EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 27 Body 158 / 600
If you use personal pronouns, they of course must be at the second place, but if you
use general nouns or names, they are usually put to the first place. They must be in
accusative, since they are really objects: legs, shirts, etc. are itching them:
Anu A svrbi noga N . ‘The leg is itching Ana.’ = Ana’s leg itches.
Such placement is common in Croatian: if you express someone’s feelings or
experience, it’s normal to put him or her to the front, regardless of case. Recall this
example:
Ani DL je bilo dosadno. (DL) Ana was bored.
Pain is expressed in exactly the same way:
Boli me A zub N . ‘The tooth is hurting me.’ = My tooth hurts.
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Note how in both sentences, the subject (a body part, here noga, zub) comes after
the verb. This is the default word order in such sentences; you can tweak it to
emphasize the body part by putting it first.
You must bear in mind that leđa and usta are always in plural, despite everyone
having just one. Since they are subjects, verbs must be put into plural as well:
Leđa N me A bole. ‘The backs are hurting me.’ = My back hurts.
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Usta N me A svrbe. ‘The mouths are itching me.’ = My mouth itches.
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We haven’t learned plural of masculine nouns yet, but for both prst and zub, it’s
simply made by adding an -i:
Gorana A bole zubi N . Goran’s teeth hurt.
All sentences above were in the present tense. Examples for the past tense (keep in
mind that the body part is the subject in such sentences):
Anu A je svrbila noga N . Ana’s leg itched.
Leđa N su me A boljela. My back has hurt.
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Gorana A su boljeli zubi N . Goran’s teeth have hurt.
There are two more body parts, and both are quite special: their plural form is not
only irregular, it’s in different gender:
noun
oko eye
uho ear
plural noun
oči f pl.
uši f pl.
For example:
Anu A boli oko N . Ana’s eye hurts.
Anu A bole oči N . Ana’s eyes hurt.
The gender switch is visible in the past tense:
f