EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 77 As If: Advanced Clauses 432 / 600
Then, we have the word osim except ®, used in various complex conjunctions and
similar stuff. They are:
osim ako unless
osim da/što except (see below)
osim...i... besides... also...
These constructions will be explained one by one. We will first tackle osim da and
osim što. They are best understood as osim + clause. Which clause you’re going to
use depends on the main verb.
For example, the expressions moguće je da... it’s possible that..., content clauses
are used (the word moguć possible will be explained in 80 Present Adverbs and
Adjectives). So, for example, you want to say that everything is possible, except that
X. You would then use da, like in a content clause, and just add osim before it:
Sve N je moguće N , osim [da igram protiv Barcelone G ]. Everything is possible, except
[‘that I play’ against Barcelona]. = except [me playing against Barcelona]
This is an actual translation of a statement by Andrés Iniesta I found on the Internet.
Pay attention there’s no transformation in the Croatian sentence (from I play to me
playing).
Recall that it’s common to use što to start a content clause when commenting on a
fact:
Dobro je [što pada kiša N ]. It’s good [it’s raining].
Next, we want to say it’s nice, except it’s raining:
Lijepo je ovdje, osim [što pada kiša N ]. It’s nice here, except [it’s raining].
In such cases, you have to use što.
The complex conjunction osim ako is quite different: it specifies a possible situation
which will prevent the main clause (which is normally in the present tense or the
future, but the meaning is future):
Ići ćemo na plažu A , osim [ako će padati kiša N ]. We’ll go to the beach ‘except’ [‘if’ it
rains]. = unless [it rains]
Like in other conditional sentences, use of tenses in much freer in Croatian.
However, there’s often ‘empty’ negation in such clauses, so this is actually more
common:
Ići ćemo na plažu A , osim [ako neće padati kiša N ]. (the same meaning!)
Strictly speaking, these are conditional clauses, so the ‘potential’ future should be
used with imperfective verbs, according to standard Croatian:
Ići ćemo na plažu A , osim [ako bude padala kiša N ].
Ići ćemo na plažu A , osim [ako ne bude padala kiša N ].