C6 M3 L1 Grammar
6 | Modul 3: Gramatika
Tko voli, nek’ izvoli
6 | 3 | Lekcija 1: Sviđa mi se
| Liking – SVIĐATI SE and Dative Pronouns
Croatian has two verbs that can both be translated as the English “like” - voljeti and sviđati se.
You’ve seen the verb voljeti (stem: vol- / ja volim), and you know that it means “like” and “love.” It signals a rather strong attachment to a person or thing. | |
The other verb for “like” is sviđati se. It also expresses a positive emotion toward a person or a thing, often where the speaker is expressing an opinion based on a first impression, or a less deeply held feeling. |
At its core, the verb sviđati se is really equivalent to the English “to be pleasing to.” In sentences with sviđati se, the roles of subject (“liker”) and object (the person/thing liked) are flipped in comparison to English sentences with like and Croatian sentences with the verb voljeti. For example:
I like this book. | (ja) Volim ovu knjigu. | |
In the sentences with English “I like,” the liker is the subject, expressed by the nominative case; the thing liked is the direct object in the accusative case | ||
This book is pleasing to me. | Ova knjiga mi se sviđa. | |
In the sentences with is pleasing / sviđati se, the thing liked is the subject of the verb, expressed by the Nominative case. The person experiencing the positive impression is expressed by the Dative case. | ||
One function of the Dative case is for expressing the idea of the experiencer “to whom” and “for whom” things happen.
Implications
Since the thing liked is the subject, and the verb sviđati se will need to agree with the subject, you will need to use the form sviđaju when the thing liked is in the plural (just as in the ‘’to be interested in’’ – zanima me / zanimaju me).
- Sviđa ti se knjiga?
- Sviđaju ti se knjige?
Some of the most common reflexive verbs with the Dative case
- veseliti se (mami) - to look forward to mom
- nadati se (vijestima) - to hope for a [good] news
6.3 Zadatak 1. Kome se sviđa?
You already learned that personal pronouns in the Dative case can have stressed and unstressed form. Listen to the following sentences using a stressed form. Have in mind that a stressed form usually appears at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence.
Listen to the sentences again, pay attention to the things/people that are liked in each sentence.
6.3 Zadatak 2. Sviđa mi se
Listen to the following sentences and indicate who is the liker.
6.3 Zadatak 3. Tko se kome sviđa?
Listen to the following sentences about Marija i Davor. In each sentence indicate who is the liker (a person that likes). Keep in mind that word order in Croatian is very flexible and words can be placed in a different order, without losing the meaning of the sentence. Remember, the liker is always in the Dative case and a thing/person that is liked is always in the Nominative case.
6.3 Zadatak 4. Ivana i Ivan
Listen to the following sentences about Ivan i Ivana. Since many names in Croatian have masculine and feminine forms (such as Ivan/Ivana, Petar/Petra, Marin/Marina, Dino/Dina, etc.), hearing who likes who might be confusing at first. Listen carefully and indicate who is the liker (a person that likes).
6.3 Zadatak 5. Što nam se sviđa?
Listen to the following sentences and indicate if a person likes one or more things.
6.3 Zadatak 6. Gramatika (ponavljanje)
Review
Images used in this document are from these sources.
