lijeva ruka me boli.

So ruka stays in the nominative: ruka, not ruku.

If you used ruku, that would be accusative, which is not what this sentence needs.

What exactly is me here?