EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 22 Here I am: More Pronouns 130 / 600
The first two verses use grammar and words I’ve already explained. Almost each
verse starts with i kad, literally and when. The third verse translates literally as and
when you don’t have any makeup on your face: it uses G instead of A (i.e. šminke
instead of šminku) – it’s a way to express any, i.e. indefinite quantity. Such use will
be described in 45 Quantities and Existence.
Uvijek te A volim
Always I love you
2
hoću da znaš I want you to know
Volim te A
I love you
2
ne znam kako da odolim I’m unable to resist
U svakom slučaju DL te A volim In any case, I love you
2
The construction hoću da znaš I want you to know uses a so-called desire clause.
Such things will be described in 56 Desires and Demands. (It uses the verb htjeti
want, which has irregular pres-1).
The part ne znam kako da odolim literally translates as I don’t know how to resist.
Such expressions will be also described later.
Check how in the verse u svakom slučaju te volim the word te² is actually the
fourth word – the first three words count as one, they form a closed phrase. The
word slučaj case is one of few nouns that can shift stress in DL – to the second
syllable from the end – when used with a preposition. The adjective svaki means
actually each, every, but often corresponds to English all or any.
Putting the word uvijek to the first place is emphasizing it.
The next verses contain the DL form mi²:
Volim te A uvijek I always love you
2
I kada sanjaš Even when you’re dreaming
Kad ne pišeš mi DL When you don’t write to me
pisati | 1
Kad te G nema When you’re not here
2
The word mi² is here in an unusual place (there’s a lot of liberty in poetry). In speech,
you will only hear kad mi ne pišeš.
Both kad and kada are used in this song for rhythmic reasons – there’s no difference
in meaning.
The last verse uses the negative existential construction, explained above.
You can listen to it on YouTube.