Breakdown of Ona kaže da ima dobar razlog, ali meni još ne kaže koji.
Questions & Answers about Ona kaže da ima dobar razlog, ali meni još ne kaže koji.
Why is ona included? Could Serbian just say Kaže da ima dobar razlog...?
Yes. Serbian often drops subject pronouns because the verb form already shows the person and number.
- Kaže already means she/he says
- So Kaže da ima dobar razlog... is possible if the subject is clear from context
Using ona adds:
- clarity, if several people are being discussed
- emphasis or contrast, as in She says...
So ona is not grammatically necessary, but it is perfectly natural.
What is da doing in kaže da ima?
Here da introduces a subordinate clause, like English that:
- kaže da ima... = she says that she has...
In English, that is often omitted:
- She says she has...
In Serbian, da is usually kept in this kind of sentence after verbs like:
- kaže = says
- misli = thinks
- zna = knows
- veruje = believes
So da is a very common connector in Serbian.
Can kaže mean both says and tells?
Yes, depending on the structure.
In this sentence:
- Ona kaže da ima dobar razlog = She says that she has a good reason
- meni još ne kaže koji = she still doesn't tell me which one
So the same Serbian verb kazati / kaže can correspond to English say or tell, depending on whether the sentence focuses on:
- the content of what is said
- the person being told something
English separates these more strictly than Serbian does.
Why is it dobar razlog? Shouldn't the object after ima be in the accusative?
It is in the accusative.
The verb imati takes a direct object, so razlog is in the accusative case. But for a masculine inanimate singular noun like razlog, the accusative looks exactly the same as the nominative.
So:
- nominative: dobar razlog
- accusative: dobar razlog
They are identical in form here.
This is normal for masculine inanimate nouns in Serbian.
Why is it meni and not mi?
Both are forms of I / me in the dative, but they are used differently.
- mi = unstressed clitic form
- meni = stressed full form
In this sentence, meni sounds more emphatic or contrastive:
- ali meni još ne kaže koji = but she still doesn't tell me which one
It can suggest something like:
- to me, at least, she still doesn't say which one
- but she doesn't tell me
A more neutral version would be:
- ali mi još ne kaže koji
So meni is chosen for emphasis.
What does još mean here?
Here još means still or yet, depending on how you translate it in English.
- još ne kaže = still doesn't say / hasn't said yet
In negative sentences, još often gives the idea that something has not happened up to now, but may happen later.
So:
- meni još ne kaže koji = she still doesn't tell me which one
- or she hasn't told me which one yet
Both capture the idea well.
Why does the sentence end with koji all by itself?
Because the noun it refers to is understood and does not need to be repeated.
Here koji stands for:
- koji razlog = which reason
So:
- ne kaže koji literally means she doesn't say which
- more naturally in English: she doesn't say which one
Serbian often omits a noun when it is already obvious from the context.
Why is it koji and not some other form?
Because it agrees with the omitted noun razlog.
- razlog is masculine singular
- so the matching form is koji
If the hidden noun were different, the form would change:
- koja for a feminine singular noun
- koje for a neuter singular noun
- koji / koje / koja etc. in plural, depending on gender and case
So koji is not random: it matches razlog.
Why isn't there another da before koji?
Because koji already introduces an indirect question.
Compare:
- kaže da ima dobar razlog = a that-clause
- ne kaže koji = an indirect question meaning doesn't say which one
So the second part is not built with da. It is built with the question word koji.
That is why:
- da ima is correct
- koji is correct
- but da koji would not work here
Why is the word order ali meni još ne kaže koji? Could it be arranged differently?
Yes, Serbian word order is fairly flexible.
This order is natural because:
- ali introduces contrast: but
- meni is placed early for emphasis: to me
- još ne kaže keeps još close to the negated verb
You may also hear:
- ali mi još ne kaže koji
That version sounds a bit more neutral because mi is the unstressed clitic form.
So the chosen order helps highlight meni.
Why is there a comma before ali?
Because ali connects two clauses:
- Ona kaže da ima dobar razlog
- ali meni još ne kaže koji
In Serbian, it is standard to put a comma before ali when it joins two clauses, just like English often uses a comma before but in similar sentences.
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